Former Law Society of Kenya (LSK) President Nelson Havi has finally lifted the lid on his dramatic political break with the ruling United Democratic Alliance (UDA), revealing a story of exclusion, democratic backsliding, and what he describes as the moral collapse of the party he once supported.
In a candid interview aired on NTV Kenya, Havi said his decision to align himself with former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua and the Democracy for the Citizens Party (DCP) was not impulsive, personal, or opportunistic—but a principled stand against a party he believes abandoned its founding ideals.
Havi traced the beginning of his fallout with UDA to the April 2024 grassroots elections, an episode he says fundamentally altered his view of the party’s commitment to internal democracy.
Despite being a registered voter, Havi revealed that his name had mysteriously disappeared from the party register at Hospital Hill Primary School, where the elections were taking place—effectively locking him out of the process.
“I was not in the voter register. I had already been removed,” Havi said.
“They picked some nameless lady from Homa Bay and brought her to be the UDA chairperson here. That’s when it became clear to me this was not a democratic party.”
For a man who built his national profile championing the rule of law and constitutionalism, the incident was more than a personal slight—it was a red flag.
Havi disclosed that beyond internal party frustrations, he increasingly faced public pressure to walk away from UDA, with ordinary Kenyans openly questioning his association with a party dogged by accusations of corruption and intolerance to dissent.
“I walk in the streets, I drive by myself, I’ve not stolen anybody’s money,” he said.
“People would mock you and say, ‘Havi, you are a good person—leave that party.’”
According to Havi, remaining in UDA had become politically and morally untenable for someone of his standing and professional reputation.
The former LSK boss confirmed that he formally resigned from UDA in October 2025, choosing to stay politically unattached for several months as he weighed his next move.
During that period, he said, numerous political actors reached out—but he was adamant about avoiding parties built around personality cults and blind loyalty.
“I was not going to jump from one bad situation to another,” he noted.
Havi’s eventual decision to join Rigathi Gachagua’s Democracy for the Citizens Party was, by his account, both calculated and ideological.
He dismissed claims that DCP is a protest vehicle for political rejects, arguing instead that its leadership comprises the original architects of the Kenya Kwanza movement—leaders who, he says, were sidelined for insisting on accountability and fidelity to agreed principles.
“People call them rebels or rejects,” Havi said.
“But these are the original Kenya Kwanza leaders.”
Crucially, Havi emphasized that his move was not about personal loyalty to Gachagua, insisting he does not subscribe to hero worship.
Instead, he said he was drawn to DCP’s institutional outlook, its emphasis on governance, equity, and constitutional order—values he believes UDA has abandoned.
Never one to mince words, Havi offered a biting metaphor to contrast Gachagua’s political recruitment strategy with that of UDA—remarks that have since gone viral online.
“Rigathi Gachagua is enlisting stallions and mares,” he said.
“The other guy is enlisting emasculated eunuch mules. What more damage can you cause to a mule?”
The comment underscored Havi’s view that DCP is attracting independent-minded leaders, while UDA, in his telling, prefers political submissiveness over strength.
Havi’s defection is the latest high-profile blow to UDA and adds momentum to Gachagua’s efforts to position DCP as a serious alternative ahead of the next general election.
More than a party switch, Havi’s account paints a damning portrait of a ruling party accused by its former insiders of closing democratic space, punishing dissent, and losing its moral compass.
Whether DCP can translate such elite defections into grassroots support remains to be seen—but one thing is clear: Nelson Havi has chosen his side, and he’s not looking back.
