People’s Renaissance Party leader and Saboti MP Caleb Amisi has urged retired President Uhuru Kenyatta to take a back seat.
He said this would give the opposition leaders to decisively confront President William Ruto ahead of the 2027 General Election.
Amisi said while financial support from Kenyatta would be welcome, the former president should assume a mentoring role and give the opposition space to shape its own political strategy.
He said this would also deny President Ruto an opportunity to build his campaign around attacks on Kenyatta and the so-called dynasty narrative.
“Last time, he rallied women, the mama mboga, against Uhuru using the dynasty tag. We don’t want him to do the same, and that is why we are asking him to take a back seat at the moment,” Amisi said.
He said veteran politicians such as Kenyatta could contribute by mentoring younger leaders and offering strategic guidance without taking centre stage in opposition politics.
Amisi’s remarks come amid renewed debate over Kenyatta’s role in opposition politics following his continued public interventions on the 2022 presidential election and the country’s political direction.
Kenyatta recently handed over the leadership of the Jubilee Party to former Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i.
Amisi said he was working with a growing coalition of liberal political forces united by a desire to challenge President Ruto in the 2027 elections.
He said the emerging cooperation with parties aligned to Linda Mwananchi was intended to bring together leaders and movements seeking to offer Kenyans an alternative to the Kenya Kwanza administration.
“We are collaborating with every party that wants Ruto to go home in 2027. There is no middle ground,” Amisi told journalists shortly after meeting a section of aspirants at Village Park Hotel in Keumbu, Kisii.
Amisi was in Kisii meeting various groups as he stepped up his campaign for a broad opposition alliance ahead of the elections.
He later met women at Kisii Culture Centre, where he said he would work with Jubilee Party leader Fred Matiang’i to challenge the Ruto administration.
Amisi also praised Matiang’i, citing his record in government as evidence of his ability to deliver when entrusted with public responsibility.
He said Matiang’i had demonstrated a strong work ethic and left a visible imprint during his years in government, particularly when he served as Education and later Interior Cabinet Secretary.
“Matiang’i has a record. He served this country as a Cabinet Secretary, and there are things Kenyans can point to and say this was done during his tenure,” Amisi said.
The Saboti MP also accused President Ruto of running the country without adequately addressing challenges facing ordinary Kenyans.
He dismissed the President’s claims that the opposition lacked an agenda, saying the criticism was intended to divert attention from the Government’s record.
“The President cannot tell Kenyans that the opposition has no agenda when the people themselves are demanding answers on the issues affecting their lives,” Amisi said.
He accused the administration of spending too much time attacking political opponents instead of focusing on the economy, employment and the rising cost of living.
“Our agenda is very clear. We are talking about jobs, the cost of living, healthcare, education and accountability. These are not slogans; these are the issues Kenyans wake up to every day,” he said.
Amisi said the opposition should be judged by the issues it raises and the alternative policies it presents rather than political labels.
“If the Government believes we have no agenda, let it engage us on the issues instead of dismissing us. Kenyans are intelligent enough to listen to both sides and make their own judgment,” he said.
The Saboti MP has increasingly positioned himself as an advocate for a united opposition, arguing that rival parties must overcome individual interests if they are to mount a common political challenge.
He has also opposed attempts to select a joint opposition presidential candidate through private negotiations among party leaders.
Instead, he has proposed a public nomination process involving delegates drawn from across the country to choose the coalition’s presidential flag bearer.
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