Unity Or Strategy? Inside Kindiki’s Bid To Weaken The Opposition

In Kenyan politics, every handshake, every word, and every move counts. Recently, Deputy President Kithure Kindiki made one such calculated move while speaking in Makueni and it raised more than a few eyebrows.

On the surface, this gesture might be seen as purely friendly but it was a masterstroke in the art of politics.

Kithure Kindiki praised Kalonzo Musyoka as a principled leader a man whose political conduct stands apart from other opposition figures. Politically, in those words lay a deeper political calculation. Kindiki’s praise was anything but casual.

It was a deliberate attempt to drive a wedge betweenKalonzo and his current allies particularly former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua and to sow new seeds of division in the opposition.

The goal? To isolate Gachagua within the Mt. Kenyapolitical scene and tip the balance in favour of the ruling side.

This isn’t the first time Kalonzo has been at the center of such political courtship. In 2018, the then DP William Ruto publicly embraced him under the Jubilee government as Kalonzo pledgedsupport for President Uhuru Kenyatta’s “Big Four” agenda.

History seems to be repeating itself, but the stakes now are higher and the political temperature hotter.

Speaking in Sultan Hamud during a People’s Opposition rally, Gachagua dismissed Kindiki’s outreach to Kalonzo as misguided and manipulative.

But Kindiki didn’t hold back either,warning Kalonzo that Gachagua’s divisive, tribal politics could be a trap, one that could cost himpolitically in the long run.

Kalonzo, for now, has rejected Kindiki’s overture. But if Kenyan political history has taught usanything, it's that Kalonzo is no stranger to switching lanes sometimes embracing power,sometimes resisting it.

The lingering question is: will he gamble and align with the government,or stick it out in the opposition trenches?

To many Kenyans, these unity calls are not about healing the nation they’re about political strategy. Raila Odinga, leader of the Orange Democratic Movement, has faced similar criticism for working with the government.

Such approaches to form alliances, often weaken the opposition's ability to hold the ruling party accountable.

With the ongoing wave of government criticism from the opposition, rising from public frustration over taxes, a faltering economy, abductions and killings UDA’s strategy is about political survival and dominance, not necessarily national interest.

Kindiki’s move is less about unity and more about survival. For the ruling UDA party, this is about controlling the narrative, weakening the opposition, and securing ground ahead of 2027.

In the end, politics in Kenya remains a chessboard and Kindiki’s move to court Kalonzo may just be one more calculated step in a long game.