Editor's Review

"My coming out of UDA was a blessing in disguise because I would have sunk with the entire ship."

The Democracy for the Citizens Party (DCP) deputy party leader, Cleophas Malala, now says he does not regret being kicked out of the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) Party.

Speaking on Monday, June 23, Malala said his exit from the ruling party was a blessing in disguise.

The former UDA Secretary General said he would have sunk if he had remained supporting the government.

“I have never regretted being kicked out of UDA. I want to say that my coming out of UDA was a blessing in disguise because I would have sunk with the entire ship,” said Malala.

The DCP Deputy Party leader claimed he was kicked out of UDA after he raised issues on the implementation of campaign promises that President William Ruto had made to Kenyans before coming to power.

Collage image of President William Ruto and Cleophas Malalah.

Malala mentioned that he told President Ruto that he had forgotten to introduce government programs supporting the bottom-up ideology, but the President saw him as someone who was not supporting the administration.

“It was almost impossible for the leadership of UDA to actualize what they had promised. When we tried to raise pertinent and genuine issues, we were seen as moles. When we raised the issues of the philosophy of our party, it was to bring the people from the low level of the pyramid to the high level, bottom-up; we tried to remind the leader, this was your guiding principle during the campaigns.

“The party leader saw us as people who had lost hope in him and were not supporting his administration at the moment. That was when they decided to kick me out,” Malala added.

Malala was ousted as the UDA Secretary General on August 2, 2024, following a National Executive Committee meeting convened by UDA chairperson Cecily Mbarire.

The former Kakamega Senator was replaced by EALA Member of Parliament Hassan Omar in an acting capacity.

Malala then joined former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua’s DCP Party and was named as the interim Deputy Party leader on May 15, 2025.