Runyenjes MP Eric Muchangi Karemba has announced he will not seek re-election on President William Ruto's United Democratic Alliance (UDA) ticket in 2027, adding his name to a lengthening list of Mt Kenya politicians walking away from the ruling party ahead of next year's General Election.

Karemba made the declaration on Sunday, October 25, while addressing residents at Gikuuri in his Embu County constituency, Capital FM reported. The second-term legislator told his constituents that he would not be on the UDA ballot next year and, in a pointed reference to the party's wheelbarrow symbol, suggested it was time to hand the wheelbarrow back to its owner.

New party within two months

The MP did not name his next political home. According to Capital FM, he said he would consult his supporters and leaders from other parties and announce the outfit he will use to defend the Runyenjes seat within the next two months.

A source quoted by the station said Karemba was expected to join the People's Party of Kenya (PPK), the party associated with Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro, although this has not been confirmed by the MP himself. Other online reports have linked him to former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua's Democracy for the Citizens Party (DCP). The Star listed his departure from UDA among the key political developments on Tuesday.

A long-running drift from Ruto's camp

Karemba's break with UDA has been a long time coming. Popularly known by the name of the Akorino headdress he wears, he first won the Runyenjes seat in 2017 on a Jubilee Party ticket, becoming what The Standard then described as Kenya's first Akorino MP, before retaining it on a UDA ticket in 2022.

He was regarded as an ally of Gachagua and in 2024 was among MPs allied to the former Deputy President who lost House committee leadership positions in a reshuffle, giving up the chairmanship of the Labour Committee. He has since sided with Gachagua's criticism of the government on issues such as the abductions of government critics, and last month publicly clashed with Embu Governor Cecily Mbarire, a senior UDA official, over credit for a feeder road in his constituency. Citizen Digital reported at the time that the governor later apologised.

Mounting Mt Kenya exits

His announcement deepens the challenge facing UDA in the vote-rich Mt Kenya region, which overwhelmingly backed Ruto in 2022 but has drifted since Gachagua's impeachment in October 2024. Githunguri MP Gathoni Wamuchomba and Gatundu South MP Gabriel Kagombe are among other legislators who have parted ways with the party, while Nyoro, once a key Ruto ally, now leads PPK and has emerged as one of the government's fiercest critics.

The exits come as the President intensifies efforts to shore up his base and court new regions, including a four-day development tour of Ukambani that concluded this week. UDA has also been negotiating a power-sharing arrangement with ODM within the broad-based government ahead of 2027.

Under the Political Parties Act, an MP who formally joins another party before the end of the parliamentary term risks being deemed to have resigned from the party that sponsored them, a reason many lawmakers hold off on formal defections until close to the nomination period. Karemba's two-month timeline would see him declare his new party early next year.

Photos: Runyenjes MP Eric Muchangi Karemba (The Star); President William Ruto in Mwingi (PCS/The Standard)