Nurses' union boss faces MCA in tight contest for Malava seat

DAP Party candidate in Malava by-election Seth Panyako campaigning at Kakoyi primary school on his final Day on November 24, 2025. [Benjamin Sakwa/ Standard]

The race for the Malava parliamentary by-election has narrowed to a two-horse contest as campaigns ended yesterday.

The race pits the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) candidate David Ndakwa, under the Kenya Kwanza coalition, against DAP-K’s Seth Panyako of the United Opposition coalition.

Out of the nine candidates cleared by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), five have withdrawn from the contest.

Ndakwa and Panyako are the front runners, but Wilberforce Tuvei, contesting on the Kenya Moja Movement Party ticket, is seen as a third force.

Ndakwa and Panyako have dominated the spotlight since the start of the campaigns, yet little is known about their personal, political and professional backgrounds. Who are they?

Ndakwa was born in Shikutse village, West Kabras, in 1973 and sat his Kenya Certificate of Primary Education in 1987 at Kalenda Primary School, before proceeding to Samitsi Secondary School for his Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education in 1991.

He holds a degree in information science from Moi University and a diploma in information studies from the University of Nairobi.

He served as Managing Director of Pavement Publishers from 2000 to 2017.

Ndakwa was first elected as West Kabras Member of the County Assembly in 2017 and was re-elected in 2022, serving as leader of the minority in the Kakamega County Assembly.

Panyako was born in 1985 in Lunyu village in Malava and is making his second attempt at the seat after narrowly losing to the late MP Malulu Injendi in the 2022 General Election.

Panyako is a nurse by profession and has served as Secretary-General of the Kenya National Union of Nurses (KNUN) since 2013.

The outspoken unionist studied at the University of Eastern Africa, Baraton, where he completed a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing in 2001.

After completing his studies, Panyako briefly worked as a nurse at Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH).

Businessman Tuvei, running under the Kenya Moja Movement, is also seeking to clinch the seat.

He was born in Muting'ong'o village in Chimuche ward, Malava, in 1987.

He attended Muting'ong'o Primary School, sat his Kenya Certificate of Primary Education in 2000, and later joined Mahira Secondary School in South Kabras, completing his Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education in 2004.

Tuvei studied at Utalii College and worked in the hospitality industry before leaving to establish his own businesses. He is now a consultant in the hospitality sector.

In the Kisa East ward by-election, the race has likewise narrowed to Movement for Democracy Growth (MDG) candidate Joel Ongoro and DAP-K candidate Abraham Ayaya.

In the Chwele-Kabuchai ward by-election, the contest has also tightened into a two-horse race between Ken Maunda of Ford-Kenya and Eric Wekesa, an Independent candidate.