Tension gripped Defense Cabinet Secretary Eugene Wamalwa’s Democratic Action Party-Kenya (DAP-K) on Thursday after the names of senior party officials were found to be missing from a list gazetted by the registrar of political parties.
The names of DAP-K leader Wafula Wamunyinyi and secretary-general Eseli Simiyu were not among the officials listed in the March 22 notice.
The notice did not have the position of party leader but had David Simiyu Muchele listed as national chairman while Bernard Wanjala Masanja was named secretary-general instead of Dr Simiyu.
“In exercise of the powers conferred by section 20 (1) (a), (c) and (e) of the Political Parties Act, 2011, and Regulations 5,6,7 and 8 of the Political Parties (Registration) Regulations, 2019, the Registrar of Political Parties gives notice that Democratic Action Party–Kenya intends to make changes in their particulars as follows,” said the notice from Anne Nderitu.
“Change of the Party Constitution and change of Party officials.”
Complaints
Ms Nderitu told Nation.Africa that her office simply gazetted what had been filed with it by the party.
“(But) the matter has been raised with us and we are writing to the party to respond to the objections. So we are returning the complaints to the party,” she said.
She went on: “We work with what has been put before us. We only ascertain whether it is properly signed by the right people, whether the minutes are there and whether everything is in order, then we proceed to gazette (it).”
If there are objections, she said, then “we forward back to the party explaining the facts of law and their contusion and tell them to address the matter”.
“At this level, it’s not even a dispute, maybe a mix-up,” she added.
Mr Wamunyinyi told Nation.Africa that because the window for switching parties had not opened, he and Dr Simiyu were still members of Ford Kenya.
“So it is … now that we have just resigned from Ford Kenya to join DAP-K. If we had left that time, there would have been a by-election. This is the right time to change parties,” Mr Wamunyinyi told Nation.Africa.
No cause for alarm
He told DAP-K members that there was no cause for alarm, adding that corrections and another filing will be made.
“We shall be filing fresh returns,” he said.
He said the filings gazetted by Ms Nderitu were made before they joined the party “and the notice came out before they clarified. For now, a fresh publication will be done.”
He said that initially, the party’s constitution had the national chairman as the top-most party official.
Dr Simiyu said they had reached out to the registrar’s office to address the “mix-up”.
“We are at the Registrar of Political Parties’ office trying to sort out the matter. There seems to have been a mix up in the filing,” he told Nation.Africa.
In the gazette notice, the registrar said that “any person with written submissions concerning the intended changes by the political party shall within seven (7) days from the date of this publication make their written submissions to the Registrar of Political Parties”.
The registrar also published plans by the President Uhuru Kenyatta-led Jubilee party to replace its clasped-hands symbol with a dove, as well as yellow, black and white colours with red and white. BY DAILY NATION