UDA, ODM join forces to secure Malava by-election, move to quell internal rift

National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetangula and President William Rutos aid Farouk Kibet during funds drive for Likuyani Women groups at Matunda Salvation army primary school in Likuyani, Kakamega county on June 27,2025.[Benjamin Sakwa/ Standard] With three months to the hotly contested Malava by-election in Kakamega County, the UDA and ODM parties have teamed up against the opposition in a bid to win the seat that was left vacant following the death of MP Malulu Injendi. According to UDA, it has to retain the seat since the late MP was a UDA lawmaker. UDA has so far attracted five aspirants who are eying the ruling party ticket, this after one of the aspirants, Dr. Enock Andaje, collapsed and died two weeks ago. The ruling party is facing stiff competition from the opposition led by DCP and DAP-K. However, as of now, ODM has no aspirant, and its lawmakers have been drumming up support for UDA aspirants, vowing to ensure the ruling party clinches the seat. Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi, who has been tasked to lead UDA campaigns, has been moving around with Kenya Kwanza and ODM lawmakers in the region to campaign for the UDA candidate. On Monday, during the fundraising drive of the late Andaje in Manda-Shivanga, President William Ruto's aide, Farouk Kibet, while in the company of ODM leaders, including Likuyani MP Innocent Mugabe, rallied support for UDA aspirants. "Our late Malulu was a UDA lawmaker, and he achieved a lot in terms of development by working with the President, and we are keen on having a UDA legislator in the next by-election," said Kibet. He added, "We have some leaders led by Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, who has never initiated any project in Malava or Kakamega County at large besides promoting ethnicity and divisive politics. It is my plea to Malava people to reject such a leader and embrace a leader who embraces all communities with development, and that is why we want to have a UDA MP for Malava people." However, UDA party has set plans to avert any division and split amongst its four aspirants. "All the aspirants are our people, and we are going to ensure we have one candidate after nominations, but importantly, we are going to ensure we have no disgruntled voices. We are going to ensure we accommodate in government all the aspirants who will lose in the nominations to ensure we remain as one with a sole purpose of winning the election," said Kibet. Likuyani MP Mugabe urged the UDA aspirants to remain united and ensure the rulling party retains the seat. "We are going to plan and collaborate on how to work together in this election. We will ensure the aspirants who are contesting for the UDA ticket remain united beyond nominations so that UDA can win the seat," said Mugabe. He added, "Our sugar factories must look into the issue of cane prices. We have 4 percent of the sugar levy, and we are going to pass the regulation of the Sugar Act that will allow the 4 percent levy to be used to construct roads for our farmers so that they can transport their raw materials to the factories." The ODM brigade is led by Ikolomani MP Bernard Shinali, and it has been traversing Malava Constituency campaigning for the UDA aspirant. Two weeks ago, Mudavadi, while in Malava during a widows empowerment program, moved to avert any looming division in the UDA party among its aspirants, urging them to pledge loyalty to the party regardless of the outcome of the forthcoming nominations and to promise that they will not defect if they lose. The aspirants David Ndakwa, Shimaka Leonard, Ryan Injendi (son of the late Malava MP Moses Injendi) and Simon Kangwana pledged not to defect from the party but instead support one of them to defeat opposition candidates led by Seth Panyako of DAP-K and Edgar Busiega of DCP. Mudavadi dismissed Gachagua's Democracy for the Citizens Party (DCP) as a political outfit without meaningful influence and urged residents of Malava to reject it.

UDA, ODM join forces to secure Malava by-election, move to quell internal rift

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UDA, ODM join forces to secure Malava by-election, move to quell internal rift

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