Ndegwa Njiru likens current opposition to the old Kibaki-Wamalwa coalition
By Luke Oluoch, August 25, 2025Lawyer Ndegwa Njiru has drawn parallels between the current opposition force and that started by former president Mwai Kibaki, Kijana Wamalwa, and Charity Ngilu that ended KANU’s long hold on power.
Taking to his X page on Monday, August 25, 2025, the lawyer stated that while the closing ranks of the opposition politicians then ushered in a new era by sweeping Daniel Moi and KANU out of power, the current crop of politicians would achieve a similar feat by dethroning William Ruto.
The normative coalition was started by Mwai Kibaki in the run-up to the 2002 general elections. Kibaki, who was then a member of the National Alliance Party of Kenya, closed ranks with Ngilu and Wamalwa. The outfit grew in leaps and bounds with the arrival of Raila Odinga and Kalonzo Musyoka, morphing it into the famous National Alliance Rainbow Coalition (NARC).
On a mission
“And 23 years later, history is about to repeat itself, @rigathi, @skmusyoka, @EugeneLWamalwa, @MarthaKarua, @Justinmuturi are at it again. They are on a mission of VANQUISHING Kasongo from the Statehouse through the WANTAM/KOMBOA KENYA MOVEMENT. Rest in power, Kijana Wamalwa,” his statement read.
His recent remarks come after he cast doubts on ODM leader Raila Odinga’s role in the 2002 general election.
In a statement on his X account on Sunday, August 17, 2025, Ndegwa argued that Raila’s famed Kibaki Tosha declaration did not make the late President Mwai Kibaki take over the government.
“The notion that Raila Odinga made Mwai Kibaki a president by declaring ‘Kibaki Tosha’ must be debunked. Raila had no other option after his strategy to secure the KANU presidential ticket failed,” the statement read.
He argued that Raila’s move was more of a political necessity than an act of kingmaking.
“Raila left KANU on October 5, 2002, and declared ‘Kibaki Tosha’ just 73 days before the general elections on December 27, 2002. He had to join the political coalition already formed by Mwai Kibaki, Wamalwa Kijana, and Charity Ngilu,” he argued.
According to Njiru, the Rainbow Coalition was already taking shape before Raila’s entry, and the momentum for change had been building across the country.
“In reality, Raila’s ‘Kibaki Tosha’ announcement was merely a tactic. Kibaki would have won the 2002 elections even without this endorsement,” the lawyer noted.
This revisionist aimed to correct what Njiru views as political myth-making around Raila’s role in Kenya’s democratic transition.