President William Ruto's UDA party has today met county coordinators from the 47 counties as it embarked on an aggressive drive to popularise the political outfit.
During the meeting attended by Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, the party announced an elaborate plan aimed at registering 15 million members ahead of 2027.
Secretary General Cleophas Malala said the opening of the county offices will begin next week and will proceed hand in hand with the recruitment drive.
Among the areas targeted, he said, are those perceived to be controlled by the Opposition.
"This is the ruling party and we want to make it more popular so that it gets a national face," he said.
During the event, former Migori Governor Okoth Obado officially joined the party.
Malala stated that Siaya was currently leading in the registration process recording a total of 1,800 new members daily as Mombasa and Homabay follows.
In his address, Gachagua defended the move to begin an early popularisation campaign.
He said, "had President William Ruto not started his campaigns early, he would not be the president today".
He continued:
"We are going to build a massive machine called UDA that will rule this country for 100 years so let no one lie to you about it."
Gachagua said as a party they welcome all leaders regardless especially those from the Opposition.
He dismissed accusations from the Opposition that it was out to destroy smaller parties by poaching leaders noting those joining are doing so willfully and that no one had been compromised.
The deputy president at the same asked the party coordinators to ensure the planned grassroots elections are democratic.
"We want to have the elected party officials right from the ward to the national level and these officials will be part of the government reception team when the president comes to your county," said the DP.
