Kirinyaga Governor Anne Waiguru has officially ditched Jubilee party to joins Deputy President William Ruto’s United Democratic Alliance (UDA) party.
Waiguru is said to have made the move on Tuesday, during a closed door meeting at DP Ruto’s residence in Karen.
During her visit to Ruto’s residence, the Kirinyaga County boss was accompanied by a section of Members of County Assembly (MCAs).
On September 22 during a tour of the county, Waiguru asked her supporters for advise on the best party to seek re-election in the upcoming polls.
Many of the residents who had turned up to welcome the governor shouted that she should join the UDA party. Her response at the rally signaled that she had agreed to her supporter’s request.
"What party do you want me to join? she asked, to which they chanted UDA. "If I join that party will you re-elect me? Let me see by a show of hands," Waiguru said.
DP William Ruto and Kirinyaga Governor Anne Waiguru in Karen
After joining UDA officially, the governor will have to face Kirinyaga Women Representative Purity Ngirici in the nominations.
Ngirici who is one of Ruto's foot soldiers in Mt Kenya has already declared her intentions to vie for the governor's seat.
Earlier, the Governor had said she was open to joining any politician formation her supporters choose.
She acknowledged that the Jubilee party was no longer an option because it had lost its popularity.
"The truth of the matter is that defending my seat, if the polls were held today, would be very difficult, and that is the truth of the matter, Jubilee needs to look internally at its issues in order to be acceptable to the people of Mt Kenya.
“If I ran today on a Jubilee ticket and someone else ran on a different party, even if people felt I had performed, it would be hard to convince them to vote for me,” she said.