House on fire: Ruto holds crisis meeting for UDA's top organ

**President William Ruto joins Moi Air Base Nursery School pupils for a jig during the Kenya Airforce 60th Anniversary Celebrations at Moi Base Eastleigh in Nairobi County.** [PCS]

President William Ruto on Saturday chaired a crisis meeting of the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) National Executive Council (NEC) in bid to quell a series of fires which are threatening to consume the ruling party.

Some of the agendas in the meeting included the status of the ongoing grassroots elections with a view of changing strategy or abandoning the exercise altogether.

The meeting was also expected to discuss whether the party Secretary General Cleopas Malala, who has been accused of causing divisions and micromanaging the party among other issues, will be replaced.

Earlier during the day, Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua who was in Kericho, said the meeting was called to deliberate internal party matters including the ongoing elections.

"There is no crisis. Let nobody set an agenda for us. We must strengthen and build our party because it is a party with an ideology," he said.

The meeting came at the backdrop of a petition seeking to remove Malala from office over claims of gross misconduct and violation of the provisions of the constitution and party constitution.

The petitioner, Joseph Khalende, claimed Malala defied party leadership and interfered with the ongoing grassroot elections by creating factions in the party.

“In the immediate and foremost interest to safeguard our party from the ineptitude of an incompetent Secretary General, who has resoundingly failed to orient himself to the ideals of the party, we hereby petition the National Executive Committee to immediately suspend and expel Cleophas Malala,” the petition reads.

NEC, according to Khalende, has the mandate to remove the official before the elections are held.

He has cited Article 41 of the UDA constitution on transitional provisions which states that the current office holders shall remain in office as interim officials for a period of six months or until the party conducts its elections.

The move comes in the wake of claims that Malala has been removed as one of the bank signatories of the party.
He has, however, dismissed this saying cartels in the party were behind the allegations as he vowed to ensure the party is run professionally.

Malala told The Sunday Standard that although was was listed as one of the agenda of yesterday’s meeting, he was not worried as he knew he was holding a sensitive office where people scheme and plot against each other.

“I have not seen the petition but I’m only hearing of it through social media but I have nothing to worry about as I have discharged my mandate in a transparent manner. We have had former Presidents elected and their term ending and some of them are not alive today and I know that when my time to leave beckons, I will leave and another person will continue with the work but the party will remain,” he said.

On the issue of reviewing the ongoing grassroots polls, Malala said they are exploring several options including abandoning the exercise and embracing other ways of identifying the winner as outlined by the party’s bylaws.

“There are claims that the ongoing grassroot polls are divisive and there are options that we can pursue to come up with a winner. Our constitution allows us to either go to the ballot or embrace consensus to establish the winner and this will be discussed extensively,” he added.

The grassroots polls, especially those in Nairobi have caused divisions in the city with the ruling party supporters allied to Governor Johnson Sakaja and Embakasi North James Gakuya clashing, a move that party officials fear may break the party.

On Wednesday, National Elections Board (NEB) chairperson Anthony Mwaura said in a statement, that his office would issue a notice of timelines of scheduled party elections.

Mwaura noted that all elected constituency delegates in the first phase of grassroots elections will be informed of the date and venue of scheduled county elections.

“In the meantime, disputes concerning the just concluded constituency elections will be dispensed with, by the electoral and disputes resolution committee,” he said.

The Kenya Kwanza Parliamentary Group meeting which was supposed to be held yesterday after the NEC meeting was postponed to next week with Malala saying they needed time to settle in house issues.

“The Parliamentary Group brings together UDA affiliate parties and we felt we needed time to meet as the UDA family before meeting the larger nuclear family,” he said.

After yesterday's meeting, another meeting will be held to discuss the growing tiff between the President and his Deputy and how to remedy the situation.

By the time of going to press, the meeting was still ongoing.