Businessman and Politician Bundotich Zedekiah Kiprop Buzeki has officially joined the United Democratic Alliance (UDA)Party.
The announcement was made official on Thursday, September 11.
Buzeki is expected to challenge incumbent Uasin Gishu Governor Jonathan Chelilim (Koti Moja) for the county’s top seat.
In 2017, he declared his interest in the Uasin Gishu governor seat three months to the August 8 election. His entry rubbed many the wrong way, and he was immediately branded a project of the then Deputy President William Ruto.
Businessman Buzeki Bundotich Joins UDA Party
Although he run a moneyed campaign for the seat replete with choppers and top-of-the-range cars, he lost out to former Governor Jackson Mandago in both the Jubilee primaries and General Election.
During the 2022 General Election Buzeki, who was leading contender for the Uasin Gishu governor’s seat, declared that he would not campaign for President William Ruto in his State House bid.
Running as an independent candidate for the second time, Buzeki also ruled out using the Ruto’s portraits on his campaign materials.
He explained that in the 2017 polls, his main rival at the time— Jackson Mandago—dragged him to court, accusing him of popularising his candidacy by using the images of Jubilee presidential hopefuls President Uhuru Kenyatta and Ruto, despite running independently.
He however lost it to Koti Moja. Buzeki briefly joined Chama Cha Mashinani in 2019 but left before the 2022 general elections.
Also Read: Bundotich Buzeki Profile: Education Background, Career, Family and Networth
Buzeki Business Empire
Buzeki is known for his athletic physique, firm personality and sunglasses which he is never seen without.
“I am just a humble entrepreneur seeking political leadership as an agent of change to eradicate poverty in the region. I am a self-made individual who rose from a mere milk hawker in Mombasa to my current economic stature,” Buzeki said in a past interview.
Bundotich is the founder of Kenya’s Buzeki Group of Companies, a conglomerate with interests in logistics, oil trading, heavy vehicle dealerships, and insurance.
The group was previously active in the dairy sector, but in 2013 Bundotich sold Buzeki Dairy to the Kenyatta family–owned Brookside Dairies in a deal worth $15 million.
Also Read: Gachagua’s DCP Party Withdraws from Mbeere and Two Other By-Elections
Buzeki appeared in the 2017 Forbes Magazine as one of the top ten richest Kenyans who made his first billion at the age of 30.
He was also popularly known for owning his thriving farmhouse in Ainabkoi, Uasin Gishu County.
His success story traces him from milk hawking to a famous politician and a village billionaire who owns a chopper.
He also founded other companies including Bunoil Limited, Koima Motors, Transtruckers Logistics, Buzeki Insurance, and Buzeki Fleet System Management.
As of 2021, his fleet included 289 trucks and 141 trailers. However, his businesses were also servicing a loan of approximately Ksh 2.7 billion from NCBA Bank, which he began restructuring by 2023.
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