President Ruto's Directive to DP Gachagua After Chairing UDA Meeting

President William Ruto has directed his deputy Rigathi Gachagua to solve the UDA political standoff in Nairobi where two camps have been at loggerheads.

The Head of State, who chaired a UDA Party National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting on Saturday, June 8, at State House, ordered the DP to lead in negotiations that will lead to a political settlement.

Supporters of Nairobi governor Johnson Sakaja and those of Embakasi North MP James Gakuya have been clashing over the UDA chairmanship position in Nairobi.

This led to chaos and cancellation of the polls before, but on Saturday, the Head of State directed that the Nairobi polls be held on the same day as those in Busia and Homabay counties.

"Nairobi's polls can be held on the same day as the other two counties," the president remarked.

During the meeting, President Ruto, however, directed that the elections in Narok and West Pokot, which have been contested in court, be suspended pending the outcome of the disputes. 

"Where the courts have issued orders stopping the election, we have to postpone. We must respect court orders," the Head of State said.

The UDA party leader further settled the contentious issue of the composition of the National Delegates Conference, with the NEC strongly adopting the formula of sharing delegates on county basis depending on the presidential votes that each county returned to the UDA presidential candidate in the 2022 polls.

The process will see counties that garnered over 50 percent produce 20 delegates each to the NDC, with others below that mark sharing other slots on pro-rata basis.