Kakamega Deputy Governor Philip Kutima has ditched the Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Alliance coalition and declared his support for Deputy President William Ruto-led Kenya Kwanza alliance.
This comes days after Kutima announced that he would run for Kakamega governorship as an independent candidate after missing out on ODM and DAP-K party tickets.
In a Facebook post, DP Ruto officially welcomed him as a member of the coalition and thanked him for his decision to back Senator Cleophas Malala's bid for governor.
"Your support for Senator Cleophas Malala’s Gubernatorial bid is a huge boost. We are grateful," he said.
Kutima served as the deputy governor of Kakamega County under the leadership of Governor Wycliffe Oparanya.
His entry to Kenya Kwanza will be a significant boost to Malala's bid as Kenya Kwanza prepares to face Azimio-OKA aspirants from ODM and DAP-K.
The DG ditched ODM for DAP-K a month ago after the party decided to give former Ketraco MD Fernandez Barasa a direct ticket for the Kakamega race.
He was to face off with Lugari MP Ayub Savula for the DAP-K ticket but pulled out at the eleventh hour, claiming the primaries had been predetermined to fix him.
Kutima said that he only pulled out of the DAP-K but was still in the race to succeed Oparanya in August.
He had picked Nairobi based lawyer Michael Osundwa as his running mate.
