Kirinyaga Woman Representative Purity Wangui Ngirici on Wednesday, December 29, announced her exit from the United Democratic Alliance (UDA).
Speaking in Mwea and Gichungu constituencies, she announced that she would not be vying for governorship under the party that is also Deputy President William Ruto's vehicle in the 2022 presidential race.
Ngirichi announced that she would be vying as an independent candidate.
"In 2022, I will not stand with any political party. I will seek to be elected as a governor, as an individual, and I'm confident that I will sail through,” the Woman Rep stated.
She revealed that she decided to part ways with the Ruto team after people she referred to as the owners of UDA asked her to shelve her gubernatorial ambitions in favour of Kirinyaga Governor Anne Waiguru.
Instead, they preferred that she contests for the Mwea Constituency parliamentary seat.
Ngirici further indicated that she would no longer campaign for Ruto in the presidential race - urging her supporters to choose freely any candidate which they will deem fit.
She hit out at Waiguru, faulting her for using UDA, which has gained popularity in the area to impose herself on the people. She claimed that the people would reject her as she failed to deliver.
"Those who did not work and plan to hide behind political parties should know that it is not the party that will be elected. You are the one who we do not want because you are a thief and the people of Kirinyaga know that," she stated.
The member of parliament noted that she did not have bad blood with DP Ruto and went ahead to wish him well in the August 9, 2022 general election.
In an interview with a local media outlet, Ruto weighed in between the spat between Waiguru and Ngirici. While he noted both of them had made huge contributions to UDA, he did not have a preferred candidate.
" I want to appreciate people who have walked with me through this journey. They have made many sacrifices.
"The only way to reward friends is not to give them a ticket. If he or she is not the popular candidate at that moment, that ticket is useless.
He noted that the party ticket needed to go to the right person if they wanted to win the election.
