The simmering tensions within the Kenya Kwanza coalition have erupted into the open, with a senior UDA legislator warning that proposed zoning strategies are a death sentence for Kenyan democracy.

Molo MP and Chair of the National Assembly Finance Committee, Kimani Kuria, has launched a scathing attack on the emerging "zoning" proposals being floated within the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) and its coalition partners. Speaking at a political function in Nakuru, Kuria termed the strategy—which seeks to reserve specific regions for specific parties within the coalition—as a regression to tribal enclaves that will "kill democracy" and disenfranchise millions of voters.

The legislator’s furious rebuttal comes amidst whispers of a pre-election pact between UDA and ODM designed to maximize seat numbers in the 2027 general election. Kuria argues that such an arrangement is a betrayal of the bottom-up economic model’s promise of inclusivity, replacing merit-based leadership with boardroom deal-making that benefits only the political elite.

The Return of the Tribal Kingpins

Kuria did not mince his words, asserting that zoning is merely a euphemism for balkanizing the country into ethnic fiefdoms. By dictating which party can field candidates in a particular region, the coalition leadership effectively strips voters of their right to choose from a diverse pool of leaders. "We cannot tell the people of Mount Kenya or Nyanza that they only have one option," Kuria declared. "That is not democracy; that is a dictatorship of the parties."

The Molo MP warned that this strategy would entrench tribal parties, making national unity an impossible dream. Instead of building national movements based on ideology and policy, zoning rewards regional kingpins who can deliver their ethnic blocs. This, Kuria contends, will take Kenya back to the dark days of ethnic polarization, where elections are a census rather than a contest of ideas.

• The Danger: Zoning stifles internal party democracy, blocking aspiring young leaders who may belong to a "wrong" party for their region, effectively killing their political careers before they begin.
• The Alternative: Kuria is advocating for open competition within the coalition, arguing that the strongest candidate should win regardless of their specific party affiliation under the coalition umbrella.

A Rift in the Mountain

Kuria’s comments also expose the widening cracks within the Mount Kenya region’s leadership. As key figures position themselves for the 2027 cycle, the debate over the region's political vehicle is intensifying. By rejecting zoning, Kuria is signaling a refusal to be corralled into a pre-determined political pen, a sentiment likely to resonate with a restless electorate tired of being treated as voting machines.

This outburst is likely to ruffle feathers at the State House and Capitol Hill, where strategists are working overtime to craft a winning formula. However, for the voter on the ground, Kuria’s warning resonates as a defense of their sovereign power. The message is clear: the people must remain the ultimate deciders of their destiny, not the beneficiaries of a political cartography drawn by a few men in a Nairobi boardroom.