Three Mt Kenya Governors Are Leaving UDA

Three governors elected on the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) ticket in 2022 are leaving it. Irungu Kang'ata (Governor, Murang'a) joined Rigathi Gachagua's Democracy for Citizens Party (DCP) on 24 July 2026. Kiarie Badilisha (Governor, Nyandarua) had also moved to DCP by August. Kimani Wamatangi (Governor, Kiambu) said on 12 August 2026 that he would not seek re-election on UDA and would reveal a new party in December.

Irungu Kang'ata, Murang'a

Kang'ata announced the move at Gachagua's Wamunyoro home on 24 July. "Come 2027, I will defend my seat via DCP but remain a bridge that connects with Linda Mwananchi," he said, according to The Star. Gachagua welcomed him: "Welcome home, Governor Irungu Kang'ata, where you belong."

He has a good number to show. Infotrak's CountyTrak index, reported in August 2026, ranked him Kenya's best-performing governor at 80 per cent. He may face a Cabinet Secretary: Lands CS Alice Wahome (Kandara) told a church service in Murang'a on 9 August that "this time round, the Governor of Murang'a County must be a woman", Kenyans.co.ke reported.

Kiarie Badilisha, Nyandarua

Streamline Feed reported that Badilisha left UDA for DCP together with the Nyandarua County Assembly leadership. On 18 August 2026, Justice C.W. Githua of the High Court in Naivasha granted him anticipatory bail, barring the DCI and the EACC from arresting him. The report said investigators were looking at alleged irregular procurement and fund diversion in the county, and that the Senate had questioned him in February 2026 over Sh5.1 billion in pending bills. These are allegations under investigation; no charge had been reported by 23 September.

Nyandarua is where DCP won its first seat. In the Ol Kalou by-election on 16 July 2026, DCP's Sammy Kamau Waweru took 35,440 votes to UDA's 5,450; see DCP wins Ol Kalou.

Kimani Wamatangi, Kiambu

Wamatangi has not joined DCP. He told Radio Generation on 12 August that he would not contest on UDA, and that he had "decided not to engage in early campaigns to finish the pending development work we promised until around December", when he would reveal his new party.

He blamed pressure from the national government, linking it to his refusal to back a plan involving 100 acres of public land at Gatuanyaga, Thika. "They wanted to have someone who could cave in to their demands," he said. The same report noted that the EACC investigated him in April 2025 over Sh1.5 billion in county procurement. He has not been charged.

The few polls that exist put him far ahead. The Bobea Report, with fieldwork from 26 August to 2 September 2026, had him at 59.7 per cent in Kiambu against 4.0 for his nearest rival, James Mwaura Kogi. Infotrak's CountyTrak ranked him third nationally at 71 per cent.

The three side by side

Why it matters for 2027

A governor who leaves takes more than a name. County budgets, jobs and contracts run through the office, and ward networks tend to follow the governor. Losing three in Mt Kenya weakens UDA in the region that gave Ruto his 2022 margin, and fits the pattern in Mount Kenya is voting against the government it elected.

The government has answered with its own campaign. Deputy President Kithure Kindiki has made more than 30 trips to Mt Kenya in 10 months, the Nation reported, and on 19 September elders at Kirigiti Stadium named him the region's spokesman.

Switching is a gamble for the governors too. Wamatangi and Kang'ata poll well, but a new party needs agents, branches and a membership list, which is where DCP's own gap shows.

What to watch

Wamatangi's December announcement comes first: DCP, a new vehicle, or something else. Then there is UDA's reply. Wahome in Murang'a is the first name floated against any of the three, and nobody had yet been named for Kiambu or Nyandarua by 23 September. Another Mt Kenya governor could also follow them out. The wider incumbent picture is in seven first-term governors in real trouble.