FORD-Kenya Explained: Wetang'ula's Party and Its Western Base
Ford Kenya, written FORD-Kenya and short for Forum for the Restoration of Democracy-Kenya, is the party led by National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang'ula. It was formed in August 1992 when the original FORD split, and was led first by Jaramogi Oginga Odinga. Today its base is Bungoma, where it won the governorship, the Senate seat and four constituencies in 2022. As of 23 September 2026 it is part of President William Ruto's side, has refused to merge into the United Democratic Alliance (UDA), and has lost a string of officials to UDA since February 2026.
From Jaramogi to Wetang'ula
The original FORD brought together the leading campaigners for multi-party politics. It split in August 1992 over how to pick a presidential candidate: FORD-Kenya followed Jaramogi, the country's first Vice-President, and FORD-Asili followed Kenneth Matiba. Mulembe News, a western Kenya outlet, listed Michael Kijana Wamalwa, Anyang' Nyong'o, James Orengo, Mukhisa Kituyi, Paul Muite and Kiraitu Murungi among those who went with Jaramogi.
Jaramogi died in January 1994 and Wamalwa succeeded him. Raila Odinga, who lost a contest for the party chairmanship to Wamalwa, left and formed the National Development Party. Ford Kenya was part of the NARC coalition that beat KANU in 2002, and Wamalwa served as Mwai Kibaki's Vice-President until his death in 2003.
Musikari Kombo, the former Webuye MP, then led the party for about eight years until Wetang'ula took over in 2012, according to Mulembe News. The party's leaders since 1992:
| Leader | Period |
|---|---|
| Jaramogi Oginga Odinga | 1992 to 1994 |
| Michael Kijana Wamalwa | 1994 to 2003 |
| Musikari Kombo | 2003 to 2012 |
| Moses Wetang'ula | 2012 to date |
Kenyan parties rarely survive their founders, as why Kenyan political parties die explains. Ford Kenya has, largely by shrinking to one county.
2022: Bungoma, and the Speaker's chair
In December 2021 two of Wetang'ula's lieutenants, Wafula Wamunyinyi and Eseli Simiyu, broke away and launched the Democratic Action Party of Kenya (DAP-K) on Raila Odinga's side, a story told in the DAP-K explainer. Ford Kenya joined Ruto's Kenya Kwanza.
Bungoma decided the argument. The Kenya News Agency reported that Ford Kenya won the governorship, the Senate seat, the Woman Rep seat and four constituencies, and that Wamunyinyi, Simiyu and the outgoing governor all lost. The four MPs were John Makali (Kanduyi), Martin Wanyonyi (Webuye East), Majimbo Kalasinga (Kabuchai) and Murumba Chikati (Tongaren). Ken Lusaka (Governor, Bungoma) took back the governorship with 244,298 votes to Wycliffe Wangamati's 137,378, according to IEBC figures compiled by the Equal Politics site.
Wetang'ula won the Bungoma Senate seat and left it within weeks. On 8 September 2022 he was elected Speaker of the National Assembly, and he has kept the party leadership alongside the Speakership.
Inside Kenya Kwanza, but not inside UDA
Musalia Mudavadi folded Amani National Congress into UDA in 2025, a merger the High Court voided on 22 January 2026. Ruto asked Wetang'ula to do the same with Ford Kenya, and Wetang'ula refused. Mulembe News reported that most of Ford Kenya's MPs and officials favoured merging, but that Wetang'ula and Lusaka, the deputy party leader, rejected it for fear the party would be swallowed, as the New Ford Kenya party was when it joined Jubilee in 2017. The tensions are described in Mudavadi and Wetang'ula's western problem.
The cost has been paid in people. Mulembe News reported on 26 February 2026 that officials were resigning, most of them for UDA. The first was Chris Wamalwa, the party's former secretary-general and former Kiminini MP, who said he would run for Trans Nzoia governor. Others named included former Trans Nzoia Senator Henry Ole Ndiema. The same report said Ford Kenya had lost a ward by-election in Kabuchai in November 2025 to an independent backed by Kalasinga, the Kabuchai MP, who had fallen out with Wetang'ula.
The 2027 questions
Bungoma's governor's seat is open in 2027, The Standard reported, and none of the leading names it listed has said he will run on Ford Kenya. Didmus Barasa (Kimilili) of UDA has been handing out money to groups in all 45 wards, Tim Wanyonyi (Westlands) has been putting up solar lights in markets, and Wangamati said he was "still thinking about the seat". Bungoma is where nearly all of Ford Kenya's elected seats are, so the governorship matters more to it than to any other party.
Wetang'ula is also recruiting. At a funeral in Saboti on 20 September 2026 he told Eugene Wamalwa, the DAP-K leader and the younger brother of the late Vice-President, that he was "in the wrong political camp" and should join Kenya Kwanza, The Star reported. Wamalwa used the same funeral to invite Edwin Sifuna (Senator, Nairobi) into DAP-K. The exchange is covered in Wetang'ula's pitch to Wamalwa, and the Speaker's own position in Wetang'ula and the cost of being the establishment.
What to watch next is whether Ford Kenya names a Bungoma governor candidate of its own, and whether any of its remaining MPs follow Chris Wamalwa to UDA before party membership lists are due in March 2027.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is the leader of FORD-Kenya?
Moses Wetang'ula, the Speaker of the National Assembly. He took over the party in 2012 from Musikari Kombo, according to Mulembe News.
When was FORD-Kenya formed?
In August 1992, when the original FORD split into FORD-Kenya under Jaramogi Oginga Odinga and FORD-Asili under Kenneth Matiba.
Is FORD-Kenya part of UDA?
No. It is in President Ruto's Kenya Kwanza alliance but Wetang'ula has refused to fold it into UDA, even as several officials left for UDA in 2026.
What seats did FORD-Kenya win in 2022?
In Bungoma it won the governorship through Ken Lusaka, the Senate and Woman Rep seats and four constituencies: Kanduyi, Webuye East, Kabuchai and Tongaren, the Kenya News Agency reported.