By The Weekly Vision Reporter
Acting UDA Party Secretary General, Cleophas Malala, could lose his influential position even before the ongoing national party elections come to an end. A UDA party insider revealed to The Weekly Vision about a huge rift between Malala and President William Ruto over his alleged close dealings with Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua.
The source indicated that Mr Malala’s backing of Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua in the ongoing grassroots elections is the main course of the rift between him and the president, begging the question of whether the SG betrayed the president or was it the other way around. The source added that Mr Malala recently discovered, to his utter shock, the existence of a group of influential UDA party insiders allied to President Ruto that have been plotting to replace him as the party SG.
An insider has further revealed that the party’s National Elections Board chairman, Antony Mwaura, who also serves as the chairman of the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA), is the only individual with access to Malala’s former office. He revealed how Mr Mwaura has been using the office to handle party affairs, alleging that Malala himself is now operating from the Deputy President’s office in Karen.
Mr. Malala is said to have secretly met Trans Nzoia Governor George Natembeya, a meeting that has sparked discussions within UDA party circles as to whether he has joined the Tawe Movement. During a public meeting in Kakamega, Malala teamed up with Governor Natembeya to demand that Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi and National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetangula disengage from leading the Luhya community.
In an unexpected turn of events, a key member of the UDA lodged a formal request to oust Malala from his role as SG, citing incompetence, corruption, and defiance of high-ranking party leaders. It is crucial to emphasize that Malala has not participated in any UDA party events or observed the party elections since the filing of the petition.
To illustrate just how significant the obstacles Mr Malala is faced with, his order to postpone the elections in West Pokot was dismissed by the National Elections Board, which then issued subsequent instructions, approving the elections to proceed as originally planned.
A confidential agreement between Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua and Mr Malala regarding UDA party elections was inadvertently exposed right after Mr Malala’s press conference at JKIA upon his return from China. During the press conference, the SG criticized President Ruto’s associates, who were seen as opposing the Deputy President. Ruto’s close circle considered the presser unnecessary and said that it only served to escalate the already strained relationship between Malala and Ruto.
Keen observers have noted that the video recorded at JKIA was promptly removed from the UDA official Facebook page, leading to the dismissal of several of Malala’s team members responsible for managing the party’s social media accounts. Moreover, Mr. Malala is no longer allowed to work from his official office at the party’s headquarters, as the lock on his office has been changed, thus restricting his access.
