Manyora identified former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua and Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna as the only people currently capable of defeating Ruto at the ballot in 2027.
The pairing is an unusual one on the surface. Gachagua and Sifuna come from entirely different political traditions, draw from different voter bases, and carry very different public images.
Yet Manyora sees something in both of them that he does not see in the other names being floated around Kenya's crowded pre-election landscape.
His case for Gachagua rests on the former Deputy President's ability to mobilise Mt Kenya, a region whose votes remain among the most decisive in any presidential contest.
Since his dramatic impeachment, Gachagua has positioned himself as the community's aggrieved champion, and there is a segment of that electorate that has responded to that narrative with genuine emotion and loyalty.
Sifuna's inclusion is the more eyebrow raising of the two. The Nairobi Senator is known for his sharp tongue, his commanding presence on a podium, and his ability to connect with urban working class voters who feel abandoned by the political establishment.
Manyora appears to see in him a rare combination of grassroots energy and political fearlessness that could translate into something formidable given the right conditions.
Notably absent from Manyora's list are names that have dominated much of the 2027 conversation, including Fred Matiang'i and Kalonzo Musyoka.
In Manyora's reading of the political map, the road to ending Ruto's presidency runs through just two men. Whether either of them can actually close that road is the question Kenya will spend the next 446 days debating.
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