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Sunday, September 17, 2023 –Cracks have emerged in the ruling Party UDA as Western Region politicians differ over its leadership.
Senator Boni Khalwale has sharply differed with UDA Party Interim Secretary General Cleophas Malala for his incessant calls to fold fringe parties in Kenya Kwanza.
Khalwale, doubling up as UDA Chief Whip in the Senate, said Malala who recently defected from ANC should go slow on calling for the dissolution of Kenya Kwanza affiliates, especially, Ford Kenya Party.
“Those who joined us recently like Malala have much to do to prove themselves as legitimate UDA members. This is why he is keen on telling his former party ANC to fold but he should let Ford-Kenya be and concentrate on ANC if that will win him legitimacy and trust among UDA members,” he said during a meeting with UDA founders of Kakamega in Ikolomani.
Malala asked to start with ANC Party which he belonged to
In a statement that was delivered by Khalwale on Saturday September 16, Malala is required to stop intimidating other parties before he can bring all the ANC Party members into UDA.
Khalwale said they accept Malala as their Sec Gen in UDA but he is still serving on an interim basis and, therefore, he should not act as if he is a fully appointed leader.
“For as long as ANC is still ANC, these people cannot have faith in him and that is why he is forcing Mudavadi to fold his party.
“On dissolution of parties please stick to ANC and leave Ford Kenyan alone. You have every reason to ask every ANC member to follow you. Prove yourself right by starting with your ANC Party members.
“But if you come alone and claim to be a force to reckon with, it is a waste of time,” Khalwle warned.
The planned Party leadership election Scheduled December
He prepared Malala that elections for the party will be taking place in December and that the election board of UDA will conduct the exercise.
This important exercise, Mr. Khalwale noted, will strictly be through secret ballot and that no one will have a hand in it.
Khalwale was reacting to recent calls by Malala that Mudavadi’s ANC Party should be folded same to Ford Kenya so that they can come into the ruling United Democratic Party UDA.
The two-time senator, who unsuccessfully vied for Kakamega governor in 2017 on a Ford-Kenya ticket, cautioned their boss William Ruto that not every defector to UDA came with clean hands.
He said the party was quickly growing enormously in regions such as Kakamega that had been perceived to be hostile to it, thanks to the efforts of ‘original members’ including himself, who registered at least 140,000 members.
