Signs of disunity are beginning to emerge within Kenya’s united opposition after Kathiani MP Robert Mbui openly criticized Jubilee Secretary General Jeremiah Kioni for what he termed as “divisive remarks”.
During a TV interview on Tuesday morning breakfast show, September 30, 2025, Mbui warned that the opposition risks losing ground if its leaders would continue turning their guns on each other rather than focusing on the government. He noted that Kioni, once a consistent figure in the struggle — including his role during the Gen Z protests in 2024 — has lately been distant from the movement, yet quick to attack its leadership.
“The journey ahead requires unity, not reckless statements that undermine the coalition,” Robert Mbui cautioned, adding that public disagreements could weaken the credibility of the opposition as an alternative government.
The dispute comes at a delicate moment when opposition parties are working to consolidate their voice ahead of future political realignments. Kioni had accused the “coalition”, the united opposition, of sidelining former Interior CS Fred Matiang’i and even suggested that ex-Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua was quietly working with the current Ruto regime.
But Kathiani Mp, who’s also the Minority leader in the national assembly, dismissed the allegations as misleading, arguing that Gachagua’s impeachment saga in 2024 left him too bitter to cooperate with the administration that humiliated him. “To suggest that he is working with the current regime is absurd and a height of misinformation,” the legislator said.
Political analysts note that such public spats risk eroding the image of a unified opposition, raising very serious aspersions on whether the coalition can sustain cohesion as it positions itself for the 2027 elections. For many Kenyans who rallied behind the Gen Z movement and the promise of a broad-based opposition, the growing cracks are a worrying signal.
