Businessman Buzeki joins UDA, pledges support for President Ruto -

By Newsflash Repoter

Prominent Rift Valley businessman Bundotich Zedekiah Kiprop, popularly known as Buzeki, has formally joined the ruling United Democratic Alliance (UDA), ending years of sharp criticism against President William Ruto.

Buzeki, who previously contested the Uasin Gishu gubernatorial seat in 2017 and 2022, was on Thursday received at the UDA headquarters in Kilimani, Nairobi. Party Secretary General Hassan Omar and Executive Director Nicodemus Bore welcomed him alongside a group of his supporters.

“I want to thank the UDA Party for accepting us to be members. I have completed my registration and been received warmly, and I am now officially a member of UDA,” Buzeki declared.

The businessman emphasized that his decision was reached after wide consultations with his supporters across Uasin Gishu and the wider Rift Valley. He described President Ruto’s leadership as “transformative,” saying he was ready to back his re-election in 2027.

Shift from critic to supporter

For years, Buzeki was regarded as one of President Ruto’s fiercest political critics in Rift Valley. His past campaigns saw him challenge UDA-backed candidates, most notably Jackson Mandago in 2017 and Jonathan Bii in 2022, when he vied as an independent and garnered 127,013 votes against Bii’s 214,036.

On Thursday, however, he struck a reconciliatory tone, saying the time had come to put political differences aside.

“We have come here during the day and not at night. This is because we made a decision after deep thought and resolved that it is time to join the team that will transform Kenya. We don’t want to be left behind,” Buzeki said.

He added that he and his allies would now work to strengthen UDA at the grassroots, pledging to popularize the party’s agenda and recover what he termed “lost time.”

Promise to deliver 2027 votes

Buzeki assured UDA officials that his entry into the party would boost President Ruto’s prospects in Uasin Gishu and Rift Valley, regions that have traditionally been UDA strongholds but still saw a sizeable opposition vote in 2022.

“For me and others, we have a responsibility to recover lost time by working extra hard to popularise the party,” he said. “We will compete on issues; we will compete on ideas for all seats, from MCA to governor. This will be like a home match.”

He noted that the opposition previously secured more than 100,000 votes in Uasin Gishu and vowed to mobilize supporters to ensure overwhelming backing for UDA in the next election cycle.

Buzeki’s defection marks a significant political realignment in Rift Valley, signaling UDA’s continued consolidation ahead of 2027.