The Malava parliamentary seat by-election has taken a new twist with Kakamega senator Boni Khalwale throwing his weight behind a candidate being sponsored by an opposition party. Khalwale said he will support Panyako’s bid to be the next Malava MP. Khalwale is a United Democratic Alliance (UDA) elected legislator, and the party has already picked David Ndakwa as its candidate after he floored the son of former MP, the late Malulu Ijenji, Ryan, in the nomination. Who is Khalwale supporting in the Malava by-election? Speaking in the constituency on Sunday, September 28, Khalwale said he will support Democratic Action Party of Kenya (DAP-K) candidate Seth Panyako.
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The Rigathi Gachagua-led party has settled on Edgar Busiega as its candidate. Khalwale said DCP should support Panyako in the Malava by-election. Khalwale believes that DCP should have supported a DAP-K candidate. “You will not find Luhya parties in their regions, but you will see them forcing us to vote for them or their candidates. This time around, we won’t agree,” he noted, in reference to the DCP’s popularity in the Mount Kenya region. Malava: More cracks in opposition as George Natembeya insists DCP must withdraw its candidate Rigathi Gachagua names William Ruto’s suspected proxies in Mt Kenya: “Small wheelbarrows” However, former Kakamega senator Cleophas Malala is Rigathi’s deputy in the party. Meanwhile, Khalwale accused top government officials, led by Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi, of attempting to impose an MP on the Malava people.
He claimed Mudavadi, who has taken a leading role in the UDA campaigns in Malava, shortchanged the late Injendi’s son in the recently concluded party primaries. “We know you (Mudavadi) shortchanged Ryan because he had nothing,” Khalwale claimed. Ryan finished second in the UDA primaries and has since conceded defeat and pledged to remain in the UDA despite claiming his votes were stolen. He, however, noted that he will be seeking the MP seat in the 2027 General Election.
By Joshua Cheloti, Rasto Wamalwa
