NAIROBI, Kenya- Kirinyaga Woman Representative Njeri Maina has warned that operatives allegedly enlisted by the National Intelligence Service could undermine efforts to unite the opposition behind a single presidential candidate.
Maina, a close ally of DCP leader Rigathi Gachagua, said opposition leaders must carefully examine emerging political conversations and alliances to avoid falling into what she described as a government-designed trap.
“In regard to the political class, NIS enlisted several operatives whom I fear might eventually sink the united opposition if we fall into a trap that is premeditated by the government,” she said.
The legislator did not identify the alleged operatives or provide evidence demonstrating their links to the intelligence agency.
NIS and the government had not publicly responded to her remarks by the time of publication.
Her warning comes as opposition leaders hold talks aimed at selecting one candidate to challenge President William Ruto in the 2027 General Election.
Several opposition figures have expressed interest in the presidency, raising questions about how the coalition will manage competing ambitions and avoid divisions during the selection process.
Maina said the months leading to the nomination of a single opposition candidate would be difficult and could test the unity of the emerging coalition.
“May the good Lord have mercy on us because the months leading to the single presidential candidate will be the longest,” she said.
Government communications questioned
Maina linked her concerns to changes in government communications following the youth-led protests of 2024.
She said the scale of the demonstrations caught the government and senior political leaders by surprise, after some officials initially dismissed the participants and the issues they were advocating.
“No one in government saw the 2024 Gen-Z protests and their scale coming,” Maina said.
She referred to the “Project 22” WhatsApp group, saying members of the governing establishment scrambled to develop responses to the political crisis triggered by the protests.
According to Maina, the government subsequently invested heavily in communications, involving social-media influencers, media personalities, traditional news organisations, digital platforms and community groups.
She said some of the narratives emerging from those spaces appeared coordinated and supportive of the government.
“Some are hardliners, but some haven’t fully morphed in any noticeable manner,” she said.
Maina further suggested that political content on TikTok had been suppressed and that anti-government hashtags and search-engine content had been restricted through arrangements involving technology companies.
She did not provide documentary evidence of such arrangements. TikTok and the companies she referenced broadly had not responded to her assertions.
The lawmaker also argued that provisions capable of controlling online political expression had been introduced through legislation spread across different Acts of Parliament. She did not identify the specific provisions.
Maina said opposition leaders should remain alert to political narratives that appear spontaneous but may reflect broader attempts to influence their decisions.
“There are times when conversations appear spontaneous until you notice key patterns that scream government machinery,” she said.
Her remarks add a new dimension to the debate over opposition unity by suggesting that internal disagreements could be influenced by actors working to prevent the coalition from agreeing on a joint presidential candidate.
