Leaders who have ditched the ruling UDA from left: Gatundu South MP Gabriel Kagombe, Kiambu Governor Kimani Wamatangi, Lamu Woman Rep Muthoni Marube, Murang’a Governor Irungu Kang’ata and Nyandarua Governor Kiarie Badilisha.
A growing number of Mt Kenya politicians who helped President William Ruto and his United Democratic Alliance (UDA) win the region in 2022 are abandoning the ruling party, in an exodus threatening to reshape the region’s alliances ahead of the 2027 General Election.
The latest to jump ship is Gatundu South MP Gabriel Kagombe, who says he can no longer convince voters to support Dr Ruto’s re-election bid as hostility towards UDA grows in the region.
“The political bush is on fire. It is now an emergency and survival is the mode. My constituents are screaming at the mention of Dr Ruto and UDA. This is politics and it is the mating season as formations pursue coalitions. It is normal and we have to live with it,” he said.
Mr Kagombe’s departure follows that of Murang’a Governor Irungu Kang’ata and his Nyandarua counterpart Kiarie Badilisha, who have moved to former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua’s Democracy for Citizens Party (DCP), while Kiambu Governor Kimani Wamatangi has ruled out seeking re-election on a UDA ticket.
For Mr Kagombe, the decision is less about ideology than survival. He said he would return to his constituents and explain his decision, including what he described as “UDA and Dr Ruto’s lies in the Mountain” and growing dissatisfaction with Mt Kenya’s interests in the broad-based government.
He said the turning point came during the broad-based government retreat in Naivasha on Monday when Kisii Governor Simba Arati openly declared that the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) wanted the Deputy President’s position.
Mr Kagombe said the remarks sent a chilling message to UDA leaders from Mt Kenya that their political arrangement with President Ruto could be ending.
“You can imagine the feelings when Mr Arati demanded the seat occupied by our own Prof Kithure Kindiki as he sat there. It was distasteful. The President did not accept and did not deny. That means he is interested in that debate. It is audit time and now for me, I have to flee,” he said.
Gatundu South MP Gabriel Kagombe.
The Gatundu South legislator said politics was ultimately a game of interests, survival and acceptability, making it necessary for politicians to move towards formations supported by their voters.
His departure is significant because he was among MPs from the region who backed the impeachment of former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua. Mr Gachagua’s removal two years ago has since become a defining fault line in Mt Kenya politics, with the region increasingly testing politicians on their loyalty to the Mountain.
Mr Kagombe and other politicians seeking a political home outside UDA face the difficult task of rebuilding credibility with voters who remain hostile to the ruling party and, in some cases, opposed to Gachagua’s removal.
Murang’a Governor Irungu Kang’ata was the first sitting Mt Kenya governor to formally abandon UDA for Mr Gachagua’s DCP.
The UDA governor was received by Mr Gachagua after announcing his move, marking a significant break with the party under which he was elected in 2022. His departure also gave momentum to efforts to consolidate Mt Kenya leaders around DCP in the region.
His Nyandarua counterpart, Kiarie Badilisha, followed, leaving UDA for DCP on July 29.
Elected on a UDA ticket in 2022, Mr Badilisha was received by Mr Gachagua alongside Nyandarua MCAs who also joined the new political camp. He said he was following his constituents’ wishes, insisting “the people of Nyandarua have spoken” and vowing to defend his seat on a DCP ticket.
In neighbouring Kiambu, Governor Kimani Wamatangi has ruled out seeking re-election on a UDA ticket, signalling another major exit. Mr Wamatangi has cited frustrations and alleged political persecution by the State but has not formally joined DCP.
His possible exit would be significant given Kiambu’s size and importance in the Mt Kenya political equation. Their moves come as other elected leaders, including MPs, reassess their political alliances ahead of 2027, amid growing signs that Mr Gachagua’s DCP is positioning itself as the principal vehicle for the region’s anti-UDA vote.
The UDA troubles are not confined to Mt Kenya. In Lamu, Woman Representative Muthoni Marubu has withdrawn her plan to join the ruling party after months of helping to build its grassroots structures in the county.
Ms Marubu, who was elected on an independent ticket in 2022, said she had initially intended to join UDA ahead of the 2027 General Election after President William Ruto asked her to mobilise support for the party in Lamu.
She said she subsequently spent three months holding 42 grassroots meetings, registering members and building support for UDA, which did not win an elective seat in the county in 2022.
Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua (left) welcomes Murang'a Governor Irungu Kang'ata to the DCP party at his Wamunyoro home in Nyeri County on July 24, 2026.
But the mobilisation effort ended in a political fallout with Lamu Governor Issa Timamy, UDA’s second deputy party leader.
Ms Marubu accused Mr Timamy of frustrating her efforts, saying he ignored repeated attempts to engage him and later sought to undermine the outcome of the party’s grassroots elections.
She said the experience had convinced her that her political relationship with Mr Timamy was no longer tenable.
Ms Marubu’s decision is significant because she had been actively building the party in a county where UDA failed to win an elective seat in 2022.
Her withdrawal therefore comes at a time when the ruling party is trying to strengthen its structures and expand its support base ahead of the next election.
Governor Timamy yesterday dismissed her accusations, saying anyone who wants to leave a political party should be free to do so without looking for excuses or maligning others to justify the decision.
Political analyst Mixson Warui said the emerging political realignment suggests that Mr Gachagua’s Democracy for Citizens Party (DCP) is currently the most attractive political vehicle in Mt Kenya, although other parties are also positioning themselves for the region’s vote.
He said the July 16 Ol Kalou by-election offered an early indication of the changing political mood, with the DCP securing about 85 per cent of the vote.
“If the July 16, 2026 Ol Kalou by-election is anything to judge by, the 85 percent DCP win suggests that the highest chance of survival in Mt Kenya is contesting under Mr Gachagua. The DCP has established tough rules for decamping into it and the first question is whether you will get admission,” Mr Warui said.
The political analyst said UDA leaders in the region were now confronting the consequences of having spent the past two years trying to deliver Mt Kenya for Mr Ruto while the political ground was shifting beneath them.
“You had two years to prove that you can deliver the Mountain to President Ruto’s re-election plan. Instead of delivering it, you are now scheming on how to run to it for survival. It won’t be easy,” he said. The emerging defections also come against the backdrop of intense negotiations among opposition and government-aligned political formations ahead of 2027.
Mr Warui said UDA leaders must also reckon with the fact that their party is expected to field a presidential candidate, making it difficult to demand the Deputy President’s position if a coalition partner such as ODM is to negotiate for the running mate slot.
Democracy for Citizens Party (DCP) Party Leader Rigathi Gachagua during a media briefing at the party's offices in Nairobi on August 11, 2026.
For politicians seeking refuge in Mr Gachagua’s camp, however, the journey will not be automatic.
All UDA defectors seeking entry into the emerging political formation will face a vetting process chaired by Nyandarua Senator John Methu, with Senators Karungo Thang’wa of Kiambu and Joe Nyutu of Murang’a as members.
Other members include MPs Wanjiku Muhia, Jayne Kihara, Benjamin Gathiru and Njeri Maina.
Mr Kagombe said he was ready to face the political consequences of his decision, including a possible acceleration of his murder trial pending at the High Court.
He pleaded not guilty on June 7, 2024, to a murder charge over the death of boda boda rider David Nduati Wataha at Makongeni market in Kiambu County.
He is out on a Sh2 million bond and a surety of a similar amount.
The defections point to a broader dilemma for UDA as it approaches the 2027 campaign: whether politicians who helped build and defend the ruling party can now successfully reposition themselves in a region where the political mood has shifted sharply.
For Mr Ruto, the challenge is even bigger. The 2022 election demonstrated the importance of Mt Kenya to his presidential bid, but the political alliance that delivered the region to him has since fractured, leaving UDA leaders increasingly caught between defending the President and protecting their own political futures.
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