NAIROBI, Kenya, Nov 10 – Murang’a Woman Representative Betty Maina has pulled out of the 2027 parliamentary race, in a decision that signals the growing uncertainty facing President William Ruto’s political allies in the Mt Kenya region.
Maina announced on Monday that she would not seek another term, bringing an unexpected twist to the county’s political succession contest and leaving questions about whether she intends to pursue a different elective position.
The legislator appeared to link her decision to the changing political mood in Mt Kenya, particularly the growing popularity of former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua’s Democracy for the Citizens Party (DCP).
She cited the July 16 Ol Kalou parliamentary by-election as a turning point, saying the outcome had given her a different perspective on the electorate and the challenges facing politicians aligned with the ruling party.
The by-election delivered a crushing defeat to the United Democratic Alliance (UDA), with DCP candidate Sammy Kamau Ngotho securing 35,440 votes against 5,450 garnered by the ruling party’s Samuel Muchina Nyaga.
The scale of the defeat was particularly significant given the resources and mobilisation that had gone into the UDA campaign.
Reflecting on the experience, Maina described how campaign teams had distributed food, household goods and money to voters in an attempt to secure support, only for the electorate to overwhelmingly back the…
