Kieni MP Njoroge Wainaina has left President William Ruto's United Democratic Alliance (UDA) and will now lead the Ufanisi Kenya Party. He is the latest Mount Kenya legislator to leave the ruling party ahead of the 2027 General Election.

Wainaina, popularly known as "Chieni", won the Nyeri County seat on a UDA ticket in 2022. He announced the move on Saturday, October 17, at a meeting with residents of Kieni constituency, People Daily reported.

"I have made my 504"

The MP used a familiar campaign metaphor to explain the decision. Leaders elected on the UDA ticket in the region have repeatedly been reminded that they rode to victory in someone else's vehicle, and he said he now has one of his own.

"Because we have occasionally been reminded that we went to a wedding with someone else's vehicle, I have made my 504 which will carry the people of Kieni, and that is the Ufanisi Kenya Party," Wainaina said, as quoted by Citizen Digital. The Peugeot 504 is a staple of Kenyan political slang for a party used as an election vehicle.

Citizen Digital reported that he linked the decision to the interests of Kieni residents and to a wider push for Mount Kenya to chart its own political path before the next election. People Daily said his remarks appeared to answer criticism aimed at leaders elected on UDA tickets who have since faced questions over their loyalty.

A national party, he says

Wainaina rejected suggestions that the new outfit would be a regional or Nyeri-only party. "It is not made for Nyeri only, it is a national party and anyone can join," he told residents, according to Citizen Digital. He said the party would welcome leaders and voters from across the country.

He also placed himself alongside former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, who founded the Democracy for the Citizens Party (DCP) after falling out with the President. "The first is Rigathi Gachagua, I am the second known party leader in Nyeri county," he said.

The MP did not say whether Ufanisi Kenya would join the united opposition or keep any working relationship with the Kenya Kwanza government. Neither outlet reported details of the party's registration status, its officials or its policy platform.

A growing list of departures

Wainaina's exit adds to a run of defections from UDA in Mount Kenya, where Ruto won large margins in 2022 with Gachagua as his running mate. People Daily notes that Murang'a Governor Irungu Kang'ata, Nyandarua Governor Kiarie Badilisha and Gatundu South MP Gabriel Kagombe are among those who have moved to Gachagua's camp. Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro left UDA in August for the People's Party of Kenya, which he plans to use for a presidential bid.

Unlike those who have joined DCP, Wainaina has chosen to build his own platform rather than fold into an existing opposition party. People Daily wrote that his immediate challenge will be turning the announcement into an organised movement that can compete beyond Kieni.

For UDA, the move raises fresh questions about its ability to keep the MPs it sent to Parliament from the region in 2022. The President is meanwhile on a ten-day tour of the North Rift ahead of Mashujaa Day celebrations in Eldoret on Tuesday, October 20. UDA had not publicly responded to Wainaina's announcement by Sunday.

Photos: Kieni MP Njoroge Wainaina addresses residents (People Daily/Njoroge Wainaina Facebook page); Wainaina at an earlier engagement (Citizen Digital).