NAIROBI, Kenya – Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi is facing a fresh headache three months after his Amani National Congress (ANC) merged with President William Ruto’s United Democratic Alliance (UDA).
Already, Consumer Federation of Kenya (COFEK) Secretary-General Stephen Mutoro has written to the Office of the Registrar of Political Parties (ORPP) informing it that he has since assumed the position of ANC Party Leader with immediate effect.
Mutoro claims that he is a life member of the ANC Party, which he terms a duly registered Kenyan political party, with Registration Certificate 062 issued on July 13, 2015.
Through Tali and Tali Advocates, Mutoro reiterated that he holds the firm belief that the arrangement between UDA and the former leadership of the ANC remains an illegality.
“He maintains the position that key party decisions such as merger and dissolution cannot be taken without the consultation and participation of the party membership. Moreover, merger takeover or dissolution of the party defeats the objects for which the party was established,” reads the letter to the ORPP in part.
Under the arrangement, Mutoro argues that the ANC Party has been purportedly subsumed by the UDA Party.
“Consequently, the leadership of the ANC Party has been assigned new roles within the UDA Party. The resultant effect of the mongrel of an arrangement is that the leadership of the ANC Party (now former leadership) has abdicated their roles and responsibilities of leadership in the ANC Party and seized holding office in the ANC Party,” he added.
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Y News understands that Kakamega Senator Boni Khalwale had previously predicted that due to the provisions of the Political Parties Act, the merger between the ANC and UDA might have serious unintended consequences.
“As the law abhors a vacuum, our client as a life member of the ANC Party has with immediate effect assumed roles and responsibilities as the Party Leader in acting capacity, until such a time as the ANC Party membership shall reconstruct its leadership,” Mutoro’s letter further reads.
During the merger event held at State House, Nairobi, on Friday, January 17, 2025, UDA Chairperson Cecily Mbarire announced that Lamu Governor Issa Timamy, who was the ANC’s party leader, would be one of the new outfit’s deputy party leaders.
In the event witnessed by President William Ruto and Mudavadi, who was the ANC Party leader after he joined the Kenya Kwanza Government in 2022, Mbarire, who is also the Governor of Embu County, also said Kelvin Lunani, who was the ANC’s chair, will be the new party’s vice chair.
Omboko Milemba, the then ANC’s secretary-general, assumed the role of the new party’s deputy secretary-general. Milemba is also the MP for Emuhaya in Vihiga County.
“We are extremely happy as UDA that finally we have come to the end of this process, which was delayed because of bottlenecks and challenges. Further to the inclusion of former ANC officials in the leadership of the UDA Party, other staff members will also be incorporated into the secretariat of the party, while structures and organs of the ANC will be integrated into the UDA Party,” Governor Mbarire said.
Why Stephen Mutoro wants to be recognised as the ANC Party leader
The county boss disclosed that the UDA Party would undertake merger activities, including harmonisation of the shared core values, rebranding, and membership recruitment drives, among other post-merger initiatives.
However, Mutoro indicated that the ANC arrangement with UDA is illegal, arguing that the latter is a separately registered political party.
He insisted that the merger was done without the consultation and participation of the party membership.
“Following the derision of the ANC Party by its former leadership and our client’s assumption of duty as the Acting Party Leader, your office is requested to amend the party records to reflect the current changes to wit, striking off the names of all the party’s former officials from the records as well as recording our client as the Acting Party Leader of ANC Pary,” Mutoro directed the ORPP.
Speaking in Kakamega in mid-February 2025, Senator Khalwale, elected on a UDA ticket, said that he had not been consulted about the ANC and UDA merger.
“We want to be understood that I, as an NEC member of UDA, have never been consulted about this merger, but I am not complaining. We are the ones in Kakamega who helped President Ruto secure the votes he garnered to become Kenya’s president. We are also the political face of President Ruto in Kakamega County,” said Senator Khalwale.
What Senator Boni Khalwale told President Ruto about the merger
The seasoned politician warned that if anyone was leaving ANC and joining UDA, then they were warmly welcoming him.
“But if their intention of joining us in UDA is to be our seniors, we are saying no. If they intend to put us at loggerheads with the president, then they are lost. We want to tell the president, just like in mathematical algebra, that he should start from the known to the unknown. This means that we are the knowns in this equation. The unknowns are Ford Kenya, ANC, ODM, and others. So, we urge you to start with us the knowns, then add the unknowns,” explained Senator Khalwale.
However, during the merger of the two political parties, Governor Mbarire noted that the pre-merger coalition benefits and commitments in the Kenya Kwanza Coalition had been integrated into the merged party and will be available to advance the objectives of the new party.
She said the parties had also agreed on the transition, implementation and monitoring of all the undertakings of the merger agreement.
“The new party will therefore embark on the fundamental aspirations of promoting inclusivity, democracy and building a robust political party that transcends governments,” Governor Mbarire explained.
Following the merger, Mutoro has requested the ORPP to give him access to the ANC Party office and especially all official documents of the party, the seal, and other property, and allow further support on, among other issues.
What else does Stephen Mutoro want from the ORPP after the merger
For instance, Mutoro now wants the ORPP to conduct a formal internal audit of the decision-making process regarding the purported ANC and UDA arrangement to establish transparency.
Also, organise a special member assembly to discuss grievances and gather input from all ANC life members, among others, regarding the purported agreement with UDA.
He is seeking to initiate a petition to the Political Parties Tribunal to challenge the validity of the ANC-UDA arrangement.
“To the best of our client’s understanding and knowledge, the ANC Party remains a registered political party, a position which our client hopes is reflected in your records,” said Mutoro’s layers, who have issued a seven-day notice to ORPP to address their client’s demands, failure to which he will be constrained to take legal action.
Reacting to the development, Jesse Tetei, who vied for the Idakho East Ward seat (Kakamega County) in the 2022 elections on an ANC Party ticket, said the merger aimed to create a new outfit in terms of logo, leadership, and rebranding.
“After which, if there is any other merger or collaboration, it should involve all leaders in the new outfit. But today, you will be told that the recent UDA and ODM collaboration is not a merger but a working collaboration, but on what grounds?” posed Jesse, who doubles up as former ANC Youth leader, Ikolomani Sub-County.
