A series of statements disowning an announcement by United Democratic Alliance (UDA) Secretary General Cleophas Malala has exposed the rabble-rousing politician as a man under siege.
Informally, some party officials say he is a marked man and could be on his way out of his swanky office at the Hustler Plaza on Ngong Road, which he has occupied for just a year and two months.
Mr Malala – a one-time Member of County Assembly and former Kakamega Senator – has been having long-running trouble with some influential UDA members, but the dramatic events of Thursday could be a pointer that he has lost favour with the owners of the party.
This came days after his warnings about utterances supposedly dividing the party was met with strong reactions.
The politician with razor-sharp tongue was brought in UDA by President Ruto in March 2023 from Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi’s Amani National Congress (ANC), on whose ticket he unsuccessfully contested for Kakamega governorship.
Even at his former party of ANC, Mr Malala had a troubled stay with party officials. He survived expulsion on the basis of a long and winding legal process after falling out with Mr Mudavadi.
When he joined UDA, Mr Malala hit the ground running with lofty ideas of a one-party dream for President Ruto with August deadlines to boot.
He also demanded to be co-opted in the Cabinet the same way former Jubilee Secretary General Raphael Tuju was. He got a flag to fly. The flag comes with privileges like evading traffic jams.
But his entry rattled some of the Kenya Kwanza affiliate partners, especially the ANC and Ford Kenya of National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang’ula, as he became pushy in calling for their folding. He went to the extent of calling them village political parties.
“I resigned from ANC because I wanted to show my ANC people the way. I wanted to show them leadership. Like John the Baptist, I came to prepare the way for them. They will eventually come to this merger and know that they can be easily accommodated. I resigned to join the UDA to give ANC the confidence that having one strong party is not a bad idea,” he told Nation in a previous interview.
But things have taken a dramatic twist for the man at the ruling party. On Thursday night, a frustrated Malala shared a video lamenting how he had lost control of the UDA official Facebook page.
This was after his statement purporting to postpone West Pokot constituency elections was roundly dismissed by other party officials, who, ordinarily, would be answerable to him as the party spokesperson.
Sources at the party told the Saturday Nation that administrators of the Facebook page, who are allied to him, were last night stripped of their roles following an order from “above.”
This assertion was confirmed by Communication Strategist at State House Dennis Itumbi, who dismissed the hacking claims.
“The UDA pages are safe across social media, ignore anyone saying anything to the contrary. On Matters UDA elections, ignore Malala. Only the National Elections Board can issue statements on the election,” said Mr Itumbi, who is close to Dr Ruto.
The embattled party secretary general did not respond to our queries over his troubles at the party. Mr Malala on Thursday evening caused confusion in the party when he purportedly postponed the ongoing party elections in West Pokot.
“In adherence to the UDA Party constitution and to respect the integrity of the party's organs, we hereby postpone the planned constituency elections in the affected constituencies to a later date that will be communicated by the National Elections Board,” said Mr Malala.
But this position was roundly dismissed by UDA National Elections Board (NEB) chair Anthony Mwaura, the party’s Electoral and Nomination Disputes Resolution Committee (ENDRC) vice chairperson Adrian Kamotho and UDA executive director Nicodemous Bore.
“Reference is made to a notice by the acting secretary general purporting to postpone the ongoing elections in West Pokot County. Article 21 of the UDA constitution establishes the National Elections Board as an independent organ of the party that must act independent of any direction from anybody or any party organ,” said Mr Mwaura.
“Resultantly, any notice purporting to address election matters is unlawful, without basis and is, therefore, null and void. The UDA party will carry on with all the constituency level elections scheduled to take place tomorrow, 31/5/2024, in compliance with the earlier notice.”
Dr Kamotho also dismissed the ruling that Mr Malala relied on postponing the elections as fake, adding it did not emanate from the committee.
“Our attention is drawn to a public notice issued by the acting secretary general of the UDA party purporting to reference an order of the Electoral and Nomination Disputes Resolution Committee. The referenced order is FAKE and the same did not emanate from the ENDRC,” said Dr Kamotho.
Trouble started when some UDA leaders, including Senate Majority Leader Boni Khalwale and Didmus Barasa (Kimilili MP), accused him of trying to interfere in the party elections.
Senator Khalwale had petitioned the party to restrain Mr Malala from discharging the mandate of his office because of his interests.
Mr Barasa told the Saturday Nation that Mr Malala has been operating like a gun for hire in the party. He described him as an inexperienced politician who cannot lead a ruling outfit.
“Because he has positioned himself as a gun for hire, we will mobilise party members to kick him out of the party,” said Mr Barasa.
On Wednesday, when he triggered yet another storm by reprimanding politicians perceived to be attacking Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, Mr Malala was roundly attacked by a section of UDA politicians, some demanding his resignation.
“Ag SG Malala in UDA is like a square peg in a round hole. He doesn't fit. I have said it before and I repeat. We must get rid of him in the coming UDA elections,” said Nyeri Governor Mutahi Kahiga.
“We have come from an era of being gagged and threatened for speaking our minds. UDA was never built on such tenets and the earlier our ANC acting SG in UDA understood that, the better for him,” added the county boss.
An alleged Sh200 million price for the procurement of election tablets is also said to have caused boardroom wars at the party.
Dr Ruto is said to have stopped the procurement of 10,000 election tablets at a price of Sh200 million.
Some top party officials are said to have settled on a local supplier, who quoted $150 (Sh20,250) per unit.
The figure was estimated at Sh25,000 based on the exchange rate at that time, inclusive of Value Added Tax (VAT), according to officials.
In a previous interview with Nation, Mr Malala admitted that the initial supplier had quoted Sh25,000 per unit. Mr Malala said Dr Ruto himself later sourced the tablets from China at $75 (Sh10,125), a half of the initial quotation.
“In Kenya, the tablets cost Sh25,000 per piece. When we scouted for the tablets, we thought we could get them locally, but suppliers made a quotation of about Sh22,000. It was coming to Sh25,000 when you include VAT. It was too expensive,” Mr Malala said.
“The boss (President) procured directly from a manufacturer in China. It was procured at $75 (Sh10,125),” he said.
