President William Ruto’s bid to recapture Mt Kenya is facing headwinds as foes unleash fresh artillery, with more political parties from the region quitting his ruling Kenya Kwanza coalition.
Days after what analysts termed a successful tour of Mt Kenya, Ruto’s estranged allies from the region have unleashed bombshells against the administration, placing the President at the centre of mega-corruption scandals.
As the fallout unravels, a second political party from the region has announced intentions to officially divorce Ruto’s Kenya Kwanza.
The Farmers Party — one of the founding members of Kenya Kwanza — now accuses Ruto of dishonesty, political conmanship and what it termed as political infidelity.
The party is associated with Irungu Nyakera, whom Ruto dramatically kicked out last week as board chair of Kenyatta International Convention Centre.
“Accordingly, the National Executive Committee of the Farmers Party met on April 7, 2025 and unanimously resolved the subject matter. Therefore, Farmers Party hereby issues a thirty (30) day notice of intention to exit the Kenya Kwanza coalition pursuant to Clause 8 (termination) of the coalition agreement,” the party said in a letter copied to Registrar of Political Parties Ann Nderitu.
The move by Farmers Party comes hardly a month after Democratic Party, another founding coalition partner, also quit.
The development comes just three days after Ruto concluded a weeklong politically charged visit to Mt Kenya that served as a referendum of his re-election prospects.
Allies reveled in the visit as a success as some of Gachagua’s allies, including Maragua MP Mary Wamaua, decamped from the former DP’s side.
However, as Ruto concluded the trip the former DP and former Public Service CS Justin Muturi separately opened a can of worms, describing the President as the architect of corruption in Kenya.
In a tell-all interview, Gachagua accused Ruto of money laundering and using the state for selfish personal interests.
He claimed, for instance, that Ruto had allowed the country to be used by both Sudanese and Congolese rebels as the route for selling gold.
In a damning revelation during an interview with NTV on Friday, Muturi labelled Ruto as irredeemably corrupt and a dangerous character unfit to lead the country.
“Yes, he (Ruto) is absolutely, very, irredeemably corrupt,” Muturi said when asked whether the President is corrupt.
The Farmers Party in explaining its intention to exit Kenya Kwanza accused the ruling alliance of betrayal, exclusion and violation of their pre-election pact. Secretary general Simon Kamangu cited, among other issues, the opaque nature of the broad-based government he insisted they were kept in the dark about.
Kamangu’s letter cited a “consistent pattern of dishonesty, political infidelity, and outright disregard for the constitution and the spirit of the coalition agreement.”
The party further stated it had done so in good faith, driven by a shared vision of empowering farmers, promoting fair produce pricing, and improving the living standards of ordinary Kenyans.
Already it has written to the chairman of the Kenya Kwanza Coalition communicating their decision to cut ties with the Ruto coalition.
The divorce letter was also copied to the leadership of Ford Kenya and the United Democratic Alliance.
“The recent unilateral signing of a broad-based government agreement between the Kenya Kwanza Coalition and the ODM Party - without consultation or involvement of the Kenya Kwanza constituent parties such as ours - is the final confirmation of the political conmanship that has come to define the coalition,” Kamangu said.
“This move not only violates the trust upon which our coalition was founded, but also undermines the principles of inclusivity, transparency and mutual respect.”
Farmers Party is among the many political outfits that joined forces with like-minded parties to form Kenya Kwanza in the eve of 2022 elections.
Already there are fears that the exits might trigger major defections at a time Gachagua is also expected to unveil a new political party next month.
Gachagua, who is believed to be the darling of the vote-rich region, has announced plans to unveil a new party where he will lead a mass walkout from the Ruto’s UDA party.
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