Save for normal fidgeting and occasional distant look on Murang’a governor’s demeanor as he sat on the left of President William Ruto who had visited Njiiri High School on Sunday May 3, 2026, nothing suggested that the two had a serious political fallout in the offing.
After the two left the function, Dr Irungu Kang’ata called a press conference in Nairobi where he declared that the President’s ruling United Democratic Alliance (UDA) was unpopular in the Mt Kenya region.
President William Ruto with Murang'a Governor Irungu Kang'ata at Njiiri High School in Murang'a on May 3, 2026.
Photo credit: Pool
Dr Kang’ata announced that he would not defend his seat in the 2027 General Election using the UDA that sponsored him to win in 2022.
For the past one year, Dr Kang’ata has increasingly been under pressure from the opposition actors in Mt Kenya region that he was running out of time and favour in a region that is strongly anti-UDA.
Nyeri Governor Mr Mutahi Kahiga has severally warned Dr Kang’ata that “it does not matter how transformative you are in your service delivery but if you found yourself on the wrong side of Mt Kenya voters’ passions you will end up punished."
“This is a monumental decision that Dr Kang’ata has made. Mt Kenya appears gone from President Ruto’s control. Opposition mindset appears to have become deep-rooted in the region and the kind of negative passions prevailing spell trouble for those who insist on remaining stubborn. Dr Kang’ata has for sometime appeared to have taken note. Let us now see how it boils down now that he has acted,” said Wachira Kiago, the chairman of the Kikuyu Council of Elders.
The governor’s move has since threatened to ignite a fight-back from State machinery, with National Assembly Majority leader Kimani Ichung’wa threatening to spill the beans about undisclosed acts of impropriety on the person of Dr Kang’ata.
Dr Kang’ata later in the night appeared on Citizen TV where he revealed that his differences with the President, UDA and the government started in July 2025 and at the same time urged Mr Ichung’wa to cease public theatrics but instead, seek him out and have a conversation.
Murang’a Governor Irungu Kang’ata ditches UDA
“I had highlighted to the president key issues that I thought were going wrong. I was of the opinion that he was mismanaging Mt Kenya politics through political intolerance and failure to give manufacturing, education and health the rightful priorities,” Dr Kang’ata said, adding that the President did not appear enthusiastic to take heed.
The governor said the growth of opposition politics in Mt Kenya region was government’s self-inflicted damage.
“On the part of Mr Ichung’wa who claims political hypocrisy on my part, I will not get dragged into a public tiff. He is my friend and he can seek me for a conversation. Some of the matters he is alluding to are very deep and I can only explain to him one-on-one,” he said.
Known for his knack of keeping voters guessing, Dr Kang’ata has formed a pattern of a one-term politician in seats he got elected to. He was first elected a councillor in 2002 but did not defend the seat in 2007 when he contested and won the Kiharu Constituency seat in 2013. He then vied for Murang’a Senator in 2017 and in 2022, became Murang’a governor.
In 2024, his named was among those named as probable appointees for Deputy President following the impeachment of Rigathi Gachagua . However, President Ruto ended up picking Prof Kithure Kindiki .
Murang’a County Governor Irungu Kang’ata addresses the media in Nairobi on May 3, 2026.
Photo credit: Dennis Onsongo | Nation Media Group
“My only interest is to defend my seat in 2027, those other thoughts are not in me,” he asserted.
In his now famous open letter of December 30, 2020, Dr Kanga’ata warned the President Uhuru Kenyatta that the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) that the government was pursuing for purposes of a referendum was unpopular in Mt Kenya and was bound to flop, saying he did not wish to be counted as a casualty in that sinking ship.
That letter earned him the Kang’ata wa barua (the letterman) moniker and which served him well in his gubernatorial campaigns that saw him triumph by garnering 246,849 votes against Mr Kamau’s 84,707. Mr Joseph Wairagu garnered 39,028 while Mr Irungu Nyakera got 19,765.
Pundits were quick to point out that Dr Kanga’ata was using the BBI issue as an excuse to jump ship from President Kenyatta’s Jubilee Party and join Dr Ruto’s UDA — a move that paid dividends in the 2022 vote.
This appears to be the same tactic that Dr Kang’ata is applying in his current political behaviour where despite his announcement that he was set to ditch UDA, he declared that he will remain dutiful to the President.
But in a qualifier that might also imply that Dr Kang’ata is this time round attracting denied attention or benefit, he said he has not slammed the door shut against the President and the UDA.
“Who knows? May be the UDA might change in the more than a year left and address my concerns being: Invest more on political persuasion and seduction as opposed to coercion and violence as well as prioritise manufacturing, healthcare and education…My differences with the president is ideological and not personal,” Dr Kang’ata said.
As he charts his way forward, Dr Kang’ata said he would remain friends and loyal to President Kenyatta and his government until the official campaign period was announced when he will announce his party of choice or even contest as an independent candidate.
