Irungu Kang’ata - It will not end well for UDA in Murang’a

Murang’a Governor Irungu Kang’ata has opined that President William Ruto’s party, the United Democratic Alliance (UDA), is starting at a catastrophic defeat in the region in the 2027 General Election.

According to Kang’ata, the current political shifts are leading against President Ruto’s party and his political camp is losing support in the region.

He alluded to a meeting he says he had with President Ruto a year ago to align some political strategies that would prop up the party in the region, which he says was not fruitful, and a lot has since changed for the worse.

I shared my mind on how I think we can push them ahead, we did not agree on those tactics so I just kept quiet and now that it’s one year,” he said speaking to Citizen TV on Sunday.

“I have seen how the politics is going on, and I think I am now convinced it will not end well for the UDA party, at least in my region.”

The Governor added that he has been fighting heaping pressure from his supporters, forcing him to make a defiant stance against President Ruto’s administration.

“When I became a governor, my political strategy was to be quiet, to concentrate on my mandate,” he said.

“It reaches a stage when the president is in Murang’a, you are put into a corner where you have to say something, you are being nudged to make a choice to announce your statement, and if you don’t, people start saying you are not a good person.”

This comes hours after Kang’ata announced that he will not seek a re-election for the county gubernatorial position on a UDA ticket in the 2027 polls.

He said that recent political developments have created a perception of politics shifting toward intolerance, a move he argues erodes the gains of upholding democracy.

He has however clarified that he is not exiting UDA until 2027, and will soon make a formal announcement on the party he will join to advance his political ambitions.

The move comes as a blow to President Ruto as he banks on the vote-rich Mt.Kenya region and Kang’ata’s exit might cripple his potential to win support from the region.