The three and a half year old Democratic Action Party of Kenya (DAP-K) is in the throes of a bitter power wrangle pitting its party leader, Eugene Wamalwa and Trans Nzoia governor George Natembeya Tensions of this simmering row broke out in public yesterday.
The DAP-K Secretary General Eseli Simiyu told a press conference after a National Management Council (NMC) meeting in Nairobi that there is "serious disunity" among members of the party. He said the party had received several petitions- some urging members to remove the party leader Eugene Wamalwa, while others called for the ouster of Trans Nzoia Governor George Natembeya from his current position as the Deputy Party Leader. According to Simiyu, the meeting was to deliberate on the concerns by some members of NEC who had lodged complaints to his office, compelling him to issue a notice of National Governing Council meeting to "change the party constitution and leadership structures.
Other issues raised were the credibility of the eligibility of some NEC members holding offices and calls for their ouster. "The NMC has deliberated and found that there is therefore a serious disunity between members of the party...The NMC has therefore decided to refer all the petitions to the internal dispute resolution mechanism to hand this urgently,' he said He spoke on Friday after a lengthy crisis National Management Committee meeting held at the party headquarters in Karen, Nairobi, which had Governor Natembeya in attendance, by failed to appear during a briefing with reporters. This comes hours after DAP-Kenya Parliamentary Group raised concerns over reports of a coordinated effort to destabilise its leadership through a hostile takeover. The MPs alleged that a scheme had been hatched by external forces through one of their leaders, even as they told off critics.
They pledged support for Wamalwa. "Any effort to launch an unconstitutional takeover of DAP Kenya, targeting Party Leader Eugene Wamalwa and the national leadership, will be met with resolute resistance.
