- Kawira Mwangaza was elected as an independent governor in the 2022 elections after beating political bigwigs.
- The Meru Governor has had issues with MCAs and political leaders that saw the Assembly pass two impeachment motions against her.
Image: KAWIRA MWANGAZA / FACEBOOK
Meru Governor Kawira Mwangaza is set to formally indicate her desire to join President William Ruto's United Democratic Alliance (UDA) party.
The governor was elected on the Independent ticket meaning that she was not on the ballot through any political party.
Mwangaza, who has survived two impeachment motions at the Senate, has been supporting the Kenya Kwanza administration.
She will on Wednesday lead her supporters in joining the ruling party at the Hustler Centre.
A communication from the UDA party on Wednesday said the governor will ''give her statement of intent to join the political outfit.''
The move ends months of speculations about the governor has claimed that she would join UDA ahead of the 2027 polls.
However, Wednesday's event will not be a defection to UDA but only an indication that she will be joining the party in the coming years ahead of the 2027 polls.
The law bars governors elected as independents from joining any political party during their tenure as such would lead to legal issues that can make a county boss lose a seat.
The governor has been at loggerheads with some political leaders from her county since she was elected, a standoff that triggered the two foiled motions of impeachment.
Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has previously attempted to broker a ceasefire in Meru and has met political leaders from the region in a bid to iron out their differences.
The county MCAs have gone after Mwangaza's pet projects in a renewed political standoff.
Last week, the Meru County Assembly sealed the fate of Mwangaza’s Sh67 million flagship pro-poor project ‘One Cow, One Needy Family’, describing it as a ''rip-off.''
Members of the County Assembly last Tuesday endorsed a report by the Sectoral Committee on Agriculture and Livestock that effectively blocked any funding for the programme in the next financial year.
Presenting the report to the assembly, the chairman of the agriculture committee, Ken Naibae, said they had found that the programme was allegedly being implemented illegally and reportedly without transparency.
“We observed that there was very minimal monitoring and supervision of the dairy cows. The process of identification, procurement and distribution of dairy cows has continued without a policy framework which was a pre-requisite for its implementation,” Naibae said.