Former Trade and Industry Cabinet minister Mukhisa Kituyi has explained his decision to step down as spokesperson of the United Opposition, saying the coalition failed to build a joint secretariat and struggled to agree on shared political positions.
Kituyi said he initially invested time and resources in creating an office for the opposition, but the plan collapsed after member parties chose to operate through their separate party secretariats.
Speaking on JKL on Wednesday, Kituyi said he took the assignment seriously after being appointed spokesperson and head of the United Opposition Secretariat in September 2025.
“When I was designated spokesperson of the opposition and head of secretariat, I set about trying to establish a secretariat,” he said.
He said he went as far as making his former political party offices available for the proposed arrangement and also began putting furniture in place for the secretariat.
However, the coalition failed to settle on a common office, forcing the abandonment of plans for a separate facility.
“So this effort failed even if we had paid deposit on subsequent facility we had to abandon that as an idea or deferred indefinitely,” he said.
Kituyi said the failure to establish a working secretariat was only part of a wider problem facing the opposition, arguing that its leaders had not matched their public calls for unity with practical cooperation.
“We were not walking the talk,” he said.
According to Kituyi, opposition leaders still want to unite behind one presidential candidate to challenge President William Ruto in the 2027 General Election. However, he said reaching agreement on issues and presenting a common position had remained difficult.
“When we discuss issues that we take a common position, it has been very difficult to have everybody sign up to a common position,” Kituyi said.
He said the parties often preferred to issue their own statements or hold press briefings involving only two or three members instead of agreeing on positions that could be presented jointly by the wider opposition.
“I thought I was just like a cog in the wheel of persons who want to appropriate the space of talking to the media about what they think and what they promise on the behalf of their parties,” he said.
Kituyi said he therefore felt his time would be better spent helping the opposition develop a clear political programme before the coalition settles on its presidential candidate.
He said he had intentionally kept away from seeking an elective position and viewed his role as providing a neutral hand that could help the different parties identify issues they could rally around.
Rather than continue as the coalition's spokesperson, Kituyi said he opted to work with the Linda Mwananchi team, which he described as “a fresh breath of air”.
He said his focus would now be on helping the movement develop a detailed political agenda that could later be presented to leaders within the wider United Opposition.
“So I thought I find more use for my time helping to work with the team that is building the content of Linda Mwananchi and then sharing this with the other leaders from the United opposition,” he said.
Kituyi, however, made it clear that leaving the spokesperson position did not amount to abandoning the opposition.
“I’m still part of the opposition,” he said, adding that he had “free[d] my hand” to support Linda Mwananchi while hoping that the ideas developed by the movement would help bring opposition leaders closer together.
Kituyi was appointed spokesperson and head of the United Opposition Secretariat on September 3, 2025, with the coalition giving him the responsibility of coordinating its communication.
He is now working with Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna's Linda Mwananchi movement. Sifuna welcomed Kituyi into the team on September 9, 2026, describing him as a “great addition” as the opposition-backed movement prepares for the 2027 General Election.