\n The United Democratic Alliance (UDA) could face a difficult political test in Mt Kenya ahead of the 2027 General Election, with Murang\u2019a Governor Irungu Kang\u2019ata warning that shifting loyalties and internal disagreements are weakening its support base in the region.\n <\/p>\n
\n Speaking during an interview with Citizen TV on Sunday, Kang\u2019ata noted that that the direction of politics in the region had convinced him that UDA\u2019s prospects were weakening.\n <\/p>\n
\n \u201cI have seen how the politics is going on, and I think I am now convinced it will not end well for the UDA party, at least in my region. I shared my mind on how I think we can push them ahead, we did not agree on those tactics so I just kept quiet and now that it\u2019s one year,\u201d he said.\n <\/p>\n
\n He also linked recent political events to growing unease in the region. Kang\u2019ata cited incidents including the attack on property linked to Kiambu Governor Kimani Wamatangi and the impeachment of Meru Governor Kawira Mwangaza as contributing to political tension.\n <\/p>\n
\n \u201cThere are some actions that have been done in my region, which are creating a siege mentality,\u201d he said.\n <\/p>\n
\n He also reflected on his earlier leadership approach, saying he initially chose to avoid political confrontation.\n <\/p>\n
\n \u201cWhen I became a governor, my political strategy was to be quiet, to concentrate on my mandate,\u201d he said.\n <\/p>\n
\n However, he noted that pressure from supporters and political expectations had forced him into taking public positions.\n <\/p>\n
\n \u201cIt reaches a stage when the president is in Murang\u2019a, you are put into a corner where you have to say something, you are being nudged to make a choice to announce your statement, and if you don\u2019t, people start saying you are not a good person,\u201d he said.\n <\/p>\n
\n The governor further clarified that he has not settled on a new political party after announcing he will not defend his seat on a UDA ticket in 2027.\n <\/p>\n
\n \u201cCurrently I have not made a decision. I have many options; I can be an independent candidate, or I can join a political party,\u201d he said.\n <\/p>\n
\n His remarks have fuelled speculation linking him to the Democracy for the Citizens Party (DCP), associated with former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, although he has not confirmed any move. Former nominated senator Millicent Omanga, now eyeing the Nairobi Woman Representative seat on a DCP ticket, publicly welcomed him, adding to the political speculation.\n <\/p>\n
\n Despite the uncertainty over 2027, Kang\u2019ata maintained he remains in UDA for now and will continue working with the national government.\n <\/p>\n
\n He also dismissed suggestions that he is pursuing higher office, insisting his focus remains on the Murang\u2019a governorship.\n <\/p>\n
\n The governor\u2019s announcement came shortly after Gachagua indicated he would back a rival candidate in Murang\u2019a if Kang\u2019ata does not align with his political camp, intensifying regional political competition.\n <\/p>\n
\n Kang\u2019ata also criticised what he described as strategic missteps within UDA, including the removal of Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro as chair of the National Assembly Budget and Appropriations Committee.\n <\/p>\n
\n \u201cOne of the reasons I feel UDA party strategies need to be improved is when they removed Ndindi Nyoro as the chair of the budget committee in the National Assembly,\u201d he said.\n <\/p>\n
\n He described Nyoro as a close ally, adding, \u201cNdindi Nyoro is a very good friend of mine. He was my CDF chair when I was serving as Kiharu MP.\u201d\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The United Democratic Alliance (UDA) could face a difficult political test in Mt Kenya ahead of the 2027…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":217876,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[31],"tags":[111150,84,111149,111148,111151,80,111152,1349,11226,261],"class_list":["post-217875","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-kenya","tag-2027-general-election-kenya","tag-headlines","tag-irungu-kangata","tag-kangata-says-uda-risks-defeat-in-mt-kenya-as-internal-tensions-deepen","tag-kangata-uda-mt-kenya-politics-2027-election","tag-kenya","tag-kimani-ichungwah-response-kangata-statement","tag-mt-kenya-politics","tag-mt-kenya-politics-2027","tag-politics"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@africa\/116514961756028960","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/217875","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=217875"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/217875\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/217876"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=217875"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=217875"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=217875"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}