KAKAMEGA, Kenya — In a dramatic twist ahead of the November 27 Malava parliamentary by-election, Kakamega Deputy Governor and Democratic Alliance Party–Kenya (DAP-K) Deputy Party Leader Ayub Savula has defied party lines to endorse United Democratic Alliance (UDA) candidate David Ndakwa.
UDA, in a statement released on Monday, November 10, confirmed the endorsement, terming it “a major political shift” that could reshape the contest in the vote-rich Kakamega County.
“In a major political shift, Kakamega County Deputy Governor Ayub Savula, who also serves as the Deputy Party Leader of DAP-K, has officially endorsed Hon. David Ndakwa for the Malava Constituency seat,” UDA said.
“This endorsement marks a significant realignment in Kakamega politics, as leaders rally behind Ndakwa’s unifying and development-focused agenda. The political tide in Malava is changing; the movement is unstoppable.”
Savula’s decision comes less than three weeks before voters head to the ballot, and it has sent ripples through Western Kenya’s political circles, where party discipline and loyalty have been increasingly tested.
The Malava race has exposed deep divisions within political parties, with leaders openly backing rivals. DAP-K’s own candidate, Seth Panyako, had been seen as one of the frontrunners before Savula’s defection.
Interestingly, Savula’s endorsement mirrors a recent rebellion from within the ruling party itself. Kakamega Senator Boni Khalwale, elected on a UDA ticket, has been openly campaigning for Panyako, citing dissatisfaction with President William Ruto’s handling of the UDA nomination process following the death of former MP Malulu Injendi.
“When Malulu died, you gave Cheptumo’s widow a Ministry and Dalmas Otieno’s wife a State job, but for Malulu, you did not remember the wife or even the son,” Khalwale said, accusing the President of sidelining the Injendi family after the late MP’s death.
Khalwale has since vowed to support Panyako, arguing that the ruling party ignored local sentiment when it denied the UDA ticket to Ryan Injendi, the late MP’s son.
Meanwhile, the opposition camp has been consolidating its support behind Panyako. In recent days, several candidates have withdrawn from the race in his favour, including Joab Burudi Manyasi of the Democratic National Alliance (DNA) and Edgar Busiega of the Democracy for Citizens’ Party (DCP), linked to former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua.
Panyako welcomed the withdrawals, calling them a “unanimous decision” aimed at uniting Malava voters behind a “local candidate.”
The twin endorsements — Savula for Ndakwa and Khalwale for Panyako — have turned the Malava by-election into a litmus test for political loyalty in Western Kenya, a region long seen as a swing bloc in national politics.
As the campaigns enter the final stretch, analysts say the contest is no longer just about party colours but about influence, alliances, and the shifting sands of Western Kenya’s political landscape.
