Is Kalonzo Musyoka (2nd from left)the United opposition Presidential candidate?….Photo /courtesy
NAIROBI, Kenya (IP)
Former President Uhuru Kenyatta appears to have dusted off his passport, phonebook and long-dormant political instincts, embarking on what analysts describe as a carefully choreographed comeback tour disguised as a series of “friendly chats” with Africa’s political elite.
Over the past week, Kenyatta has held high-profile meetings with former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Rwandan President Paul Kagame and Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema — an itinerary that looks less like retirement and more like a Pan-African Avengers: Assemble briefing.
Also impossible to miss was former Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka, who appeared in nearly every photograph, hovering in the background like a political watermark that refuses to be cropped out.
Political analyst and executive director of Citizens for Good Governance NGO Phillip Wanyonyi Wekesa said the meetings were anything but accidental.
“This is not a coincidence or African nostalgia tourism,” Wekesa said. “Uhuru is very deliberately re-branding Kalonzo as a continental statesman — not just a local opposition figure who shows up during elections and disappears during rain seasons.”
According to Wekesa, the optics are doing the talking, even when the statements are not.
“When you sit Kalonzo next to Kagame and Ramaphosa, you are telling Kenyans, ‘This man is not just opposition, he is export-quality,’” he said. “It’s soft power, but with very hard political intentions.”
Behind the smiles, handshakes and carefully angled photographs, analysts say Kenyatta is quietly signaling that his political sabbatical is officially over — and that President William Ruto’s second-term ambitions may soon face turbulence beyond the familiar Rift Valley comfort zone.
Political commentator Mercy Achieng said the meetings resemble political chess more than diplomacy.
“Uhuru is playing international checkers while Ruto is busy playing local draughts,” Achieng said. “He’s building goodwill beyond Kenya’s borders, knowing very well that perception matters — especially when elections come with diplomatic whispers.”
University lecturer and governance expert Dr. Samuel Kiptoon said the strategy appears aimed at redefining Kenya’s post-Ruto political order before it even arrives.
“If Uhuru successfully unites the opposition under a credible face like Kalonzo, Ruto’s strategists may discover that influence doesn’t travel very well beyond the Rift Valley,” Kiptoon said. “Outside that region, the ground becomes surprisingly slippery.”
None of the leaders involved has publicly endorsed any Kenyan political ambitions, but pundits insist the message is unmistakable: Uhuru is back, Kalonzo is being upgraded, and the 2027 race may no longer be a solo sprint.
As one political observer quipped, “These may be courtesy calls — but they are courtesy calls with consequences.”
For now, State House remains officially unbothered. Unofficially, however, analysts say Kenyatta’s sudden diplomatic enthusiasm is unlikely to go unnoticed by those currently holding power.
After all, in Kenyan politics, when a retired president starts collecting African presidents like frequent-flyer miles, someone somewhere is about to miss a connecting flight.
