Ousted nominated Senator Gloria Orwoba has said that unless the opposition leaders seal all loopholes ahead of the 2027 elections, they will not be able to defeat William Ruto.
In a statement on Thursday, May 22, Orwoba called on opposition leaders, including former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, of the Democracy for Citizens Party (DCP), to employ the same plan that Ruto deployed in 2022, when he sought to seal avenues through which votes could be stolen.
“Team Wantam, please note that you cannot outplay a chess master with checkers tactics. It is not about hashtags and hate. It is about strategy and consistency. We know it and we did it,” she said.
Orwoba, who has been expelled by the ruling United Democratic Alliance (UDA) and later had her seat declared vacant by Senate Speaker Amason Kingi, ran into headwinds after she was accused of disloyalty and gross misconduct.
“It is notified for the general information of the public that pursuant to Article 101(2) of the Constitution of Kenya, a seat of the Member of the Senate elected under Article 98(1)(b) of the Constitution, held by Senator Gloria Orwoba, has become vacant with effect from the 21st May, 2025," Kingi said in a gazette notice.
She was later subjected a disciplinary proceedings after President Ruto's party expressed it is displeasure with her seeming political dalliance with former Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang'i, who has declared interest in the presidency in the next General Election.
Orwoba got some relief after High Court judge Lawrence Mugambi issued a conservatory order suspending her expulsion from UDA, this coming barely hours after Speaker Kingi had officially declared her seat vacant by invoking Article 98, which pertains to members elected to represent special interests.
The judge slammed the brakes on the steps that UDA and Mr Kingi had taken against Orwoba until her petition challenging her ouster is heard and determined.
"All those seeking to make Ruto a one-term president, you must change your strategy. One thing we did very well as the William Ruto presidential campaign and secretariat team was that we sealed all the loopholes. WANTAM can only be a reality if you change the strategy. Ignore the messenger, take the message,” she said.
Orwoba's fallout with UDA began earlier in the year and intensified in March when she refused to apologise after a suspension from the Senate. That refusal and other public actions led to her expulsion from the party.
On her social media pages, she has been vocal about her removal and has continued to question the legality of the process, including the letter that led to her dismissal.
In one recent post, she asked a series of pointed questions directed at the Registrar of Political Parties, Senate Speaker, and other institutions, suggesting that rules were being bent to silence her.
Through a statement, Orwoba took issue with the Registrar of Political Parties, Ann Nderitu, seemingly alleging an overlap of roles by Nderitu that played a key role in her swift removal from the Senate.
Orwoba queried whether it was in line with the law for Nderitu to clear Senate Speaker Amason Kingi to declare her seat vacant as the CEO of ORPP while she was still one of the nominees for the Commissioner post at the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).
