By Mandere Onyinkwa
Former Interior Cabinet Secretary and Jubilee deputy party leader Dr. Fred Matiang’i has dismissed growing speculation of divisions within the opposition.
Instead, he insisted on live television that the United Opposition coalition remains intact and focused.
Speaking on NTV, Matiang’i brushed off assertions that he is at loggerheads with DCP leader Rigathi Gachagua, saying he was “not aware” of any such fallout.
He described the ongoing public debate as an exaggeration driven by over-analysis of normal political disagreements.
“We chose democracy, and democracy means people express themselves differently. People will ask questions of anyone, including me, and that means nothing,” he said.
Matiang’i said former President Uhuru Kenyatta’s recent remarks urging Jubilee members to avoid personality politics had been misinterpreted.
“My party leader did not say ‘stop attacking so-and-so.’ He simply asked members to avoid petty politics and instead focus on party principles and coalition building.”
Responding to complaints by Gachagua that Jubilee members were undermining DCP and fuelling confusion among supporters, Matiang’i was blunt: “Do you want me to be very frank with you? Those statements are totally inconsequential.”
He accused critics of spreading claims not backed by facts, including allegations that Jubilee had facilitated defections in the recent Narok by-election.
“Some of those statements are fallacious. I cannot lose sleep over opinions,” he said.
Matiang’i emphasised that the United Opposition is “a home state, not a house,” where individual parties remain free to run their own activities and even compete for members.
What matters, he said, is the shared direction and vision.
“We are not the same people and we don’t have the same backgrounds. Building unity takes patience, understanding, and engagement,” he noted.
“This is politics, not a boys’ choir where everyone sings the same note.”
With less than two years to the next General Election, he maintained that the coalition’s structure is already in place.
“The United Opposition house is in order,” he said, pointing to the agreed leadership structure, with Martha Karua and Kalonzo Musyoka as conveners and Dr. Mukhisa Kituyi as official spokesperson.
Matiang’i insisted that all coalition communication follows established processes, adding: “There are certain things I cannot say until they are sanctioned. We have institutions, and we must respect them.”