United Democratic Alliance (UDA) Party Secretary General Cleophas Malala on Monday reiterated the stance requiring all parties seeking to align themselves with the government to fold up and join the ruling coalition.
Speaking on Monday when receiving former Bungoma Governor Wycliffe Wangamati who decamped from the opposition, Malala said the move will make UDA a formidable force ahead of the 2022 presidential election.
Addressing his Western Kenya constituents, Malala spoke of the need for the region to build alliances and make strategic moves for it to benefit and prepare itself to front its own son or daughter for a stab at the presidency.
"We must be strategic, and the only way Luhyas can climb to the top, is by joining a national party," Malala stated.
The Secretary General claimed that the Luhya community had been shortchanged for far too long, especially by political leaders from the region who go it alone after winning elections.
The problem, according to Malala, was the fact that the region lacks a party with a national outlook.
As such, Malala wants the Amani National Congress (ANC) and FORD-Kenya to dissolve and join UDA.
Malala has been actively involved in the UDA Party's extensive grassroots mobilization and membership registration efforts, with a particular focus on the Nyanza and Western regions.
His recent comments echo his previous assertion that ANC is merely a "village party" incapable of fielding a presidential candidate, urging its members to switch allegiance to the UDA party.
Malala, who was once a member of ANC, switched sides and joined UDA, where he assumed the role of Secretary General.
Additionally, Malala had previously remarked that a significant portion of ANC's leadership hails from Vihiga County and does not have a national outlook.
Earlier this year, Cleophas Malala's calls for the dissolution of affiliate parties, including ANC, were met with resistance from the ANC leadership.
ANC party leader Issa Timamy made it clear in March that the party would maintain its independence and rejected the idea of merging with the UDA.
“We are not going to fold our party. If anything, we are planning to rejuvenate and strengthen our party from grassroots levels. ANC will remain vibrant,” Timamy said in March.
