Deputy President William Ruto's United Democratic Alliance (UDA) has finally responded to allegations raised by Kirinyaga Woman Representative Purity Wangui Ngirici upon her exit from the party on Thursday, December 30.
Ngirici, while justifying her move to ditch UDA, noted that she was being summoned and pressured to give up her gubernatorial ambitions for another preferred candidate.
The outspoken lawmaker revealed that she had received summons from party officials requesting her to step down for Governor Anne Waiguru. She added that the officials tried to convince her to vie for the Mwea parliamentary seat on a UDA ticket.
"When I appeared at the headquarters, the officials tried to convince me to give up my gubernatorial ambitions and vie for the Mwea parliamentary seat on a UDA ticket. I refused, as they were determined to kill my dream," she charged.
She faulted the ability of the party to hold free and fair nominations, with the MP accusing Ruto's party of favouritism.
"If UDA officials are telling me to vie for a junior seat, do you expect nominations to be free and fair?" she posed.
However, UDA Secretary-General Veronica Maina has come out to dismiss the claims made by the ambitious lawmaker.
She denied claims that Ngirici was summoned in Nairobi and nudged to drop her bid for Kirinyaga gubernatorial seat.
“We have not summoned any aspirant to the headquarters. Our party does not believe in undemocratic summoning processes,” she noted.
UDA SG added that those interested in the party ticket will go through a fair nomination process and no one will be coerced to step down in favour of another candidate.
“The UDA party is committed to conducting free and fair nominations,” she stated.
Announcing her decision to cut ties with Ruto, Ngirici noted that it was time for her to consolidate the Kirinyaga votes as an independent candidate.
"The time to take photos is up. It is time to deliver the votes to Dr. Ruto. I choose to retreat and consolidate Kirinyaga votes and that is the value that the DP is looking for in UDA," she announced on her social media pages.
She added, "I would liken politics to a game of chess. When your opponent makes a move, you don't rush to make yours. You study the game carefully so that your next move is to give a checkmate to your opponent."
Ngirici first hinted at decamping from UDA early in December when she came out to reveal that her relationship with Ruto had hit rock bottom. She revealed that she had heavily invested in the party before Waiguru's entry, denting her chances of clinching Kirinyaga gubernatorial seat on a UDA ticket.
Her move comes even as Murang'a Senator Irungu Kang'ata confirmed the squabbles in UDA over nomination primaries.
"The squabbles are expected in a popular party. This push and pull is very healthy for intra-party democracy. The party cherishes … founder members as they struggled in the journey. But it is not a closed party and hence it welcomes everyone," Kang'ata stated.
"The panacea is free and fair nominations. Their reaction is understandable. But UDA has to remain open and democratic for it to grow."
