UDA tops political parties’ fund allocation with Ksh789M
By Kenneth Mwenda, September 14, 2025The ruling United Democratic Alliance (UDA) and its ally, the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM), will take the largest portion of the Political Parties Fund (PPF) in the 2025/26 financial year.
According to a notice published in the Kenya Gazette on September 12, 2025, the acting Registrar of Political Parties, Sophia Sitati, confirmed that 47 political parties are eligible to receive funding.
UDA will pocket over Ksh789 million, while ODM will receive more than Ksh421 million. Combined, the two parties, led by President William Ruto and former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, will share more than Ksh1.2 billion.
The Jubilee Party, once the ruling party, is the only other outfit to cross the Ksh100 million mark. It has been allocated over Ksh184 million. Wiper, led by Kalonzo Musyoka, follows with Ksh98 million.
Eugene Wamalwa’s Democratic Action Party-Kenya (DAP-K) will receive Ksh43 million, while FORD-Kenya, headed by Speaker Moses Wetang’ula, has an allocation of Ksh35 million.
The United Democratic Movement (UDM) will take home Ksh36 million, and the Kenya African National Union (KANU) will receive Ksh32 million. However, the majority of smaller parties remain with minimal allocations.
Smaller parties demand fairness
This imbalance has fuelled protests from minor parties. On September 10, 2025 a coalition of smaller parties filed a petition to Parliament seeking amendments to the Political Parties Act, 2011. They argued that the current funding formula is unfair and prevents them from preparing adequately for the 2027 general elections.
National Liberal Party (NLP) leader Augustus Muli criticised the structure, saying that it locks out nearly half of the registered parties from government funding. He said that out of 91 registered political parties, only 47 are funded. This has crippled our ability to operate offices and organise campaigns.
The debate over funding highlights the growing gap between established and emerging political forces. While UDA and ODM strengthen their financial base ahead of 2027, smaller parties warn that without fairer support, Kenya’s multiparty system risks being dominated by only a few players.