Kakamega assembly minority leader wins Malava UDA ticket

Kakamega county assembly minority leader David Ndakwa who won the UDA Malava primaries on Saturday /HILTON OTENYO 

Kakamega assembly minority leader David Ndakwa is the UDA candidate for the Malava MP seat in the parliamentary by-election on November 27.

On that day, 23 by-elections will be held nationwide for six National Assembly seats, one Senate seat, and 16 MCA positions.

Ndakwa won the ticket after receiving 6,477 votes against rival Ryan Injendi who came second with got 3,783 votes.

Lawyer Leonard Shimaka got 1,192 votes and former principal Simon Kangwana got 1,064 votes.

Ndakwa was declared winner of the ruling party primaries on Saturday night.

Injendi accepted defeat but said that the voting was not free or fair.

He said the primaries were marred by open voter bribery and the outcome does not reflect the will of the people of Malava.

“In the interest of time and for UDA to deliver the Malava seat, I have accepted defeat to move on, but I will not forget what some senior party officials did,” he told the Star on the phone.

Ndakwa will face off with DAP-K’s Seth Panyako, lawyer Edgar Busiega of DCP, Wilberforce Tuvei of Kenya Moja and Joab Manyasi of DNA in the by-election.

Tuvei, the latest entrant in the race, said the people of Malava will elect a leader of their choice, and not a predetermined candidate.

DAP-K leader Eugene Wamalwa announced Panyako’s candidacy on Thursday.

Wamalwa dismissed claims Panyako had violated statutory requirements for resignation for public officers seeking to contest by-elections. He is a board member of the Local Authorities Provident Fund (LapFund).

“Our legal team has perused the relevant laws and regulations and established there’s nothing that can stand in the way of our candidate,” he said.

The stage is set for a bruising battle for the seat left vacant by the death of MP Malulu Injendi early in the year.

The stakes are high in the contest as the outcome will define the standing of senior political leaders in Western ahead of the 2027 general election.