Former Nairobi governor Mike Mbuvi Sonko has ditched Azimio La Umoja and joined Deputy President William Ruto's camp.
The DP in a message on Saturday welcomed Sonko to the Kenya Kwanza team.
"We welcome Mike Sonko to Kenya Kwanza, the winning team," Ruto wrote on Facebook on Saturday.
The move comes two days after Sonko said he will not back the ODM candidate Abdulswamad Nassir for the Mombasa governor seat.
Sonko while reacting to the High Court ruling that upheld the decision not to clear him demanded the IEBC to allow his running mate Ali Mbogo to vie for the governor seat.
He said if the wiper candidate is not on the ballot, he will not support Nassir.
He warned that he will instead back UDA's Hassan Omar for the Mombasa governor seat.
“It’s not about Sonko. Clear Ali Mbogo and let him be on the ballot, failure to which we shall support Hassan Omar. Take this to the bank,” he said.
On Thursday, the former governor lost a bid to have his name included in ballot papers for the Mombasa gubernatorial race.
He had petitioned the High Court to compel the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission to include him on the ballot.
However, a three-judge bench dismissed the argument of Sonko that he has an active appeal at the East Africa Court of Justice.
The court agreed with IEBC’s interpretation of the Supreme Court ruling that had found him constitutionally unfit to hold office.
