{"id":17180,"date":"2026-01-11T14:28:11","date_gmt":"2026-01-11T14:28:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/17180\/"},"modified":"2026-01-11T14:28:11","modified_gmt":"2026-01-11T14:28:11","slug":"i-am-still-a-member-of-uda","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/17180\/","title":{"rendered":"I am still a member of UDA"},"content":{"rendered":"

Nyeri Governor Mutahi Kahiga\/FILE<\/p>\n

Nyeri Governor Mutahi Kahiga has sought to clarify his
\npolitical position, affirming that he remains a member of the ruling United
\nDemocratic Alliance (UDA) party.<\/p>\n

This is despite his perceived association with rival
\npolitical outfits linked to former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua.<\/p>\n

Speaking on Sunday during a church service at ACK St Paul\u2019s
\nChurch Kariki in Othaya, Nyeri County, Kahiga told congregants that he is a
\nfully paid-up member of UDA.<\/p>\n

The service was attended by President William Ruto and
\nDeputy President Kithure Kindiki, among other senior government officials.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am still a member of UDA and that is a fact,\u201d Kahiga told
\nmembers of the congregation, underscoring his continued association with the
\nparty that sponsored Ruto\u2019s successful 2022 presidential bid.<\/p>\n

Kahiga, who has in the past been viewed as an ally of Gachagua\u2014now
\nthe leader of the Democracy for the Citizens Party (DCP)\u2014used the occasion to
\nurge Kenyans to separate governance from politics.<\/p>\n

He said there is a proper time for political contestation
\nand that the current focus should be on supporting the government to deliver on
\nits development agenda.<\/p>\n

In his address to the faithful, the governor cautioned
\nagainst premature political mobilisation, saying the season for campaigns would
\ncome in due course.<\/p>\n

\u201cDays to do politics will come but for now, let us support
\nthe President to do his job,\u201d he stated.<\/p>\n

Kahiga further argued that leaders serving under the
\nPresident have a responsibility to publicly support him, saying it would be
\ncontradictory to work for a leader while speaking ill of him.<\/p>\n

\u201cI voted for Ruto, he is my President and I am a governor. I
\ndo not know why some people seem to be confused? I still have a President,\u201d
\nKahiga said, drawing applause from the congregation.<\/p>\n

The Nyeri governor also emphasised his constitutional duty
\nto work with the national government, saying he would always welcome the
\nPresident whenever he visits the county.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs governor, I must welcome the President and together we
\nwork for the people,\u201d he stated, adding, \u201cLet us wait until the time for
\nelections.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kahiga\u2019s remarks come against the backdrop of shifting
\npolitical alliances within the Mt Kenya region following the fallout between
\nRuto and his former deputy.<\/p>\n

In 2024 and early 2025, Kahiga publicly defended Gachagua
\nduring the height of political tensions between the former Deputy President and
\nthe Head of State, including criticising the national government\u2019s handling of the
\nformer Deputy President\u2019s impeachment process.<\/p>\n

Other leaders present at the service included Agriculture
\nand Livestock Development Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe, Nyeri Senator Wahome
\nWamatinga, Nyeri Woman Representative Rahab Mukami, as well as a host of
\nPrincipal Secretaries and other senior government officials.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Nyeri Governor Mutahi Kahiga\/FILE Nyeri Governor Mutahi Kahiga has sought to clarify his political position, affirming that he…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":17181,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[10943,6221,80,10942,98,100,101,99,780,1346],"class_list":{"0":"post-17180","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-kenya","8":"tag-2027-politics","9":"tag-former-deputy-president-rigathi-gachagua","10":"tag-kenya","11":"tag-nyeri-governor-mutahi-kahiga","12":"tag-star-news","13":"tag-star-news-kenya","14":"tag-the-star","15":"tag-the-star-newspaper","16":"tag-uda","17":"tag-william-ruto"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17180","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17180"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17180\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17181"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17180"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17180"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17180"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}