Jubilee Party NEC member Wanja Maina has dismissed claims that the United Opposition is on the brink of collapse, saying internal disagreements are normal “teething problems” associated with coalition-building and political positioning.
Speaking during an interview on Radio Generation, Maina said expectations that the opposition should always speak with one voice were unrealistic in a competitive political environment.
“When you talk about the unity of the opposition, there is always that assumption that we should be a monolith, that we should agree all the time,” Maina said. “That’s a very high expectation because politics and political participation will always have contestations.”
She added that what is currently playing out within the United Opposition is “nothing peculiar or unique or outside of the norm,” but rather the kind of negotiations expected when leaders attempt to build broad coalitions.
Maina accused the government of deliberately amplifying internal opposition disagreements, arguing that the ruling side feels threatened.
“Our detractors, and especially the government, which is very intimidated by us, have been fanning the fire and trying to amplify our challenges,” she said.
However, she acknowledged that there have also been “elements of bad faith” within the opposition, citing instances where parties held parallel National Delegates Conferences on the same day.
Despite these tensions, Maina was clear that the situation does not amount to a breakup. “That is not to say that it’s all breaking loose or that there is a divorce,” she noted, describing the current phase as “people attempting to talk” and find common ground.
She emphasized that Kenya’s political future lies in coalition politics, saying, “Moving forward, Kenya will be a country of coalitions. We are all ambitious, no doubt.”
She also urged restraint among opposition leaders, pointing to conflicting public statements on when a presidential candidate will be named for the 2027 elections.
“One leader said within this quarter we shall have a presidential candidate, another said towards the election in 2027. Those are two different chapters of the book, yet the United Opposition has not decided,” she said.
Turning to Jubilee Party’s position, Maina said the party remains focused on substance rather than theatrics. She criticized what she termed “sloganeering, dancing in trucks and insulting people,” arguing that such politics no longer resonates with Kenyans. “By now we have seen that sloganeering does not help much,” she said.
Maina said Jubilee is instead offering policy alternatives, particularly on education, accusing the government of “going backwards” instead of improving existing systems.
“We can play politics with different things, but we can’t play politics with education,” she said, adding that Jubilee’s calm, issue-based approach is increasingly being appreciated by the public.
