Faith Mwaura, who ran alongside Moses Kuria in Kiambu County’s 2022 gubernatorial race, has dumped his Chama cha Kazi party and joined President William Ruto’s United Democratic Alliance.
The real estate entrepreneur announced Tuesday she will contest the Roysambu constituency parliamentary seat in next year’s general election on a UDA ticket, marking a significant political realignment as the 2027 polls approach.
Welcome at UDA headquarters
UDA national vice chairman Kelvin Lunani received Mwaura at the party’s Nairobi headquarters, where he urged more women to pursue elective office in the upcoming polls.
“After careful consideration, I found that UDA values align with mine,” Mwaura said. “It is for that reason I decided to leave the small river to join a bigger one.”
Mwaura holds a bachelor’s degree in commerce from Daystar University and a master’s degree in real estate from Scotland. She previously sought the Roysambu parliamentary seat before joining Kuria’s gubernatorial campaign.
Promise of loyalty to Ruto
The defection comes as Kuria’s Chama cha Kazi has struggled to maintain momentum since its near-merger with UDA in 2022. Though Kuria himself briefly dissolved the party to join UDA after his Cabinet appointment, he later revived it and has maintained a complicated relationship with the ruling party.
Mwaura pledged unwavering support for Ruto’s re-election campaign. “I will champion President Ruto’s re-election bid,” she said. “I will work tirelessly toward that goal.”
Lunani assured aspiring candidates that UDA will conduct free and fair nomination exercises. “I want to ask women to come out in large numbers to contest for seats on UDA because we will be fair to them,” he said.
Coalition’s ambitious targets
Mwaura expressed confidence that Ruto will secure victory by a substantial margin in 2027. Her comments align with the president’s recent declarations about electoral expectations.
On Monday, Ruto told UDA’s National Governing Council that the party’s coalition with the Orange Democratic Movement must win by between 2 million and 3 million votes. The president won the 2022 election by approximately 200,000 votes over opposition leader Raila Odinga.
Ruto defended the UDA-ODM partnership as essential to unifying Kenya and ending post-election exclusion. “The UDA-ODM partnership is central to driving the transformation agenda,” he said, referring to the Kenya Kwanza government’s policy priorities.
ODM’s position on alliance
ODM leader Oburu Odinga reiterated Tuesday that his party’s engagement with UDA stems from its commitment to democratic governance and constitutional processes.
“These principles informed our decision to engage with UDA,” Oburu said, emphasizing the party’s belief in peaceful transitions of power.
The 2022 Kiambu gubernatorial race saw Mwaura and Kuria finish with 24,512 votes on the Chama cha Kazi ticket. Governor Kimani Wamatangi won with 348,371 votes.
After their electoral defeat, Kuria appointed Mwaura to the Kenya Development Corporation board of directors in June 2023, where she served a three-year term.
Roysambu constituency, located in northern Nairobi, comprises five wards and includes neighborhoods such as Githurai, Kahawa West, Zimmerman and parts of Garden Estate. The constituency is home to several universities, including Kenyatta University and the United States International University.
