President William Ruto has called for the merger of Kenya Kwanza affiliate parties.
Speaking on Saturday during the opening of the UDA offices in Nyeri, Ruto said the merger will strengthen the UDA party to cater to the interest of the people.
"We are going to make sure that we build a national party that is going to unite the country, communities, and interests from every corner so that we can eliminate the politics of ethnicity in Kenya and change it to the politics of parties around issues that will drive the country into prosperity into the future," Ruto said.
The move was initially called by UDA secretary general Cleophas Malala who insisted that Kenya Kwanza is seeking to form one formidable party that will outlive its current leadership.
Accompanying the president during his tour in Nyeri, Malala said ahead of the 2027 general elections, every candidate should be registered as a UDA member.
"Tunataka mkienda kuchagua viongozi wenu, mjue kwamba ni lazima uwe umjejiandikisha kama mnwanachama wa UDA," Malala said.
(During the elections, we want everyone to have been registered as a member of UDA.)
Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro who was also in attendance urged Kenyans to join UDA to support the government during its ruling in the coming years.
"The only thing that can sustain the continuity of a government is a strong party. That is why we are asking all Kenyans to join the national party which is UDA," Nyoro said.
However, other affiliate parties of Kenya Kwanza such as Ford Kenya and ANC have dismissed the call adding that they all participated in forming the Kenya Kwanza government.
Kimilili Member of Parliament (MP) Didmus Barasa has asked Ford Kenya party leader Moses Wetang’ula and his Amani National Congress (ANC) boss Musalia Mudavadi to ignore the call to merge parties in the Kenya Kwanza coalition.
He said Malala’s move purely aims at causing division in the ruling coalition.
“UDA Secretary General Cleophas Malala should stop the narratives he is telling us. His moves aim at causing cracks in the coalition, something that the soldiers will not agree with," Barasa said.