People’s Liberation Party leader Martha Karua has firmly declared that she will not accept a running mate position in the upcoming 2027 general elections, insisting she remains a presidential aspirant while pledging full support for a united opposition candidate if she is not nominated.
Speaking on Radio Generation on Friday, Karua reaffirmed her presidential ambition, describing herself as a “standing president” poised to assume the role of Kenya’s chief executive.
“I have already said, and my colleagues know I'm not willing to be anybody's running mate, but in the event I'm not nominated, I will be willing to 100% support whoever is selected in accordance with the systems we are going to put in place, ”she said.
Karua emphasized that her stance does not signal reluctance to support opposition unity, which she described as essential to defeating what she calls “a thieving regime.”
She noted the current political climate has been marked by insecurity, police collusion with violent groups, and political intimidation.
“The people want that unity. That's why you see them coming out in those numbers. If you listen to us in the rallies, one point that excites everybody is the pledge for unity, because that's the only hope with a thieving regime like this one, with a rogue regime that manipulates elections, manipulates security, to create a state of fear and anarchy,” she said. “A people united will never be defeated.”
Karua also criticized the current security situation, highlighting cases where police officers allegedly collaborated with violent groups.
“Even today, the police are giving a blind eye when those offenses are being committed. But this time, the collaboration between police and goons is so open that you see them working together,” she said.
She described rogue police officers as worse than ordinary criminals, noting, “Even a policeman who shoots at an innocent, peaceful crowd or into a crowd and ends up hurting an innocent person…he is trained, and he knows what he should or shouldn't do, and he’s also abusing the weapons we have bought for him for our own defense. Yes, he turns them into murder weapons.”
Karua has a distinguished history in Kenyan politics. She contested the presidency in 2013 under the NARC-Kenya party, finishing sixth with 43,881 votes, or roughly 0.36% of the total.
In the 2022 general elections, she was named Raila Odinga’s running mate under the Azimio la Umoja–One Kenya Coalition Party, becoming the first woman to vie for the nation’s second-highest office on a major party ticket.
