Reprieve as Boni Khalwale’s expulsion from UDF put on hold
The Senate’s Public Accounts Committee chairman Boni Khalwale. The Committee has summoned governors and county assembly clerks to explain the reported plunder of the public funds allocated to their counties. FILE PHOTO | SALATON NJAU |
What you need to know:
- The reprieve for Khalwale came as rivalry between two camps in the party raged
- In western Kenya, leaders were divided over the decision by the Musalia Mudavadi-led faction to kick out Dr Khalwale.
A tribunal on Tuesday put on hold the expulsion of outspoken Kakamega Senator Boni Khalwale and two other UDF lawmakers.
The Political Parties Disputes Tribunal barred the Registrar of Political Parties, Ms Lucy Ndung’u, from effecting the changes made by the party’s members on Monday.
The reprieve for Khalwale came as rivalry between two camps in the party raged, with Secretary-General Justus Kizito declaring that Dr Khalwale, Nominated Senator Martha Wangari and Nominated MP Osman Hassan remain expelled in spite of the intervention by the disputes tribunal.
Dr Khalwale added a new twist to the saga when he said he had received a letter from Mr Abraham Limo, who insists he is the bona fide UDF secretary-general, stating that the expulsions were null and void.
“What is happening in UDF is similar to what happened to me in Ford-K when I was expelled from the party but that did not dim my political career,” he said.
EMBRACED CORD
In western Kenya, leaders were divided over the decision by the Musalia Mudavadi-led faction to kick out Dr Khalwale on grounds that he had embraced Cord, contrary to the position taken by UDF in the current political setup.
Three officials of UDF’s Nairobi branch moved to the tribunal seeking orders to stop Party Leader Mudavadi, his deputy, Mr Jeremiah Kioni, Chief Executive Officer Petronillah Were and Mr Kasam Sawa from effecting the resolutions of the Special National Delegates’ conference held on Monday.
Mr Wycliffe Oyondi, Ms Caroline Muthoni and Ms Pauline Achieng’ argued that Mr Mudavadi had illegally removed from office Mr Hassan and other National Executive Council officials and replaced them with “strangers”.
They said that the tribunal had issued temporary orders on September 19 that required a status quo to be maintained but the UDF party leader had acted contrary to the directives despite the fact that they had been extended on October 8.
“Ms Ndung’u should not effect any changes to the UDF party pursuant to the meeting of September 27. Mr Mudavadi, Mr Kioni, Ms Were and Mr Sawa, through their agents or any member of the UDF party, should not discuss or convene any changes in the National Executive Committee,” ruled the tribunal.
Mr Mudavadi had been initially barred from convening any meeting of the National Governing Council of his wrangling party or even discussing the effect of any changes in the National Executive Council on September 23.
