It seems as if the vote rich Mt Kenya region is becoming slippery for President Dr William Samoei Arap Ruto and his Kenya Kwanza Alliance Government.
Powerful politicians from the region are defecting daily from the ruling UDA and join former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua’s Democracy For Citizens Party.
Runyenjes Member of Parliament Eric Muchangi Karemba has officially defected from President William Ruto’s United Democratic Alliance to former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua’s Democracy for Citizens Party.
The second-term legislator was formally welcomed into the opposition outfit by Gachagua at his Wamunyoro residence in Nyeri County on Friday, November 13, 2026, marking the latest political tremor to hit the ruling party across the Mount Kenya region.
Karemba’s formal entry into DCP comes roughly two weeks after he publicly declared in Runyenjes that he would not defend his parliamentary seat on a UDA ticket in the 2027 General Election.
Following his arrival at Wamunyoro, the Public Petitions Committee chairperson affirmed that his political move was driven by the need to safeguard the interests and respect of the Mount Kenya electorate.
His departure delivers a particularly sharp blow to the ruling administration in Embu County, as Runyenjes covers the home turf of Embu Governor and UDA Chairperson Cecily Mbarire.
Gachagua announced that Karemba will immediately team up with Mbeere South MP Gitonga Mukunji to spearhead an aggressive grassroots mobilization campaign aimed at sweeping the Embu gubernatorial seat, parliamentary slots, and all twenty county assembly wards in the upcoming polls.
To cement the defection on the ground, Gachagua confirmed plans to tour Runyenjes Constituency next week to formally introduce Karemba to local voters under the DCP banner. Karemba’s exit adds him to a rapidly growing list of Mount Kenya lawmakers—including Githunguri MP Gathoni Wamuchomba and Gatundu South MP Gabriel Kagombe—who have abandoned UDA as Gachagua consolidates his regional stronghold ahead of 2027.
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