Makueni Senator Daniel Kitonga Maanzo in an interview with a local Kamba FM on December 4, 2025. Photo Courtesy. 
By Andrew Mbuva and Ryan Mumo
Makueni Senator Daniel Kitonga Maanzo has offered the clearest indication yet that the opposition is edging toward a negotiated power-sharing formula for Nairobi ahead of the 2027 General Election.
Speaking during a morning interview on a Kamba vernacular radio station, the senior Wiper Party legislator responded to claims by DCP Party Leader Rigathi Gachagua that Wiper and DCP had already struck a deal on how to share Nairobi elective seats. Gachagua had earlier suggested that DCP would take the Governor, Senator, Woman Representative slots and at least 75 MCA positions.
Senator Maanzo neither dismissed nor fully endorsed Gachagua’s assertions, but instead gave a detailed breakdown of the ongoing negotiations within the united opposition coalition. He revealed that one of the major trade-offs under discussion is DCP’s decision to forfeit both the presidential and deputy presidential slots in 2027.
“We have agreed with our opposition partners, especially those from the DCP party, to support the Wiper Patriotic Front in the 2027 presidential bid,” Maanzo said. “Our colleagues from Central Kenya have accepted that the presidential candidate and the deputy president will come from other regions.”
According to Maanzo, the united opposition has settled on Wiper’s Kalonzo Musyoka as its presidential candidate, with the deputy president position earmarked for Western Kenya. He argued that with Mt. Kenya leaders stepping down from the top national positions, it is reasonable for the coalition to back a DCP candidate for the Nairobi governorship.
“As we support Gachagua in securing the Nairobi governor’s seat, we must also stand with our friends from Western Kenya. That is why we are supporting Edwin Sifuna for senator,” he added.
On the question of Embakasi East MP Babu Owino’s ambitions, Maanzo said the legislator is welcome in the opposition fold but may find it difficult to challenge DCP for the gubernatorial ticket at this time. “He is free to contest alongside other candidates within the united opposition,” he noted.
Maanzo further disclosed that out of Nairobi’s 17 parliamentary seats, one has been left for the government’s side while 16 are to be shared between Wiper and DCP. He projected that of the 85 MCA seats, the opposition is confident of winning at least 75.
However, the senator pushed back against the circulating narrative that Gachagua had been guaranteed 50 percent of Nairobi’s elective positions. “That has not been agreed upon by the united opposition,” he clarified. “What Gachagua said was from his heart. It was simply political talk. But he knows that if the opposition is divided, President Ruto will win. He cannot afford to create division.”
Maanzo insisted that the final decisions will emerge from structured negotiations aimed at harmonizing the coalition’s electoral strategy across the country. “We will streamline everything as the opposition. All matters on sharing elective seats will be harmonized.”
His remarks suggest that while the coalition has not finalized a formal agreement, momentum is building toward a comprehensive pre-election pact in Nairobi—one heavily influenced by broader national power-sharing concessions ahead of the 2027 presidential contest.
