Violence rocks UDA polls as wrangles choke core of party

Former Nairobi Governor Evans Kidero addresses journalists after voting in Rangwe, Homa Bay, on May 31, 2024. [James Omoro, Standard]

The ruling United Democratic Alliance (UDA) party constituency-level elections  were marred by violence, even as internal wrangles continue to persist among party leadership. 

While the elections were supposed to take place in five counties, the process went on in Homa Bay, Busia and Narok while in Starehe Constituency in Nairobi, supporters of Governor Johnson Sakaja and Embakasi North MP James Gakuya (who are contesting for the chairmanship position) engaged in fist fights, forcing the party to cancel the elections. 

The factions blamed each other for the mayhem that led to six people being arrested and detained at the Industrial Area police station after they allegedly engaged in violence.

Sakaja’s team, which was fielding Ngara MCA Chege Mwaura, had about four people left to vote before disruption erupted as Mwaura wanted to be declared the winner.

“It is the other team that disrupted the voting but our people had already queued and voted, we want the party to declare us the winner, our team had intelligence of planned violence and had petitioned the party to relocate the polling centre but they did not heed to our call. We also wondered why the party decided to have the polling station located in a school,” Mwaura said.

The election will be repeated today under a tight security of 30 police officers.

In West Pokot County, UDA National Elections Board (NEB) chairman Anthony Mwaura said the exercise was postponed after the party got wind of planned violence. He said a section of politicians had planned to disrupt the exercise by causing mayhem.

“The election will be held Saturday next week at the sub-county commissioner headquarters for security reasons but in many areas, the process went on peacefully,” he said.

Mwaura said next week each sub-county will be manned by 30 police officers making a total number of security agents to be 120.

“For West Pokot County, we have requested 30 police officers in each of the sub-counties because we received information that there were some goons who had stationed themselves at the polling centres with guns, spears and other weapons,” Mwaura said.

In Nairobi county, Dagoretti South MP John Kiarie (KJ), an ally of Gakuya bagged the Constituency chairman seat, defeated Sakaja’s ally and accused Sakaja of trying to cause divisions in the constituency.

“Let today’s election results be a warning to any leader in Nairobi who thinks he can divide us. Our people have been fired for failing to belong to his camp but today’s victory shows that the power is with the people,” KJ said after receiving his provisional certificate from the returning officer Benjamin Muthama.

All of KJ’s team scooped the 20 positions which were up for grabs including Chairperson, Secretary, Treasurer, Organising Secretary, representatives of People Living with Disabilities, women and youth.

However, Nairobi County Assembly Minority Leader Antony Kiragu, who was vying for the position of Organising Secretary and an ally of Sakaja, faulted the transparency of the polls noting that while the gadgets worked efficiently, "there was trading of delegates and other malpractices", and questioned why the polling center was relocated at night.

“The party had gazetted the Dagoretti Empowerment Centre as the official polling centre but we don’t understand how the venue was changed without following the laid down procedures,” Kiragu told The Saturday Standard.

In Embakasi Central the area MP Benjamin Gathiru alias Major Donk and his team scooped all the positions while in Embakasi North, Gakuya got all the positions boosting his prospects of winning the county chairmanship position.

Election, according to Mwaura, went on in the counties of Homa Bay, Busia, and Narok. He hailed the process as competitive and peaceful saying, "The elections were conducted fairly, free and fair, as we had promised our members and this proves our commitment to free polls."

But the polls laid bare the infighting in the ruling party following confusion between party leadership over the fate of the polls as different factions issued contradicting letters.

This followed Mwaura’s dismissal of a statement by party Secretary General Cleophas Malala regarding the postponement of grassroots with the National Elections Board (NEB) boss citing a past ruling by the Political Parties and Disputes Tribunal which barred the SG from interfering with party elections, further accusing him of usurping the board’s powers.

“Reference is made to a notice by the acting Secretary General purporting to postpone the ongoing elections in West Pokot County. Article 21 of the UDA constitution establishes the National Elections Board as an independent organ of the Party that must act independent of any direction from anybody or any party organ,” Mwaura stated.

“Resultantly, any notice purporting to address election matters is unlawful, without basis and is therefore null and void. The UDA party will carry on with all the Constituency level elections scheduled to take place tomorrow the 31/5/2024, in compliance with the earlier notice.”

Malala had issued a statement postponing constituency-level elections in West Pokot County where he cited the party’s Electoral and Nomination Disputes Resolution Committee (ENDRC) ruling in postponing the exercise.

“In adherence to the UDA Party constitution and to respect the integrity of the party’s organs we hereby postpone the planned constituency elections in the affected constituencies to a later date that will be communicated by the National Elections Board,” Malala had said.

Electoral and Nomination Disputes Resolution Committee (ENDRC) Vice Chairperson Adrian Kamotho also came out to distance the committee from Malala’s statement saying it was fake and did not come from the committee.

After Mwaura’s post on UDA Facebook page, Malala would later claim that the page had been hacked by a known person who he said is not a member of the secretariat.

But President William Ruto’s digital strategist Dennis Itumbi has however denied the claims and said the UDA party’s social media pages are safe.

“The United Democratic Alliance, @UDAKenya, pages are safe across Social Media to ignore anyone saying anything to the contrary,” Itumbi tweeted.