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Grassroots elections, which are held to pick local leaders for the party across the country, is also said to be a political headache for UDA.
ANALYSIS | AGENCIES | Kenya’s ruling UDA is at crossroads amid internal fight for control and influence. Ruto warns the infighting threatens the party’s future. In recent weeks, a feud between UDA officials loyal to President William Ruto and supporters of his embattled deputy, Rigathi Gachagua, has been worsening as both camps fight for bigger control of the party.
Cleophas Malala, a close Gachagua ally who was ousted from the powerful secretary general position in August, is challenging his dismissal in court, hoping he will be reinstated.
Malala, who has recently been spotted with Gachagua at public events, has accused the party’s national executive council of violating the Political Parties Act (2011) in the process of his removal.
“I’m still the legally recognised UDA Secretary General until the matter is determined [by the court],” he said in a TV interview. Malala is also waiting for the decision of the party’s internal dispute resolution committee, which is expected on 3 October.
However, on 6 August, the office of the Registrar of Political Parties already announced that Hassan Omar, who is Ruto’s ally, would be taking over Malala’s position in acting capacity.
Standing on a shaky ground
John Karanja, a UDA supporter, tells The Africa Report that the latest infighting within the party is largely linked to plans by Ruto’s allies to impeach Gachagua.
According to him, the party is standing on a “shaky ground” and is “likely to collapse” if Gachagua’s impeachment motion goes through.
At a political in Baringo County recently, Ruto warned that UDA’s unity was at stake due to the infighting.
“There is no need for petty competition amongst ourselves. Let us all focus on uniting Kenyans,” Ruto said, cautioning those fighting for positions within the party they are undermining his efforts to foster national unity.
Parties’ merger
Political analysts also describe the recent merger of Amani National Congress (ANC) – which is led by Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi – with UDA as another reason behind the unease within Ruto’s party.
Wycliffe Odera, a political analyst, tells The Africa Report that Mudavadi’s intention to fold his party is not a welcome move as Gachagua’s allies fear that Ruto will drop the deputy president ahead of the 2027 polls.
“Selfish political interests and greed taking centre stage. This will break the party,” Odera says, adding that it’s only Ruto who can salvage his party. “UDA lacks political hygiene due to delicate unity.”
Mount Kenya politicians loyal to Gachagua have vowed to ditch the UDA, accusing its officials of disrespecting Gachagua, despite the region’s strong support for Ruto in the last election.
Jeremiah Kioni, the secretary general of former president Uhuru Kenyatta’s Jubilee Party, describes the conflict within UDA as political drama. “Enough with the sideshows. This regime should focus on solving urgent issues affecting Kenyans,” he says.
For Kimani Ngunjiri, a popular Mount Kenya politician who has since ditched the UDA, Gachagua and his supporters from the vote-rich region will need their own party in the run up to the 2027 elections. “Our loyalty has not paid off within UDA,” he says.
Grassroots elections, which are held to pick local leaders for the party across the country, is also said to be a political headache for UDA.
For instance, the polls that were to be held in Nairobi in June were postponed indefinitely after two camps differed over the election process. Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja and Embakasi North legislature James Gakuya, a strong Gachagua ally, were both contesting for the party’s chairmanship post in the capital city.
