By Eddah Waithaka
Kalonzo Musyoka officially launched his 2027 presidential campaign at Uhuru Park on Tuesday, delivering a blistering critique of President William Ruto’s government and promising to “restore hope and stability” to a hurting nation.
Accepting the nomination from the Wiper Patriotic Front, Musyoka framed the next election as a patriotic mission to rescue the country from an administration he accused of bankrupting, silencing, and betraying Kenyans.
“I accept it with a full and grateful heart, without reservation and with only one obligation, the obligation to devote every effort of body, mind and spirit to lead this exceptional Patriotic Front to victory,” Musyoka declared.
He launched a multi-pronged attack on the Ruto administration, listing what he termed the government’s failures.“Today, Kenyans are overtaxed, underpaid, and overburdened,” he stated, asserting that the government’s “Bottom-Up Economics” model is actually “bottomless corruption and top-down greed.”
He called the Affordable Housing Levy a “conduit to steal from Kenyans” and promised to scrap it.
Musyoka also accused the regime of institutional capture, claiming it has “impeached” Parliament and attempted to control the media and judiciary.
He leveled a severe foreign policy accusation, stating the government “sells arms and gets illegal gold in return,” thereby escalating conflicts in Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
His most emotionally charged remarks concerned the youth. He honored the Gen-Z protesters who demonstrated in June 2024 and condemned the state’s response.
“Their voices… were met not with dialogue, but with bullets and intimidation,” he said. “A government that silences its own children has lost the right to lead.”
A Call for Ballot Box Retribution
Musyoka channeled this outrage into a forceful call to action, directly echoing the protesters’ slogan.“Ruto ordered for you to be shot not in the head but in the legs because you dared to exercise your constitutional rights,” he told the crowd.
“I urge all of you here to SHOOT RUTO AT THE BALLOT.”He then outlined his vision for a “Patriotic Administration,” promising a 24-hour economy, lower fuel and electricity costs, and the revival of stalled projects like the High Grand Falls Dam.
He vowed to create technology hubs and ensure “professionalism not Rutoism” would secure jobs for the youth.“The Wiper Patriotic Front’s Director of Elections will not become your Chairman of the Kenya Revenue Authority,” he pledged, in a clear jab at current state appointments.
The event drew a coalition of opposition leaders, whom Musyoka acknowledged as “Special Observers.”
The presence of Second Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, Martha Karua, Eugene Wamalwa, and Speaker Emeritus JB Muturi signaled a potentially unified front against President Ruto.
Concluding his speech, Musyoka rallied the nation, shouting, “WANTAM!” and “KOMBOA KENYA!”—Swahili for “Finish him!” and “Liberate Kenya!”
“When we rise together, no government can suppress us,” he said. “When we rise together, Kenya will rise again.”
