Daadab Member of Parliament (MP) Farah Maalim has rejected the appointment of deputy party leader of the Wiper Democratic Movement.
In a statement on Tuesday, October 8, Maalim said he never requested the party to pick and learned about the appointment on social media.
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Maalim explained that he doesn’t intend to hold the seat adding that he will write to the Office of the Registrar of Political Parties (ORPP) regarding his decision.
“For the information of all I never asked the Wiper Party to retain me as Deputy Party Leader. It came as a surprise when I read in SM that I was gazetted as the Deputy Party Leader,” he said.
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“I have absolutely no intention of retaining the position of Deputy Party Leader in the Wiper Party. I politely decline the offer & will communicate the same to the ORPP.”
The Wiper Party had raised concerns about the gazettement of former party officials despite the fact that those appointments have been overtaken by events.
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In a statement on October 7, Wiper Secretary General Shakila Abdalla corrected the information in the interest of the party, its organs and the public.
Abdalla said the Party formally notified the ORPP of change of office location and changes in party officials.
He explained that the move was made in good faith and the party fully complied with all other legal requirements during the process.
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Party Slams ORPP
The Secretary General said Wiper published the notification of intended changes in The Star newspaper on May 22, 2024, and on the party’s official website.
“However, what has transpired since then is a gross neglect of duty and a violation of the law by the very office tasked with upholding it. Let it be known that the Registrar’s office failed to publish our intention in the Kenya Gazette within the fourteen-day period as required by Section 20(1) of the Political Parties Act,” he said.
Abdalla said the ORPP published a notice in the Kenya Gazette on October 4, 2024, which is in direct contravention of the law.
He criticized the Registrar for publishing the names at the prevailing political time stating that it is ill intentioned and motivated.
According to Wiper, the move has led to purposeful scrutiny by the mainstream and online media on the subject of Farah Maalim and his standing in the party.
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Farah Maalim Snobs Wiper
The Secretary General clarified that a unanimous decision was reached to de-whip Farah Maalim of his role as the Deputy Party Leader during our National Executive Council meeting on July 10, 2024,
He stated that the process to formally remove him is currently with the party’s Disciplinary Committee who have written to him twice on August 20 and September 24, but Maalim failed to acknowledge and respond.
“We therefore demand a public explanation by the ORPP, as to the four-month delay in gazettement of our party officials, and the reasons she chose to do the same on 23rd September 2024, which was then gazetted on 4th October 2024. We strongly believe that this is not the usual bureaucratic negligence, but a deliberate, indeed intentional obstruction by the ORPP for reasons only known to them,” Wiper demanded.
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