Former Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko has ditched the Azimio One Kenya coalition party and joined Kenya Kwanza Alliance.
Through his social media accounts, Deputy President William Ruto welcomed Sonko to the Kenya Kwanza team.
“We welcome Mike Sonko to Kenya Kwanza, the winning team,” Ruto wrote on his Facebook page today.
The move comes two days after Sonko threatened to throw his weight behind United Democratic Alliance (UDA) candidate Hassan Omar if his running mate Ali Mbogo is not cleared to vie for Mombasa governor.
He said he will not back the ODM candidate Abdulswamad Nassir for the Mombasa governor seat.
“It’s not about Sonko. Clear Ali Mbogo and let him be on the ballot, failure to which we shall support Hassan Omar. Take this to the bank,” he said.
He said if the wiper candidate is not on the ballot, he will not support Nassir.
On Thursday, the former governor lost a bid to have his name included in ballot papers for the Mombasa gubernatorial race.
He had petitioned the High Court to compel the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission to include him on the ballot.
However, a three-judge bench dismissed the argument of Sonko that he has an active appeal at the East Africa Court of Justice.
The court agreed with IEBC’s interpretation of the Supreme Court ruling that had found him constitutionally unfit to hold office.