In a new twist to the Malava parliamentary contest, the Deputy Party Leader of the Democratic Alliance Party-Kenya (DAP-K), Ayub Savula, has endorsed the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) candidate, David Ndakwa.
On Monday, November 10, UDA party confirmed that Savula, the Kakamega Deputy Governor, had thrown his weight behind Ndakwa, one of the two front runners alongside DAP-K’s Seth Panyako.
The new shift happened barely three weeks before the by-election on November 27, and it is expected to have an impact on the Malava race.
“In a major political shift, Kakamega County Deputy Governor Ayub Savula, who also serves as the Deputy Party Leader of DAP-K, has officially endorsed Hon. David Ndakwa for the Malava Constituency seat,” noted UDA.
“This endorsement marks a significant realignment in Kakamega politics, as leaders rally behind Ndakwa’s unifying and development-focused agenda. The political tide in Malava is changing; the movement is unstoppable,” it added.
Malava By-Election Controversies
Still, it continues a trend where politicians in the Western region have gone against their parties and endorsed opposing candidates in the Malava contest.
Recently, Kakamega Senator Boni Khalwale, who was elected on a UDA ticket, expressed his support for DAP-K’s Panyako, openly campaigning for him despite the looming threat of disciplinary action from his party.
Khalwale explained that his decision to support DAP-K's Seth Panyako was payback for President William Ruto and his administration failing to issue the UDA ticket to the late Malava MP Malulu Injendi's son, Ryan Injendi, despite his administration doing the same for other family members of deceased politicians.
He highlighted how the late Baringo Senator William Cheptumo's wife was given a seat in the cabinet and how the late lawmaker Dalmas Otieno's widow also landed a job at the State House, yet Ryan was denied the opportunity to serve.
"Me President, When Malulu died, Baringo Senator Cheptumo also died, and that was also when Migori's Dalmas Otieno died. For the two, you gave Cheptumo's widow a Ministry and Dalmas' wife was also given a big state job, but for Malulu, you did not remember the wife or even the son," he said.
Still, the latest comes after several candidates allied to the United Opposition have withdrawn from the election in favour of Panyako, who has been handed the Opposition’s baton in the race against the ruling UDA’s candidate.
On Monday, the Democratic National Alliance (DNA) candidate Joab Burudi Manyasi dropped out in favour of DAP-K’s candidate, with Panyako noting that the decision was a unanimous one to ensure the residents got to support a local candidate and not a “foreign” one.
This came days after former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua’s Democracy for Citizens’ Party (DCP) candidate, Edgar Busiega, also withdrew from the race.
