More MPs push for UDF rebranding

Kenya: Three United Democratic Forum Party (UDF) MPs in Kakamega have reiterated demands that the party re-brands to enable it to reinvent itself.

Lugari MP Ayub Savula, Navakholo's Emmanuel Wangwe and Mumias East's Benjamin Washiali have warned that they would go ahead and join the Amani National Congress (ANC) at the end of their terms in 2017 should the party fail to re-brand.

REPRESENT COMMUNITY

"At the end of our term as MPs we will decamp from UDF to ANC because UDF is not the party that will agitate and represent the Luhya community," said Savula.

The attempt by UDF to rebrand as ANC has, however, hit a snag after the Registrar of Political Parties declined to register the new party since the name was not available for registration.

Savula who was speaking during a fundraising event at Friends Secondary School Sidikho in Navakholo constituency, urged all Luhya leaders to join one political party and field a single candidate for presidency in the next general elections.

"All leaders should join ANC and field one candidate for presidency in the next general elections so that we can win the seat," he said.

POLITICAL OUTFIT

Mr Wangwe differed with Savula on ditching UDF but supported its re-branding into a new political outfit.

"I support the new ANC political outfit but let us embark on building UDF into a strong political party that can face other parties in the next general elections," said Wangwe.

He said the UDF brigade will decamp to ANC if all members agree at the end of their terms in office.

"If all members agree to join ANC and decamp from UDF then we will all do that but we should not discuss that until the appropriate time comes. Instead, let us focus on UDF as our current party," he said.

And Mr Washiali said he supported the move to have all UDF MPs unite under the new ANC.

Washiali said they are moving together as members of UDF to the new party because UDF was registered by others and there was need to register their own.

"We are moving as members of UDF to the new party at the end of our term. UDF was registered by other people and there is need to register our own party," Washiali told The Standard on phone.

The UDF party has four elected MPs in the county. These are Wangwe, Savula  Washiali and Bernard Shinali of Ikolomani.

Last week, party Llader Musalia Mudavadi "sacked" Hassan Osman as party chairman for resisting the re-branding.

Kassim Sawa was named the new chairman on a list that also included Mr Mudavadi as party leader, and Jeremiah Kioni as his deputy.

Former Shinyalu MP Justus Kizito was named secretary-general.