UDA party secretary general Hassan Omar claimed that the party does not recognize Gachagua and that the party would soon hold a meeting with the goal of expelling him.
Ousted Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua is on the verge of losing another major position, this time as the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) deputy party leader after its members denounced him on Monday, October 21.
UDA party secretary general Hassan Omar claimed that the party does not recognize Gachagua and that the party would soon hold a meeting with the goal of expelling him.
Omar, who spoke during the UDA comrades event in Eldoret, declared that “Gachagua must now accept the ground has shifted and move on.” The SG was backed by UDA party treasurer Japheth Nyakundi as they affirmed that they stand for the country’s unity.
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. Beforehand, the Deputy President had also assumed the role of deputy party leader and following Gachagua’s impeachment, he will have to give way to other leaders.
UDA interim Secretary General, Hassan Omar during a press briefing on August 13, 2024. /UNITED DEMOCRATIC ALLIANCE
Nyakundi went on to add that Gachagua was no longer suited to act as the party’s deputy as he had gone against everything UDA stands for. Meanwhile, plans are in motion to install Kithure Kindiki as the new deputy party leader, once he is cleared by the courts of law to take office as Deputy President.
“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.”
Omar further stated that he had received direct instructions from President William Ruto to actively engage with the youth to better the UDA party and the country at large.
He also called on all Kenyans to support President Ruto so that he could implement the plans and vision he has for the country.
The Bigger Picture
UDA’s latest stance on Gachagua only served to bring the relationship between the ousted DP and President William Ruto to the point that it cannot be salvaged.
Should the eviction from UDA be realised, this could turn the political dynamics in Kenya upside down, with Gachagua’s impending exit from the UDA Party coming just as his allies from the vote-rich Mount Kenya region also vowed to ditch the ruling 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 said in August 2024, long before Gachagua’s ouster garnered steam.
Ngunjiri added that Mount Kenya voters’ decision to support Ruto in 2022 without a written agreement was an error of judgement which put the Mount Kenya votes at a disadvantage.
With his political career in tatters, Gachagua’s only hope to salvage his job and political career lies in an unlikely decision on Tuesday, October 22, when a three-judge bench constituted by Chief Justice Martha Koome will have an inter-partes hearing to determine whether the impeachment will stand.
