Seth Panyako has been handed a direct nomination ticket by the Democratic Alliance Party of Kenya (DAP-K) ahead of the Malava by-election.
Speaking during the handover ceremony at Chui House in Nairobi, on Thursday, September 18, DAP-K Party leader Eugene Wamalwa said the United Opposition had settled on Panyako for the seat.
"We will be sharing this report with the people of Malava today; we have no doubt that it will emerge that Seth Panyako is the sure bet. If anyone wants to defy the agreement of the joint opposition resolution then the results will still be reflected on the ballot on November 27th," he said.
At the same time, Wamalwa urged the young people to take part in the upcoming voter registration exercise.
"We have a date with destiny on September 29th; IEBC is going to start the continuous voter registration, we urge the young people to come out in large numbers to register as voters," he added.
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This development comes days after one of the DAP-K aspirants, Caleb Burudi, challenged Panyako's eligibility in the race.
In a letter addressed to the National Elections Board Chairman on Monday, September 15, Burudi claimed that Panyako remains a serving public officer despite the legal requirement to resign before contesting.
"Our client is one of the aspirants for the Malava Parliamentary race, and has subjected himself to party nominations amongst other hopefuls.
"It has however, come to his attention that his main challenger, one Seth Ambusini Panyako is a public officer as a Board Member at the Local Authorities Provident Fund (Lapfund) and has not resigned to date, therefore ineligible to contest for the forthcoming by-elections scheduled for 27th November, 2025," the letter read.
As such, Burudi argued that Panyako should not be cleared to contest in any party primaries and his ticket must be rejected.
"He is also ineligible to participate in any party primaries and therefore his application for the ticket must be screened and rejected at this juncture," the letter continued.
Burudi further pointed to official notices from the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), stressing that Panyako had disregarded mandatory timelines.
"The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission through Gazette Notice Number 11158 of 8th August,2025 declared the vacancy for the position of member of National Assembly for Malava Constituency and consequently gazetted the 27th November, 2025 as the due date for the by-elections.
"Therefore, Mr. Panyako was expected to have resigned on or before 15th August,2025 being seven(7) days from the date of declaration of vacancy as per the gazette notice. However, he did not resign as mandatorily required in law and instead continued to engage in public service," the letter added.
Burudi called for the immediate disqualification of Panyako, suggesting that he would pursue legal options if the party failed to act.
“To this end, I call upon your office, to disqualify the said Seth Ambusini Panyako from participating in DAP-K party nominations as it is evident that he is ineligible to vie as a Member of Parliament for Malava Constituency. It is my sincere hope that my legitimate request will be complied with without the need of me seeking legal redress," the letter concluded.
