A section of members of the ruling United Democratic Alliance (UDA) has expressed fears that there is a grand plan to frustrate deputy president Rigathi Gachagua.
It has emerged that according to a recent report, there is a proposal to have one party leader with three deputies ahead of the party grassroots elections on December 9.
Consequently, the scheme has triggered disquiet within the Mount Kenya region, with some leaders arguing that the party’s plan to have three deputies was a ploy to sabotage the supremacy of the deputy president in the party’s leadership.
“We do not want to have a party where functions will be duplicated, we want to have a party with one party leader and one deputy party leader, and we know those are the democratic structures and we are not taking nothing short of that,” Nyeri senator Wahome Wamatinga explained.
Notably, the leaders said that since the party had one leader, the deputy should be one.
“We have one party leader and so importantly to have one deputy party leader,” Nyeri Senator Wamatinga noted.
“But there must be a party leader and a deputy party leader, the rest can be whatever they want to be. And we are demanding that as members of UDA,” Nyeri Governor Mutahi Kahiga stated.
However, Members of Parliament from western Kenya are pushing for an expanded party structure with two deputy party leaders.
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Part of the Constitution
However, UDA Secretary of Legal Affairs Edward Muriu said the party constitution has all along had the three slots, noting that only the office bearers have not been named.
The Gatanga lawmaker said each of the deputy party leaders will oversee different offices, policy and strategy, operations, and programs.
“There is no contradiction at all. We intend to give Musalia Mudavadi and Moses Wetang’ula the two positions even as we continue asking them to fold their parties.
The two leaders are already in government. Gachagua is above them in the pecking order so there should be no cause of alarm,” he said.
UDA Wrangles
Divisions are growing within the ruling party if sentiments by Kakamega Senator Boni as Khalwale are anything to go by. The vocal senator, who is also the Majority Whip in the Senate attacked the DP in November 13 accusing him of fighting senior politicians from the Western region.
Further, Khalwale said Gachagua was using youthful politicians from various parts of the country to secure his 2032 presidential interest.
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Nonetheless, in October Boni Khalwale filed a petition to remove Cleophas Malala as the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) Secretary General.
Malala was accused of being involved in unlawful appointment of regional and county managers in an uncompetitive manner.
‘The appointments were done non-competitively and without the knowledge of other party members who would probably have been more qualified than the appointees,” part of the petition read.
Headache for Ruto
The wars in UDA could be a tip of the iceberg, a year after President William Ruto became Kenya’s 5th head of state. Ruto, who is focused on his reelection bid, is walking a tightrope, with the growing disquiet in Mt Kenya and Central, regions that handed him the win in 2022.
On the other hand, Gachagua is unsettled over growing rebellion in Mt Kenya, with the emergence of other politicians threatening his popularity.
Some of these politicians include Moses Kuria, Ndindi Nyoro and Maina Njenga who are jostling for the kingship of the vote-rich region.
