After the Amani National Congress (ANC) officially announced its merger with the United Democratic Alliance (UDA), pressure is mounting on National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang’ula to dissolve his party, Ford Kenya.
The ANC is associated with Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi, while the UDA is led by President William Ruto. Both parties, along with Wetangula’s Ford Kenya, are part of the ruling Kenya Kwanza coalition.
UDA Secretary General Cleophas Malala has urged Mr. Wetang’ula to follow in the footsteps of Musalia Mudavadi, who agreed to join UDA and dissolve the ANC.
On Wednesday, June 19, 2024, the ANC leadership met with President Ruto and decided to dissolve the party and join the UDA. This meeting, held at Nairobi’s State House, was also attended by Mr. Mudavadi and Lamu Governor Issa Timammy.
“For the country to have a strong party, we must set aside our pride and agree to work together. We cannot have a unified political direction if we cling to our small parties while the country is led by a major party,” said Mr. Malala.
The former Kakamega Senator praised Mr. Mudavadi for agreeing to dissolve the ANC and join the UDA, saying it would promote national unity.
Political Parties for More Than Elections
“Political parties should not only be active during elections. We want to transform political parties into institutions that promote peace and national unity,” added Mr. Malala.
Besides Ford Kenya, he called on other affiliate parties within Kenya Kwanza to follow ANC’s lead and join the ruling party, saying it would ease President William Ruto’s work in the 2027 elections.
He urged communities in Western Kenya to join the UDA to benefit from development projects.
“I’ve heard complaints that people in Bungoma are receiving more development projects than those in Kakamega. That is true because the people of Bungoma contributed to the creation of this government,” he said.
Mr. Malala said that development projects like the construction of Masinde Muliro Stadium and Matulo Airport should open the eyes of residents in Kakamega, Vihiga, and Busia counties to change their voting patterns.
“Their love for opposition politics is hurting them. They should change their voting behavior and start supporting government projects,” he added.
Kakamega Senator Bonny Khalwale
Kakamega Senator Bonny Khalwale had criticized Mr. Wetang’ula for using his position to ensure that many government projects allocated to Western Kenya are started in Bungoma.
Mr. Khalwale complained that Kakamega has been neglected in the current administration, even though it is the headquarters of Western communities, not Bungoma.
However, Mr. Malala said Bungoma performed well because they voted for President Ruto in 2022.
“The only way the Luhya people can achieve national leadership is by joining a major political party, and that is UDA,” said Mr. Malala.
He added that people from Western Kenya have been misled for many years by small parties and need to wake up and invest in a major party so that the government will value them.
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