United Democratic Alliance (UDA) on Sunday, June 25, postponed a much-awaited Homa Bay event five days before the scheduled date to avoid clashing with former Prime Minister Raila Odinga.
The event had been slated to take place on Friday, June 30, but the ruling party held preservations over a clash between its supporters and those allied to the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM).
The development came after reports emerged that the Azimio leader was scheduled to tour the region at the time.
A highly placed source within the party explained to Kenyans.co.ke that UDA was cautious that the event would flop because Homa Bay is considered a Raila’s stronghold.
“There was no way the party could risk having an event the same day with Raila. Chaotic scenes would have been witnessed with the destruction of property,” the source explained.
Raila Odinga will be touring the region for Piny Luo Cultural Festival, a ceremony that unites Siaya, Homa Bay, Kisumu and Migori counties.
In a show of respect for the ceremony, and to avoid possible conflict, UDA announced that its event will be held on Saturday, July 8, instead.
The Homa Bay event was part of UDA Secretary General Cleophas Malala’s vision to register 15 million members by 2027.
This was supposed to be UDA’s second mega-recruitment event after Malala presided over a similar exercise in Kisumu on Saturday, March 4.
During the event, Malala revealed that his focus was to register members from regions where UDA performed dismally in the 2022 General Election.
Chaotic scenes from Homa Bay would have painted the party in a bad light after a similar conflict was witnessed in Mombasa on Saturday, June 24.
There was also conflict in Isiolo County on Friday, June 2, where Malala clashed with former Isiolo County Woman Representative Rehema Jaldesa over how the party conducted its recruitment exercise.
