By Collins Wanzallah
The embattled former UDA secretary General Cleophas Malala has been invited to join the Roots party if he’s still finding it difficult to operate in the ruling party, UDA. The invitation was extended by the Roots party leader, Prof. George Wajackoyah, who said that Mr Malala will have an easy time in his party because its origin is the Mulembe (peace) nation where both hail from.
Prof. Wajackoyah said that it was disheartening to see Malala being chased from the parry he has fought so hard for and gave him an olive branch to defect and join his party. “Being a youthful man and of great energy, he, together with other youngsters, including the elderly, should come help me build the party and popularize it with our eyes set on the 2027 general election, “emphasized Wajackoyah.
Malala has been having a rough time in the party since his violent ouster by lawyer John Khalende. EALA lawmaker Hassan Omari was later endorsed as the party’s acting secretary general. Malala has since moved to the political parties disputes tribunal (PPDT) to challenge his ouster and has blamed the party chairperson Cecil Mbarire and majority leader in the national assembly, Kimani Ichungwa, for his woes.
Addressing the press in Nairobi on Thursday, Malala claimed that the two were the architects of his removal because they believed he was a close ally of Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua. “The two leaders, after realizing that I was against a move to impeach the deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, organized for my removal as UDA secretary general, but I won’t accept this,” said Malala.
Malala, who is a former Kakamega Senator, is likely to lose some of the privileges he enjoyed as the ruling party secretary general. Some of the privileges he enjoyed were bodyguards provided by the state and sitting in cabinet meetings as an ex-cabinet official member but watching a brief on the implementation of the manifesto of the Kenya Kwanza government, of which UDA is the majority “shareholder.”.
