President William Ruto’s bid to
recapture Mt Kenya is facing headwinds as foes unleash fresh artillery,
with more political parties from the
region quitting his ruling Kenya
Kwanza coalition.
Days after what analysts termed
a successful tour of Mt Kenya, Ruto’s estranged allies from the region
have unleashed bombshells against
the administration, placing the President at the centre of mega-corruption scandals.
As the fallout unravels, a second
political party from the region has
announced intentions to officially
divorce Ruto’s Kenya Kwanza.
The Farmers Party — one of the
founding members of Kenya Kwanza — now accuses Ruto of dishonesty, political conmanship and what it
termed as political infidelity.
The party is associated with Irungu Nyakera, whom Ruto dramatically kicked out last week as board
chair of Kenyatta International
Convention Centre.
“Accordingly, the National Executive Committee of the Farmers
Party met on April 7, 2025 and
unanimously resolved the subject
matter. Therefore, Farmers Party
hereby issues a thirty (30) day notice of intention to exit the Kenya Kwanza coalition pursuant to
Clause 8 (termination) of the coalition agreement,” the party said in a
letter copied to Registrar of Political
Parties Ann Nderitu.
The move by Farmers Party
comes hardly a month after Democratic Party, another founding coalition partner, also quit.
The development comes just
three days after Ruto concluded a
weeklong politically charged visit to
Mt Kenya that served as a referendum of his re-election prospects.
Allies reveled in the visit as a success as some of Gachagua’s allies,
including Maragua MP Mary Wamaua, decamped from the former
DP’s side.
However, as Ruto concluded
the trip the former DP and former
Public Service CS Justin Muturi
separately opened a can of worms,
describing the President as the architect of corruption in Kenya.
In a tell-all interview, Gachagua
accused Ruto of money laundering
and using the state for selfish personal interests.
He claimed, for instance, that
Ruto had allowed the country to
be used by both Sudanese and Congolese rebels as the route for selling
gold.
In a damning revelation during
an interview with NTV on Friday,
Muturi labelled Ruto as irredeemably corrupt and a dangerous character unfit to lead the country.
“Yes, he (Ruto) is absolutely, very,
irredeemably corrupt,” Muturi said
when asked whether the President is
corrupt.
The Farmers Party in explaining
its intention to exit Kenya Kwanza
accused the ruling alliance of betrayal, exclusion and violation of
their pre-election pact.
Secretary general Simon Kamangu cited, among other issues, the
opaque nature of the broad-based
government he insisted they were
kept in the dark about.
Kamangu’s letter cited a “consistent pattern of dishonesty, political
infidelity, and outright disregard for
the constitution and the spirit of the
coalition agreement.”
The party further stated it had
done so in good faith, driven by a
shared vision of empowering farmers, promoting fair produce pricing,
and improving the living standards
of ordinary Kenyans.
Already it has written to the
chairman of the Kenya Kwanza
Coalition communicating their decision to cut ties with the Ruto coalition.
The divorce letter was also copied to the leadership of Ford Kenya
and the United Democratic Alliance.
“The recent unilateral signing of
a broad-based government agreement between the Kenya Kwanza
Coalition and the ODM Party -
without consultation or involvement of the Kenya Kwanza constituent parties such as ours - is the
final confirmation of the political conmanship that has come to define
the coalition,” Kamangu said.
“This move not only violates the
trust upon which our coalition was
founded, but also undermines the
principles of inclusivity, transparency and mutual respect.”
Farmers Party is among the many
political outfits that joined forces
with like-minded parties to form
Kenya Kwanza in the eve of 2022
elections.
Already there are fears that the
exits might trigger major defections
at a time Gachagua is also expected
to unveil a new political party next
month.
Gachagua, who is believed to be
the darling of the vote-rich region,
has announced plans to unveil a
new party where he will lead a mass
walkout from the Ruto’s UDA party.
