Former Agriculture Minister Kipruto Arap Kirwa has come out to outline the steps taken by the opposition coalition to quell the ongoing dispute within the DAPK party, where Trans Nzoia Governor George Natembeya and the party leader appear to be in conflict.

Kipruto Arap Kirwa, who has now confirmed that he is the national chairman of the opposition coalition, speaking in a podcast on Friday, August 8, 2025, stated that a dispute has been declared and a committee within the opposition will be formed, comprising credible individuals, to look into the matter.

The committee, according to Kirwa, will review petitions from both sides and determine whether they have merit or not. Based on those findings, the outcome will be known. He added that the matter is currently under a formal process.

Being the chairman of the outfit, he refrained from digging deep into the matter, saying that he might interfere with the ongoing dispute resolution processes.

“A dispute has been declared; a committee is going to be formed comprising a number of good people to look into the issues, see petitions from both sides and accept that these petitions have merit or no merit. On the basis of that, we will know the results. Other than that, it is a matter that is under some kind of process,” Kirwa stated.

Party wrangles

This comes days after Trans Nzoia Governor and Democratic Action Party of Kenya (DAP-K) deputy party leader George Natembeya denied attempting to forcefully wrestle the leadership of the party from party leader Eugene Wamalwa.

Speaking in Nairobi on Friday, August 1, 2025, Natembeya termed the reports as unfounded, noting that his focus was on giving DAP-K a national appeal.

Natembeya also challenged DAP-K to exercise the democratic values it stands for, saying that the party should field a presidential candidate in the 2027 polls.

Democratic values

“We should not offer lip service on matters of democracy; our party is the Democratic Action Party, and we only want to exercise the democracy that it stands for,” Natembeya said.

“For instance, we would want any member of the DAP-K to be free to vie for the presidency in 2027 without the fear of being called names.”

He stated that the law allows party members to oust even a party founder and that there is nothing unusual in doing so.

“The party belongs to all the members, not two or three people. It is also possible to form a party and be ousted from it by members. This is well within the provisions of the law,” Natembeya noted.