Kenya’s Deputy President leaves ruling party

NAIROBI, Kenya

Kenya’s Deputy President William Ruto has dumped the ruling Jubillee Party and joined the United Democratic Alliance (UDA), a new political party.

Local media reports indicate that Ruto has publicly embraced the UDA party, calling it an ‘alternative national party’.

UDA Chairman, Johnson Muthama, said the party is a chosen bus to help drive Ruto to win the top seat in 2022.

Ruto has been at loggerheads with his boss, President Uhuru Kenyatta, after they differed on the Building Bridges Initiative project that aims to amend the constitution.

The former Senate majority leader, Senator Kipchumba Murkomen, and close ally to Ruto, says the new party provides enough room for anyone who is unhappy with the ruling Jubilee party.

Since September 2020, Kenya has 71 fully registered political parties, and these numbers are expected to increase as elections get closer.

The constitution of Kenya allows the formation of political parties, to promote democracy considering that the East African nation is a multiparty democracy, so long as the party does not promote tribal, regional and religious hate.

However, with the UDA in the political ring, many ordinary Kenyans feel that political parties across the country are becoming tribal, and are merely a vehicle to help politicians achieve their immediate interests during elections only to later move on to another party.