KAKAMEGA, Kenya — COTU Secretary General Francis Atwoli has dismissed assertions that he was politically embarrassed in the recent Kisa East Ward by-election, accusing UDA Secretary General Cleophas Malala and allies of former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua of peddling misleading narratives to undermine his influence in Western Kenya.
Speaking on Wednesday, Atwoli condemned claims that the victory of the Democratic Congress Party (DCP) candidate, Aduda Okwiri, signaled a personal defeat for him.
Malala had earlier argued that Kisa East was Atwoli’s home ward, suggesting the COTU boss had been outmaneuvered in his own backyard.
But Atwoli firmly rejected the claims, clarifying that he hails from Khwisero Central Ward—represented by a KANU MCA—and not Kisa East.
He described the assertions by Malala’s camp as deliberate political distortion aimed at crafting a false impression of his weakening grip on regional politics.
“For somebody to allege that he won in Khwisero, where Atwoli comes from and in my own ward, is the stupidity of any given moment I’ve ever seen,” Atwoli said, adding that the attempt to tie him to the Kisa East result was “misleading and politically motivated.”
Malala, in a speech on November 30, had claimed that Atwoli’s village home is in Kisa East, telling supporters that the unionist would now be under the representation of the newly elected DCP MCA.
The by-election win was widely celebrated by Malala’s team, who framed it as a symbolic blow to Atwoli and an indicator of shifting political loyalties in Kakamega.
But Atwoli maintained that he neither participated in nor influenced the ward contest, arguing that MCA races are the responsibility of area MPs, not national figures like himself. He said he appeared only in Malava during the wider by-election period before travelling to Europe.
“I can campaign for anyone but not an MCA. I cannot reduce myself to that even if the position was vacant,” he said, distancing himself from the Kisa East campaign dynamics.
Atwoli further accused Malala of using the ward outcome as a political tool to craft a narrative that his dominance in Western Kenya politics is diminishing. He warned that such narratives are premature and would be tested in the 2027 General Election.
“I have the capacity to stop Malala from becoming anything in Kakamega. I have the capacity to stop Gachagua from becoming anything in Kenya. Wait for 2027 — I will stop them,” Atwoli insisted, signalling a fierce political battle ahead.
The Kisa East by-election, though a small-scale contest, has been elevated into a test of political strength between national factions aligned around UDA, Gachagua, and the veteran trade unionist.
Atwoli insisted that any attempt to use the by-election to imply his waning regional control would fall flat once the national political arena fully reopens. He maintained that his networks and political capital remain intact and warned that those provoking him now would face stiff resistance in future contests.
He spoke for the first time after the conclusion of the by-election, in which DCP’s Aduda Okwiri clinched the MCA seat, giving Malala’s allies an early symbolic win as political temperatures gradually rise toward 2027.
