Why UDA officials are visiting China

President William Ruto’s UDA party has planned a benchmarking trip to China for meetings with officials from the Communist Party of China.

CPC has been existence for over a century and UDA wants to learn from its lessons as it plans to attain 20 million members in two years.

The ruling party is determined to avoid a repeat of the challenges that rocked the now-struggling Jubilee Party in 2018.

UDA secretary general Cleophas Malala said the trip to Beijing is significant in their efforts to build a behemoth machine for Ruto’s reelection in 2027.

“We will not limit it to elected leaders and party officials only but also the members of the secretariat to build their capacities and become better people in the party’s affairs,” Malala said.

“We have had an elaborate discussion on the importance of exchange programmes between both political parties.”

This comes after a meeting with CPC executive deputy head of organisation department Jiang Xinzhi at the party’s offices on March 15.

UDA executive director Nicodemus Bore said they are only waiting for the dates to be fixed.

“During our last meeting in Nairobi, we agreed to have the meeting in Beijing to escalate the discussions,” he said.

The party, Bore said, requires Sh1 billion financial support from CPC to put up its offices to serve as its headquarters, and this will be one of the key agendas during the tour.

He said they have already identified some parcels of land in Nairobi where they intend to have the structure.

“At the moment, we do not have the design of the building, but we have an idea of how it should look like. Among the features is the school of leadership to train young party leaders,” Bore said.

“When we have our National Executive Council meeting, that will form part of the agenda. We shall discuss before we contract someone to come draw it.” 

The party will be banking on the solid relations Kenya has with China to secure the funding.

UDA currently operates on Ngong Road after relocating from Hustler Centre in Kilimani.

Insiders say several agreements are also set to be signed during the meetings.

During a previous meeting held in March last year following his appointment, Malala outlined his plans to revamp the party.

He said he is keen on having one strong and united party in the country before going into the next general election.

"We are having a consultative engagement with other parties, our objective being to build a perpetual political party resembling the  African National Congress of South Africa and those in the US," Malala said.

ANC has governed the country since 1994.

By March last year, the party, Malala said, boasted of more than 8.8 million members.

This made it the leading political outfit in the country ahead of ODM, which also has a significant number.

The Beijing meeting will be the culmination of year-long discussions between the parties’ officials from the two nations.

In a meeting held in December last year, Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua said UDA is being modelled into a party founded on development ideologies transcending generations just like CPC.

“We are learning from parties from other parts of the world, which have cemented and embodied development into governance for years,” he said.

The delegation from CPC to Kenya was led by Mao Dingzi, member of the ministerial board of the Organisation, the Department of the CPC Central Committee (ODCPC), and Chinese Ambassador Zhou Pingjian.

The officials agreed to increase cooperation in the areas around leadership, exchange programmes and establishment of UDA party school of leadership.

They will also collaborate in capacity building, strengthening of party structures and programmes.

Malala, who led the team, said CPC also resolved to support UDA in areas of ICT as it prepares to conduct its first-ever grassroot elections.

They will also work closely as it moves to build party offices in the country that shall have a leadership school.

An agreement to strengthen areas of trade, foreign direct investments, infrastructure and scholarships was also reached.

Ruto has been making impromptu visits to the UDA party offices, underscoring his commitment to building it.

The head of state has also been pushing for the dissolution of affiliate parties in the Kenya Kwanza Alliance.

"UDA is growing every day and we welcome Kenyans who want to join the county's biggest political formation," he said during a meeting on September 12 last year.

The party intends to conduct its grassroots elections on April 12, 19 and 26.

It had earlier been set for December 9, 2023.

UDA will, however, be keen not to fall into the same ditch that Jubilee entered into in its plans to remain relevant.

Former secretary general Raphael Tuju led a delegation to China in July 2018 for a series of activities that included trainings.