A fresh storm has erupted inside Kenya’s ruling party after a section of senior leaders allied to President William Ruto issued a dramatic 48-hour ultimatum demanding the resignation of UDA Secretary General Hassan Omar over remarks deemed divisive and inflammatory.
The rebellion, spearheaded by lawmakers from the politically influential Mount Kenya region, threatens to deepen cracks within the ruling United Democratic Alliance (UDA) at a time when tensions over regional politics and succession battles continue to simmer beneath the surface.
Leading the charge were Alice Ng’ang’a and John Njuguna Kawanjiku, who accused Omar of making reckless comments that unfairly targeted the Mount Kenya region during President Ruto’s recent tour of the Coast.
Addressing the media on Wednesday, May 27, the MPs insisted that Omar’s subsequent apology lacked sincerity and failed to address the gravity of the controversy sparked by his remarks.
“As leaders, we demand the immediate and unconditional resignation of Hassan Omar as Secretary General of the UDA Party,” the lawmakers declared in a joint statement.
“Should he fail to tender his resignation voluntarily within 48 hours, we will formally present a joint petition to our party leader to invoke party organs and remove him from office.”
The dramatic warning comes days after Omar triggered outrage when he appeared to link the recent nationwide matatu strike to one particular region of the country — remarks critics say risked fuelling ethnic tensions in an already politically charged environment.
Although Omar later issued a public apology, he maintained that his comments had been taken out of context by political opponents seeking to tarnish his image.
His explanation, however, appears to have done little to calm growing anger within sections of the ruling coalition.
The lawmakers further backed moves by the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) to investigate the matter, calling for possible criminal charges if the remarks are found to amount to hate speech or incitement.
“We fully support the probe by the NCIC and demand that criminal prosecution for hate speech and incitement be pursued to its logical conclusion,” the leaders stated.
The controversy has also handed fresh ammunition to the opposition, with former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua accusing allies of President Ruto of deliberately promoting inflammatory rhetoric to divide regions for political gain.
Behind the scenes, insiders claim the push to oust Omar is tied to a wider political strategy by influential Mount Kenya leaders seeking to solidify the region’s voting bloc ahead of future elections.
Reports indicate some UDA figures fear repeated controversial remarks by senior party officials could alienate voters in a region widely regarded as critical to President Ruto’s political survival.
Omar, who has served as the ruling party’s Secretary General for less than two years, now finds himself at the centre of one of the biggest internal political storms to hit UDA in recent months — with the coming days likely to determine whether the crisis escalates into a full-blown rebellion within the ruling party.
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