Kalonzo Tells Sifuna to Await Opposition Decision on 2027 Presidential Ticket

Wiper Patriotic Front leader Kalonzo Musyoka has called for unified and visible grassroots support from his party members following a turbulent weekend marked by political friction in Nairobi and personal grief.

Speaking on Saturday, October 31, during the house-opening ceremony of Machakos Senator Agnes Kavindu, Kalonzo expressed disappointment over the small turnout of Wiper members at the launch of the Linda Mwananchi Movement headquarters in Lavington on Friday, October 30.

He contrasted his delegation's size with that of Democracy for the Citizens Party (DCP) leader Rigathi Gachagua, whose supporters arrived in large numbers wearing party colours.

"Move as a team; when you are doing that, I move to the rest of the country," Kalonzo told the gathering in Machakos. "When Rigathi Gachagua turned up, you saw his team, all of them branded properly, that is what we should emulate."

The complaints followed a chaotic launch event where Kalonzo faced hostile chants from supporters of Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna.

The uproar erupted after Kalonzo rejected an endorsement of Sifuna as a potential 2027 opposition presidential candidate by Democratic Party of Kenya (DAP-K) leader Eugene Wamalwa.

Kalonzo described Sifuna as "just a party leader" and insisted that a joint opposition flagbearer must be selected through formal procedures during scheduled internal opposition meetings.

"We have to wait for November 13, when we will talk with other presidential candidates. Right now he is just a party leader," Kalonzo said during the event.

His remarks prompted loud chants of "President Sifuna" from the crowd, forcing the Wiper leader to temporarily pause his speech before Sifuna intervened to calm his supporters.

Amidst these political tensions, Kalonzo also mourned the death of veteran journalist Kitavi Mutua, who passed away on Friday night at Kenyatta University Teaching, Referral and Research Hospital (KUTRRH).

Mutua, a former Nation Media Group correspondent in Kitui County, died from complications after being bitten by a venomous snake at his home in Kitui South.

Reports indicate the journalist spent about a week without seeking medical treatment before his condition worsened and he was admitted to the hospital's intensive care unit.

Kalonzo revealed that Mutua had been assisting him in writing his second autobiography, noting that the unfinished project made his death a deeply personal loss.

"I received with great sadness the news of the death of Kitavi Mutua, a veteran journalist and a son of Ukambani, who passed away on Friday night," Kalonzo said in a condolence message on Sunday. "He was the one working with me on it. I am sorry that we will not finish that work together."

Tributes also poured in from other leaders, including Kitui Senator Enoch Wambua, former Kitui Governor Charity Ngilu, and Kitui Woman Representative Irene Kasalu.

Wambua remembered Mutua as a professional colleague and friend whose wisdom would be sorely missed.

Mutua left Nation Media Group roughly two years ago to pursue private business after a long career covering political, social, and economic developments in Kitui County and the broader Ukambani region.