Muthoni Marubu
Lamu Woman Representative Muthoni Marubu has announced her withdrawal from any further engagement with the United Democratic Alliance (UDA), citing what she described as political sabotage and ethnic exclusion within the party’s affairs in Lamu County.
In a letter dated Tuesday, August 11, addressed to Lamu Governor and UDA Deputy Party Leader Issa Timamy, Marubu said she would no longer participate in UDA mobilisation, grassroots elections or other party activities.
Marubu said President William Ruto had earlier asked her to mobilise support for UDA in Lamu despite her having been elected as an independent Member of Parliament.
“I reached out to you six times; you neither answered nor returned my calls, and you organised not a single grassroots mobilisation meeting,” Marubu stated.
According to the legislator, she proceeded independently and conducted 42 grassroots meetings across Lamu County, registering members and building support for UDA despite the party having failed to win an elective seat in the county in 2022.
She said the subsequent UDA grassroots elections were won “overwhelmingly” but accused Timamy of attempting to have the process reversed because its outcome did not favour his political interests.
Marubu particularly questioned calls for repeat grassroots elections in Lamu West, which she described as her political stronghold, while Lamu East, which she identified as Timamy’s political base, remained unaffected.
She accused the governor of pursuing what she termed “deliberate political sabotage” and raised broader concerns about ethnic inclusion in Lamu.
Marubu cited issues including public appointments, the replacement of the late deputy governor, the deterioration of Mpeketoni Hospital and alleged attempts to evict farmers from their land.
She also rejected claims that the people she mobilised for UDA were predominantly Kikuyu, arguing that her political activities had reached different communities across Lamu.
The legislator said she was born and raised in Lamu despite tracing her ancestry to Murang’a, while Timamy’s ancestry is from Oman.
“Ancestry does not determine belonging. The Constitution does. Lamu belongs equally to all its people,” she said.
Marubu further accused Timamy of trying to exclude some residents from meaningful participation in government and said she would continue lobbying for equitable inclusion regardless of ethnicity or religion.
She recalled that in 2015, while serving as an MCA, she declined to support an impeachment motion against Timamy, saying she chose “human dignity and consideration over political differences.”
Marubu said she had intended to join UDA ahead of the 2027 General Election but had now withdrawn that intention.
She directed her team, political allies and supporters not to participate in further UDA activities, declaring her political engagement with the party “formally and conclusively ended.”