Gloria Orwoba: I am going to Senate, I earned this position just like Ruto earned his
By Ascah Mwango, August 21, 2025Former nominated Senator Gloria Orwoba has declared that she will continue performing her duties in the Senate, insisting that she earned her seat and will not step aside.
Speaking on a local radio station on Thursday, August 21, 2025, Orwoba emphasised that her commitment to the people and the Senate is not determined by party politics.
“I am going to the Senate. I am the nominated senator. I know she might, Consolata Nabwire, also believe that she is nominated, that’s good for her. To each their own; chart your path,” she said, responding to her party-appointed replacement.
Adding;
“People are asking why I am fighting to stay in a party that doesn’t even want me. It’s not about the party. You have to fight to stop impunity and injustices. It’s about having a government that works. We voted for you, Mr. President. We can’t just wake up and remove you; it has to be done legally, either through the ballot or impeachment,” she said.
She also highlighted the personal sacrifices she has made in her political journey, including arrests and detentions when she aligned herself with President Ruto.
“When you wrote the nomination list, you saw I was worthy. He didn’t give me this position, I earned it. I worked hard for it. I got arrested and detained many times by the government simply for being associated with Ruto. I earned this position just as Ruto earned his. It was like a race. I ran and I won. I worked the hardest, I earned it, and I took the hit,” Orwoba added.
Her remarks follow a ruling by the Political Parties Disputes Tribunal, which quashed the United Democratic Alliance Party’s decision to expel her.
In its ruling on Wednesday, August 20, 2025, the tribunal found procedural lapses and irregularities in the party’s disciplinary process and ordered the party to reverse its decision.
Replacement
Meanwhile, Consolata Nabwire Wakwabubi, Orwoba’s party-appointed successor, has already been sworn in. She took her oath on Wednesday in a ceremony presided over by Senate Speaker Amason Kingi.
She had been gazetted by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission as Orwoba’s replacement on August 15, 2025.
“I, Consolata Nabwire Wakwabubi, having been elected a member of the Senate, do swear in the name of the Almighty God that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the people and the Republic of Kenya, that I will obey, respect, uphold, preserve, protect and defend this Constitution of the Republic of Kenya, and that I will faithfully and conscientiously discharge the duties of a Member of Parliament. So help me, God,” Wakwabubi said during the swearing-in.
Orwoba’s expulsion from the UDA party followed her participation in homecoming events for former Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i, a key opposition figure and 2027 presidential hopeful.
The party viewed her actions and public criticism of government policies as acts of disloyalty and a breach of party ideals.
On May 19, UDA Secretary General Hassan Omar announced that the party’s Disciplinary Committee had resolved to expel Orwoba.
“Senator Gloria Orwoba ceases to be a member of the UDA Party. Consequently, she no longer enjoys any privileges accorded to party members, nor is she authorised to represent or act on behalf of the party in any capacity,” Omar said.
A day later, the Senate seat was officially declared vacant by Senate Speaker Amason Kingi, effective May 21, 2025.