Ichung’wah Vows Never to Join DCP Amid UDA Exodus

The National Assembly Leader of the Majority, Kimani Ichung’wah, has vowed to remain in the United Democratic Alliance (UDA), dismissing any suggestion that he could ever cross over to the Democracy for Citizens Party (DCP).

His remarks come at a time when several politicians allied to Kenya Kwanza, especially in the vote-rich Mt. Kenya Region, have been shifting their allegiance to the DCP led by the former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua ahead of next year’s general election.

While speaking during an interview on NTV on August 12, Ichung’wah made it clear that he would rather lose his Kikuyu parliamentary seat than abandon the party he has stood by for years, while describing the DCP Party as a small party.

“I don’t know whether to say it in the vernacular. I can never, ever, over my dead body, join that small party. Even if that means me losing my parliamentary seat,” Ichung’wah stated.

He explained that every political decision he has made in his career has been guided by personal conviction rather than convenience or expediency.

The lawmaker traced his political journey back to 2013, when he joined The National Alliance (TNA) and backed the presidential bids of Uhuru Kenyatta and William Ruto.

He noted that the same conviction kept him firmly by President William Ruto’s side throughout the Hustler Nation movement and, later, the Kenya Kwanza Coalition.

This comes after major bigwigs who were in the UDA party from the Mt Kenya Region, such as Murang’a Governor Irungu Kang’ata and Nyandarua Governor Kiarie Badilisha, formally jumped ship to DCP, while Kiambu Governor Kimani Wamatangi has hinted he won’t seek re-election on a UDA ticket. 

Gatundu South MP Kagombe has also officially ditched the ruling party, along with several MCAs from Central Kenya and neighbouring counties.

Former Cabinet Secretary and advisor to President Ruto, Moses Kuria, predicts an even larger exodus of regional leaders from UDA in the coming months, as shifting voter sentiment in Mt Kenya continues to reshape political loyalties.

At the same time, he also took the opportunity to address the issue, stressing that he, as well as the Kenya Kwanza Administration, is not worried at all about the mass exodus not only from the Mt Kenya Region but from many regions nationally, putting complete hope in the broad-based coalition, which he says will win the coming election.

“We are not worried about those decamping from UDA to DCP. We have a very solid formation in the broad-based government and are very confident that we will win the 2027 General Election,” Inchung’wah stated.