Mt. Kenya UDA MPs demand SG Hassan Omar resignation, threaten to leave party

Members of Parliament allied to the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) from the Mt. Kenya region have intensified pressure on the party’s Secretary General Hassan Omar, demanding his immediate resignation over what they termed as “dangerous” and “divisive” remarks targeting the Kikuyu community.

Speaking at a press address on Wednesday, the lawmakers, led by Kiambaa MP John Njuguna Wanjiku, Thika Town MP Alice Ng’ang’a and Laikipia Woman Representative Jane Kagiri, warned that they would petition the party leadership and even reconsider their membership in UDA should Omar fail to step down.

The leaders dismissed the apology and clarification issued by the UDA Secretary General on Sunday, insisting that the remarks had already caused damage and heightened ethnic tensions.

“We flatly reject the statement of clarification and apology issued by the UDA Secretary General Hassan Omar on Sunday. An apology cannot erase or excuse calculated ethnic profiling,” Kagiri said.

“The inflammatory remarks made by Omar in Mombasa were targeted, vilifying and scapegoated the Kikuyu community under the guise of addressing historical land injustices, thus making them dangerous, reckless and explicitly designed to incite ethnic animosity.”

Kagiri said leaders would not allow any Kenyan community to be profiled or targeted based on ethnicity, stressing that every citizen has a constitutional right to live, work and own property anywhere in the country.

“Kenya is a constitutional democracy where every citizen has the right to live, work, own property and do business anywhere across the 47 counties without fear of being targeted,” she added.

The lawmakers maintained that they were not interested in further explanations from Omar, but instead wanted his immediate exit from the powerful party position.

“As leaders we demand immediate resignation; we do not want explanations. We have rejected the half-hearted apology, we demand nothing less than the immediate unconditional resignation of Hassan Omar as the Secretary General of the UDA party,” Kagiri stated.

MP Wanjiku warned that the Mt. Kenya leaders were prepared to escalate the matter to President William Ruto if no action is taken against Omar.

“We’ll even petition the President himself to make sure that if Omar doesn’t resign, we cannot continue to be members of UDA if he continues to be the Secretary General,” said Wanjiku.

“Even members of our own community have resigned because of profiling certain communities, so this must be the decision of UDA.”

On her part, MP Ng’ang’a said Hassan Omar had lost the confidence of a section of UDA members and leaders.

“As members of UDA, we’re not comfortable if he continues sitting as our Secretary General. We’re telling you enough is enough; pack your things, leave our party, we have other competent people who can take us to the next level,” she said.

“As we approach the 2027 elections, we cannot have you as our Secretary General if you don’t even know how to carry yourself or speak to your members and the rest of the Republic.”

The latest fallout exposes widening cracks within the ruling party, with the Mt. Kenya bloc now openly revolting against one of UDA’s top officials over remarks they claim promote ethnic profiling at a time the country is already entering an early political season ahead of the 2027 General Election.

In his apology on Sunday, Omar clarification the controversial remarks saying they were misinterpreted and taken out of context, insisting that he did not intend to demean or target any community.

He said his comments were made within the context of his long-standing advocacy on historical land injustices affecting the Coast region, and were not meant to promote “division, hostility, or animosity” among communities.

“My comments were never intended to demean, offend, or target any community,” he said.

“To all those who may have been offended, I sincerely regret the misunderstanding and extend my apology.”

Omar faced backlash over the comments he made during the recent nationwide fuel strike protests, during which he accused sections of the transport sector of bias and warned that action would be taken against leaders he said were inciting unrest.