Why Manyasi dropped out of Malava race to back UDA candidate David Ndakwa
Myriad of frustrations ranging from lack of both financial and physical support to non-commitance and poor leadership of the party compelled the Democratic National Alliance (DNA) candidate Joab Burudi Manyasi to drop out of the race and support David Ndakwa of the ruling United Democratic Alliance (UDA), we have established.
Sources within the UDA disclosed that Manyasi had expressed his deep frustrations to his campaign team a fortnight to his Saturday decision to change loyalties.
In a shocking move at a press conference in Kakamega town, Manyasi announced his move to discard the campaigns on the DNA and immediately throw his support behind Ndakwa.
DNA is led by former Director of Political Affairs at the now defunct Amani National Congress (ANC), Godfrey Kanoti as Party Leader, publisher Dr. Barrack Muluka as secretary-general and former comedian Walter Nyambane as Chairman.
Muluka is also a former ANC secretary-general. Both he and Kanoti served the party when Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi was its Party Leader..
Coincidentally, it was Mudavadi who received Manyasi during his defection in Kakamega on Sunday.
Mudavadi was accompanied by UDA deputy party leader Kelvin Lunani, Ikolomani MP Benard Shinali, his Shinyalu counterpart Fred Ikana, Uasin Gishu senator Jackson Mandago and Ndakwa.
The UDA sources disclosed that “Manyasi was let down by his own party. He felt abandoned. He got no support from his party leadership. Since March this year when he declared his candidature and for the entire period he has been campaigning since he was given the nod to run for the seat after presenting his papers to IEBC (Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission), none of the officials from his party went to the ground to give him back. They were all stuck in Nairobi,” a source said.
It was further revealed that Manyasi’s frustrations were compounded by the fact that he had been left to stage long-range escapades in constituency minus any logistical, physical, moral or financial support, a situation that was draining his resources to the core.
The source disclosed: “The DNA top leadership has all along been deeply concentrated on television talk-shows in Nairobi while their candidate was suffering on the ground alone. Not even one of the DNA found the need to go and support Manyasi on the ground. He was left to slug it out alone. Though he is a very popular guy on the ground, matters were not going his way. The campaign was draining his wallet while his bosses were not ready to come to his aid.”
The Malava by-election will be held on Thursday this week, November 27.
It was necessitated by the death of then area MP Moses Malulu Injendi of ANC on February 17, this year.
Manyasi is the second candidate to withdraw from the race after lawyer Edgar Busiega Mwanga of the Democracy of the Citizens Party (DCP) who threw his weight behind the candidature of the Democratic Alliance Party of Kenya (DAP-K), Seth Panyako, who is also the secretary-general of the Kenya National Union of Nurses (KNUN).
Manyasi is no stranger to Malava politics. He;is a very popular figure who first contested the parliamentary seat in 2017:on a Ford Kenya seat in which he came a very close second to the late Malulu.
He also ran in 2022 on the banner of the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM), coming third after Malulu and Panyako respectively.
After Manyasi’s shift if loyalty, Muluka told the media that his move had not been sanctioned by the DNA which had since withdrawn his candidature and was now supporting Panyako’s bid.
