• Malala said if anything, the leaders and their parties are still members of the Kenya Kwanza coalition and as such, their wishes will be respected.
• He said this applies to any other Kenya Kwanza affiliate party that does not want to dissolve and merge with UDA.
Image: FILE
Ford Kenya and ANC will not be forced to dissolve and join UDA.
Secretary general Cleophas Malala now says the Kenya Kwanza government will continue working with Speaker Moses Wetang'ula and Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi even when they insist on maintaining the status quo of their parties in the ruling coalition.
"We have said we are not forcing anyone. If ANC and Ford Kenya feel they do not want to dissolve their parties, we respect that. We will go as they want and we will continue working with the leaders," Malala said.
He spoke on Tuesday night during an interview on TV 47.
He said if anything, the leaders and their parties are still members of the Kenya Kwanza coalition and as such, their wishes will be respected.
Malala said this applies to any other Kenya Kwanza affiliate party that does not want to dissolve and merge with UDA.
The former Kakamega senator, however, warned that such a decision may in future haunt the parties when it comes to the election of House leadership.
"When we will want to elect the Speaker of the National Assembly, they should allow ANC, Ford Kenya and UDA to field candidates. It shouldn't be that we use certain conditions at the lower level and apply different terms at the top," he said.
Wetang'ula was elected Speaker largely as a reward from the Kenya Kwanza affiliate parties for supporting the candidature of President William Ruto at the August polls.
His ANC counterpart on the other hand was handed the Prime Cabinet Secretary slot on similar grounds.
Malala dismissed claims that the call for affiliate parties to join UDA is a ploy to kill democracy in the country.
He said Kenya Kwanza has only 14 parties whose dissolution into a single political vehicle still leaves room for tens of other parties to check the government.
"Multipartysim will still be achieved via those other parties outside Kenya Kwanza. And we are not forcing anyone to dissolve their party to join UDA but there's no need to have many parties with the same ideology."
Malala pointed out that the push for the dissolution of parties follows the recognition that UDA has the instruments of power and the influence to implement affiliate parties' ideologies under one roof.
He said Ruto is a man of his word and will never go back on his word once the parties dissolve.
Malala pointed out that despite Wetang'ula and Mudavadi failing to deliver 70 per cent of the Luhya vote for Kenya Kwanza at the polls, they still got 30 per cent of the government share as per their pre-election pact.
"He is a President who believes in justice. He is a honest leader who once you agree over something he must fulfil," Malala said.
He, however, said the parties that have already folded and joined UDA have not signed any pacts with UDA.
Six Kenya Kwanza affiliate parties dissolved on Tuesday and joined the ruling UDA.
They are Umoja na Maendeleo, Farmers Party, Chama Cha Mashinani, Chama cha Kazi, National Agenda Party Of Kenya and Economic Freedom Party.
The parties will cease to exist upon the ratification of their dissolution by the Registrar of Political Parties.