NAIROBI, Kenya – Flamboyant businessman and politician Bundotich Zedekiah Kiprop, alias Buzeki, has officially joined the ruling United Democratic Alliance (UDA) party.
Buzeki was welcomed to the party’s headquarters based at the Hustler Plaza along Ngong Road on Thursday, September 11, 2025, by UDA secretary general Hassan Omar, among other officials.
In his address to the party and supporters, the former Uasin Gishu gubernatorial aspirant pledged to support President William Ruto’s 2027 reelection bid.
“We are going to work together as a party to ensure that our president is elected through the 2027 General Election,” Buzeki announced.
Buzeki said that the time had come for him to support President Ruto’s agenda for Kenyans, even as he rallied his supporters to rally behind the head of state.
“Under President Ruto, we are now in a Kenya that has embraced development that seeks to transform the lives of every Kenyan,” Buzeki said amid cheers from the crowd.
Why Buzeki has chosen to support President Ruto
He also praised President Ruto for putting in place policies that have enabled a good environment to do business.
“A majority of my supporters have been urging me to support the president. Now, this is the time. We now have a responsibility to work 10 times harder than those whom we have found at the party. We have a vision, we are also focused and selfless,” he added.
Buzeki, however, said that he will make his position known on the political seat he will be vying for when the “right” time comes.
In the run-up to the 2022 General Election, his competitors labelled him an Azimio La Umoja One Kenya Coalition Party sympathiser despite vying as an Independent candidate in President Ruto’s Rift Valley political bastion. President Ruto’s UDA party enjoys massive support in the region.
How Buzeki lost the Uasin Gishu gubernatorial seat
In the August 9, 2022, contest, UDA’s Jonathan Bii emerged as the Uasin Gishu gubernatorial race winner.
Bii was declared governor-elect, trouncing Buzeki. Popularly known as ‘Koti Moja’, Bii garnered 214,036 votes against Buzeki, who secured 127,013 votes.
After losing the election, Buzeki declared his unwavering devotion to Raila Odinga, the leader of the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM), and President Ruto. Buzeki added that he respects former president Uhuru Kenyatta, in addition to Raila and Ruto, on his official Twitter account on Tuesday, July 25, 2023.
“I hold President William Ruto, retired president Uhuru Kenyatta, and ex-prime minister Raila Odinga in high regard. No one should question my respect for any of them,” said Buzeki.
Why Buzeki fell out with President William Ruto
Buzeki had presented an uphill task to President Ruto after mounting a well-oiled political campaign against ‘Koti Moja’.
The flamboyant businessman-turned politician fell out with President Ruto, whose close allies he accused of dictatorship and holding him hostage.
The former governor candidate said he decided to chart his own political path and would not support Ruto’s 2022 presidential bid.
“I wish him (Ruto) well as he seeks the presidency as I look for my votes to be the governor of Uasin Gishu county,” Buzeki said during one of the campaigns.
What defined Buzeki’s 2022 gubernatorial campaigns
Buzeki took a jab at a section of Ruto’s allies for hurling insults at Rift Valley leaders perceived to have divergent views.
“Every person is entitled to their own opinion. I will not be cowed into toeing a specific political line to please anybody,” said Buzeki, who decamped from Jubilee after losing to former Uasin Gishu governor Jackson Mandago (now senator) in 2017.
Later, Buzeki briefly joined former Bomet governor Isaac Ruto’s Chama Cha Mashinani (CCM), where he served as secretary-general, but left after the latter joined forces with President Ruto.
During the campaigns, ‘Buzeki Nebo Chego’ (Buzeki he of the milk), as he is famously known by supporters, rode on the slogan ‘Uongozi Ni Sera’ (Leadership is Agenda) and described himself as the only candidate with the interests of the people at heart compared to his opponents.
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