Murang’a Senator Joe Nyutu is digging in.
Appearing on TV47’s ‘Morning Café’, the first-term lawmaker brushed off demands that he surrender his United Democratic Alliance (UDA) ticket after publicly blasting President William Ruto’s handling of recent Gen Z protests.
“Nobody will tell me how to think or how to present my thoughts,” he said. “President Ruto is not the party. I am a member of UDA by right, and I’ll leave when I want, not when anyone tells me.”
Nyutu reminded fellow legislators that Ruto himself stayed in Jubilee while openly opposing former President Uhuru Kenyatta between 2018 and 2022. “We don’t have party owners, we have party leaders,” he added, calling himself one of UDA’s founders.
The senator’s real ire is the state’s use of the Prevention of Terrorism Act against protesters who torched the Kikuyu Law Courts on June 25. He fears the label “terrorist” is being slapped on youthful demonstrators to silence dissent.
“We must be very careful not to treat all acts of vandalism or arson as terrorism,” Nyutu warned, noting that arsonists who burned Mawego Police Station in Homa Bay faced ordinary charges instead.
Nyutu insists selective prosecutions only inflame anger among jobless youth. “Criticizing the President is not betrayal,” he said. “Weaponizing terror laws against citizens exercising their right to protest will backfire.”
What next for UDA?
Nyutu’s outburst highlights a wider identity crisis. With Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua already at odds with his former boss, a growing Mount Kenya bloc now feels sidelined, with the remaining Ruto allies facing a hostile ground.
