Will Gideon Moi fold KANU and join UDA ahead of 2027 elections?

With the Kenya African National Union (KANU) party leader, who also doubles as the former Baringo Senator Gideon Moi, now entering into a broad-based arrangement, everyone is asking themselves: What next for Gideon Moi?

Will he fold his KANU party, which has existed since the colonial era and was among the first political vehicles that helped Kenya attain independence, to join the United Democratic Alliance (UDA), just like Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi did when he dissolved his Amani National Congress (ANC) party earlier this year?

Moi, who was planning a political comeback to reclaim the seat he lost to the late William Cheptumo in 2022, had already kick-started his campaigns and was preparing to face Vincent Chemitei.

Also watch: Handshake coming? Ruto hosts Gideon Moi at Statehouse

However, after several engagements with the president, including a meeting at State House where they held lengthy discussions, the two reached an agreement that saw the former senator withdraw from the race, leaving his supporters in anguish.

Defection to UDA

Moi was the only remaining dissenting and opposing voice to President Ruto in the Rift Valley region.

Despite losing his senatorial seat during the UDA wave in 2022, he remained one of the few political casualties who openly resisted Ruto’s influence.

Others who once opposed Ruto but have since joined his camp include businessman Bundotich Buzeki, who ran for the Uasin Gishu gubernatorial seat as an independent candidate after falling out with Ruto in 2017.

Buzeki recently joined UDA, vowing to support the party and the broad-based arrangement.

Former Kesses MP Swarup Mishra also switched sides immediately after the 2022 elections, going as far as apologising to his constituents for not aligning with their political choice earlier.

The main reason President Ruto sought to sway Gideon Moi to his side was to ensure that, as he heads into the 2027 elections, the entire Rift Valley region, his stronghold, rallies behind him.

During a meeting in Kabarak with KANU delegates, Ruto reportedly urged Baringo residents to allow the UDA candidate vying for the senatorial seat to go unopposed.

This demonstrates Ruto’s determination to secure full control of the region politically. As the country heads toward the 2027 elections, similar discussions are expected to continue, with leaders emphasising the need for unity of purpose.

Kamket defecting to UDA

The party strongly opposed Kenya Kwanza in the run-up to the elections, but after the polls, its members began defecting to President Ruto’s UDA. The first to cross over was Tiaty MP William Kamket, followed by the party’s Secretary General, Nick Salat. The only remaining members were Gideon Moi and former Baringo Woman Representative Gladwell Cheruiyot. Now that their party leader has joined forces with Ruto, the big question remains: will he fully abandon KANU and embrace Ruto’s UDA?

As the political temperature rises ahead of the 2027 general election, Gideon Moi’s next move remains a subject of national debate. His decision to withdraw from the Baringo senatorial race and align with President Ruto’s camp has sparked speculation that KANU may soon cease to exist as an independent political entity.

While some view his cooperation with Ruto as a strategic move to remain politically relevant, others see it as the end of an era for one of Kenya’s oldest political parties, a party that once defined the nation’s post-independence politics.

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