Former Agriculture Cabinet Secretary and Party of National Unity (PNU) leader Peter Munya has called on opposition leaders to foster an environment of dialogue and consensus as they seek to unite ahead of the 2027 General Election.
Munya said while the opposition remains united in its desire for change, differences of opinion among its leaders should be resolved through consultation rather than confrontation.
He welcomed former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua’s shift in position, saying he had backed away from earlier calls for opposition parties to dissolve and join a single political outfit.
“The United Opposition has differences of opinion. I am happy that former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has retreated in terms of saying the other parties should dissolve; he has taken back his words,” Munya said.
The PNU leader urged Gachagua to moderate his rhetoric, arguing that unity can only be achieved through mutual respect and constructive engagement.
“We are telling him to tone down his language, and let’s create an atmosphere where we can sit down as opposition leaders and be able to agree on the way forward in terms of presenting one candidate to face the UDA candidate,” he said.
On Tuesday, Gachagua challenged opposition parties in Mt Kenya to work as hard as his Democracy for Citizens Party (DCP) in mobilising support ahead of the 2027 General Election.
Speaking at his Wamunyoro residence in Nyeri during a meeting with a delegation from Mathioya and Kangema, Gachagua said he wanted all political parties in the region to become stronger but claimed some of them had not undertaken sufficient grassroots mobilisation.
Gachagua said parties should not expect DCP to stop its activities simply because other opposition formations were not equally active.
“Our sister PLP leader Martha Karua, the iron lady, is working hard and we respect her and her party. And we encourage all other parties to popularise themselves,” he said.
The DCP leader was responding to concerns raised by Democratic Party leader and former Attorney General Justin Muturi, former CS Munya of the Party of National Unity (PNU) and Democratic Empowerment Party (DEP) leader Lenny Kivuti.
The three leaders said Gachagua’s remarks had undermined other political parties in Mt Kenya after comments attributed to him in which he was reported to have called on some parties to dissolve and join DCP.
Gachagua dismissed those claims, saying he had never asked other parties to stop building their political bases.
“It does not mean that we stop selling our party and wait for them. Everybody must sell their respective parties. I cannot sell another person’s party,” he said.
He challenged leaders who believe their parties are popular to demonstrate that popularity by going to the grassroots and mobilising voters.
“If they are saying DCP is the main party in Mt Kenya, I have not stopped them from equally saying their parties are popular,” Gachagua said.
