Newly appointed Deputy President Kithure Kindiki is set to be confirmed as the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) deputy party leader on Monday next week.
Embu Governor Cecily Mbarire, who serves as the UDA Chair, announced this new development on Friday, November 1 2024 while speaking at the swearing-in ceremony of DP Kindiki citing the UDA party constitution.
“The UDA constitution states that the President will be the party leader and the Deputy President will be the deputy party leader. We will be holding a National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting probably as early as Monday, November 4, 2024, to bring him in.”
Kindiki, the immediate former Interior CS is set to be officially sworn into office as the country’s new second in command after a long-standing court battle that culminated in the High Court lifting conservatory orders that had barred his swearing-in.
Kithure Kindiki was nominated as the new DP by President Ruto and approved by Parliament after the impeachment of Rigathi Gachagua. Former DP Gachagua was by default the deputy party leader of UDA up until his ouster.
Earlier this week, on Monday, October 21, the UDA party came out and openly denounced Rigathi Gachagua as the deputy party leader. The party, through Secretary General Hassan Omar, said that plans were already underway to expel Rigathi from the party within one week.
“Gachagua must now accept the ground has shifted and move on,” Omar stated while urging the ousted DP to pave the way for new leaders. The Secretary-General further clarified that UDA did not recognise Gachagua as the deputy party leader of UDA, as per the ruling party's Constitution.
UDA Treasury Japhet Nyakundi claimed that Gachagua had gone against everything that the party stood for and maintained that Kindiki’s incoming entry as Deputy President necessitated the change in leadership.
“We already recognise Kindiki as our deputy president and also deputy party leader but we will officially install him soon," he said, adding "Gachagua failed to act in accordance with the party's values."
Gachagua’s time at the party started running out after the removal of Cleophas Malala, an ally of the former DP, from the Secretary-General position of UDA. Malala’s ouster proved to be the catalyst for the termination of Gachagua’s political career.
At the moment, some of Gachagua’s allies within the party have threatened to ditch the party. The allies, most of whom are from the vote-rich Mt. Kenya region have stated that plans are underway to form their own political party.
Former lawmaker Kimani Ngunjiri recently claimed some influential political figures were losing faith in Ruto, and were considering breaking out from UDA to form their own powerful political bloc.
“We shall form our own party. Ruto’s UDA is now in bed with the opposition,” Ngunjiri stated.
