Mt Kenya’s 2027 Party Race: New political vehicles and the fight for influence

Njoroge Wainaina, the MP for Kieni, announced on October 17 that he had left the ruling United Democratic Alliance and joined Ufanisi Kenya Party.

Elected on a UDA ticket in 2022, he said the move was intended to give Kieni residents a political vehicle of their own, while insisting that Ufanisi was open to supporters from across the country.

His announcement followed a series of shifts among elected leaders from Mt Kenya who have either left UDA, distanced themselves from it or started positioning themselves outside the party's leadership structure.

Wainaina's move is not isolated.

It is part of a wider reshuffling that has brought the region's political future into sharper focus as the August 10, 2027 General Election approaches.

A growing list of parties

The region has become associated with several parties led by, or linked to, prominent politicians.

Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua leads the Democracy for the Citizens Party (DCP), while Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro has been associated with the People's Party of Kenya.

Other outfits include the Service Party linked to Mwangi Kiunjuri, Chama Cha Kazi associated with Moses Kuria, and the Kenya Reform Party led by Ndiritu Muriithi.

The Future Party, Mwongozo Party, Ubuntu People's Party and Mkenya Solidarity Party are also part of the region's expanding political landscape.

The National Party has been linked to former Thika Town MP Patrick Wainaina, popularly known as Jungle.

Not every party was formed this year, and not every party is exclusively a Mt Kenya outfit.

Some are older political vehicles being repositioned for the next election; others are new formations or have renewed their public activity.

What has changed is the number of leaders seeking an independent platform for negotiations and nominations.

The break with UDA

Mt Kenya was a key part of President William Ruto's 2022 electoral coalition.

His subsequent political fallout with Gachagua, who was impeached as Deputy President in October 2024, altered the region's political alignments.

Gachagua has since sought to consolidate his influence through DCP, arguing that the region needs its own strong party to negotiate with national political formations.

Some of his allies say a united party could help Mt Kenya secure a stronger bargaining position and ensure that its leaders are not sidelined after an election.

At the same time, other leaders resist the idea that the region should rally behind one party.

Mwangi Kiunjuri has argued that voters should judge politicians by performance rather than party label, defending the right of different leaders to organise around competing agendas.

That disagreement is central to the current party boom:

One camp sees unity as a source of leverage; the other sees multiple parties as a legitimate expression of political choice.

The impact of independent party vehicles

A political party is more than a logo on campaign material.

It offers a structure for recruiting members, selecting candidates, organising branches, raising political visibility and negotiating coalition arrangements.

Leaders who control their own party can potentially negotiate over nominations and alliances without depending entirely on another party's internal machinery.

They can also use the party to assemble a local support base and build a longer-term national profile.

But establishing a party is only the first step.

Kenya's Political Parties Act requires full registration applicants to recruit at least 1,000 registered voters in more than half of the counties, with membership and leadership reflecting regional and ethnic diversity, gender balance and representation of special-interest groups.

Parties must also establish headquarters and branch offices in more than half of the counties.

The Office of the Registrar of Political Parties has continued to register new outfits ahead of the 2027 election.

Its current register lists 107 fully registered political parties nationally, showing that the increase in party activity extends beyond Mt Kenya.

Leaders must still meet registration, governance, membership and election-timetable requirements if they intend to use their parties to field candidates.