Nakuru Town East MP David Gikaria/SCREENGRABNakuru Town East MP David Gikaria has called on United Democratic Alliance (UDA) aspirants and grassroots officials to boldly popularise the ruling party across the country.
Gikaria said members should not be intimidated for publicly associating with the party.
Addressing a meeting of recently elected party officials and aspirants, Gikaria said UDA members should wear party-branded attire with pride and actively market the party's agenda in every part of the country despite growing political competition and alleged intimidation from opponents.
"We have come here for this meeting after you have been elected from among many people who had come forward. You are our backbone," Gikaria told the gathering.
The legislator congratulated the officials on their election and praised the party for embracing diversity, saying the leadership reflected Kenya's ethnic and regional diversity.
"I am happy that all tribes have been elected in the party. We have called you here because UDA needs to fire up. We must not be fearful in our party," he said.
Gikaria noted that many political parties often abandon grassroots supporters once elections are over, but insisted UDA was determined to involve its members in party affairs even after the electoral cycle.
The MP described UDA as a truly national political outfit with representation in every region of the country, attributing this to President William Ruto's vision of building an inclusive party.
"UDA is a national party, and that is why Ruto said we needed a party that is inclusive of everybody. It is only in UDA where we have elected leaders in all corners of the country," he said.
Gikaria also recounted an incident in Nairobi that he said demonstrated the challenges faced by some UDA supporters.
He claimed that while collecting party T-shirts and caps, a group of youths requested some of the merchandise before another group allegedly threatened them because they were associated with UDA.
"The T-shirts and caps we are wearing, when I went to collect them in Nairobi, some youth asked that I give them some. Then came a group that wanted to burn our vehicle because we are UDA," he said.
Despite the alleged hostility, the MP urged supporters not to be cowed.
"I want to urge you that you should not fear when you are out there selling our party. We should sell our party to voters wholeheartedly, with all the energy, and do not fear anything. There are people intimidating and threatening us, but they will not succeed," he said.
Gikaria further called on security agencies to protect supporters of all political parties, saying no Kenyan should face intimidation for expressing their political beliefs.
"We want to tell the police to protect our supporters. Our women cannot wear UDA outfits and then get intimidated. Why can't those opposed to UDA wear their party outfits as well? Let us go to every corner of this country wearing our party outfits proudly," he said.
