Former Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mithika Linturi has officially resigned from the United Democratic Alliance (UDA), a party led by President William Ruto.
Linturi, who was once a strong supporter of UDA’s Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda, cited deep dissatisfaction with the party’s governance. In his resignation letter addressed to the UDA Secretary-General, he expressed concerns that the party had failed to uphold its founding principles, mission, and values. He accused UDA of tolerating corruption, disregarding the rule of law, and ignoring the voices of Kenyan citizens.
His statement particularly critical of the party’s leadership, likening UDA to the Biblical Tower of Babel, a reference to confusion and disarray. Linturi argued that the party had lost its moral authority to govern and had strayed far from the ideals it once championed.
Linturi’s resignation comes nearly a year after his dismissal from President Ruto’s Cabinet in a sweeping reshuffle that saw the entire Cabinet disbanded on July 11, 2024.
In his resignation letter, Linturi stated that he had formally notified the Registrar of Political Parties of his decision to leave UDA. He emphasized that he could no longer be part of a party that, in his view, had failed to respect women and children, overtaxed Kenyans, and allowed the abduction and brutal murder of young people.
“I do not wish, nor would I ever wish that any Kenyan would belong to a party that is repugnant of its philosophy, a party that tolerates corruption, abduction and brutal murder of our young people, overtaxes Kenyans, a party that has no respect for women and children,” Linturi remarked.
The UDA leadership has yet to issue an official response to Linturi’s resignation. However, his departure adds to the mounting challenges facing President Ruto’s administration, as the former deputy president recently resigned from the party accusing it of taking the country in the wrong direction.
“The party has exhausted and wasted a Kenyan moment to take off economically, socially, and politically,” Gachagua wrote.
“As a party, and millions of Kenyans, we believed and trusted him and this statement. It was a lie. No nation can be built on a litany of lies.”
Both Linturi and Gachagua together with like-minded politicians joined forces and termed themselves as the new opposition as the Orange Democratic Party (ODM) party leader signed a pact with the president.
