Wamalwa, Natembeya in fierce tussle over DAP-K party leadership
By Print Reporter, August 2, 2025Democratic Action Party of Kenya (DAP-K) leader Eugene Wamalwa and Trans Nzoia Governor George Natembeya are locked in a bitter power struggle, with the former Cabinet Secretary accusing the county boss of orchestrating a coup to unseat him from the party’s leadership.
Wamalwa’s allies have escalated the matter, directly accusing President William Ruto of allegedly backing Natembeya in an orchestrated effort to destabilise DAP-K — a party they insist has emerged as a formidable political force in Western Kenya.
In the latest twist, Natembeya and his allies have formally petitioned the DAP-K leadership to convene both a Special National Executive Council (SNEC) and National Governing Council (NGC) meeting to deliberate on Wamalwa’s leadership style and overall direction of the party.
DAP-K Secretary General Dr Eseli Simiyu has confirmed receipt of the petition, noting that he is in the process of calling a meeting of the party’s National Management Committee (NMC) to address the issues raised.
“I am also surprised that party officials who have unlimited access to me have opted to engage a lawyer to communicate with me — and even offered to sponsor party organ meetings. That has never happened in the history of our party,” Dr Simiyu stated in a letter dated July 29, 2025.
Through Makaka and Associates Advocates, Natembeya and his allies had formally requested the convening of the two meetings to address what they termed “burning issues” affecting the party.
State hand?
Although Natembeya has publicly denied any knowledge of a planned coup within DAP-K, Wamalwa’s allies insist that the governor is accusing the former Defence Cabinet Secretary of being laid-back, uninspiring, unambitious, and reluctant to commit personal resources to the party’s operations.
“I am not aware of any planned coup in DAP-K. This propaganda is only intended to divert attention from the real issues,” Natembeya told PD Wikendi.
Even as Natembeya downplayed coup claims, Wamalwa confirmed the brewing tensions within DAP-K, which he said were being addressed internally before a final decision is made on whether to escalate the matter into a formal party dispute.
“We still don’t know what their exact problem is, but we are trying to handle the matter through our in-house mechanisms. We shall issue a detailed statement before the end of the week should those efforts fail,” Wamalwa told PD Wikendi.
Perhaps signalling the deepening rift in the party, Mumias East MP Peter Salasya declared on his Instagram page that he would use all means at his disposal to prevent Natembeya from being used by the State to seize control of DAP-K.
“I will stand firm to protect the DAP-K Party from being forcibly taken over by George Natembeya from Eugene Wamalwa. The State has assured Natembeya that it would help him stage a coup in DAP-K and then hand the party over to the government,” Salasya claimed.
He further alleged that Natembeya had scheduled a meeting next week aimed at toppling Wamalwa, despite the latter having supported his elevation to the position of DAP-K’s third deputy party leader.
Tensions within the party began in June when a section of the Trans Nzoia County Assembly members, elected on the DAP-K ticket, called for Wamalwa to relinquish his leadership role in favour of Natembeya.
Led by the outspoken Hospital Ward MCA, Erick Mwangale Wafula, the ward representatives argued that Wamalwa’s relevance both regionally and nationally was waning, while Natembeya’s influence was on the rise.
According to Wafula, Natembeya is the only politician capable of challenging President William Ruto in the 2027 General Election.
“He (Natembeya) has national appeal, and it is only noble and wise to allow him to take over the party,” Wafula told journalists during a press briefing in Kitale.
He further asserted that DAP-K, which enjoys significant grassroots support in Western Kenya, could only remain vibrant under the leadership of the former Rift Valley Regional Commissioner.
Wafula also dismissed allegations that Natembeya’s allies were plotting a coup against Wamalwa.
“I have heard some individuals close to Wamalwa claiming that we are planning a coup. That is not the case. We intend to use legal means to install Natembeya as our party leader,” he emphasised.
However, Sirende MCA Alfred Weswa, also elected on a DAP-K ticket, countered Wafula’s narrative, claiming that he was being used to divide the party and erode its strength.
Party base
According to Weswa, any decision to replace the party leader must be made by the National Executive Council (NEC).
“To me, it seems Erick has personal issues with Eugene and is also being manipulated by external forces to push this ouster agenda. But we are fully prepared for the battle,” said Weswa.
On Tuesday, another of Wamalwa’s allies, Paul Ajiba, maintained that despite Natembeya’s alleged plotting, Wamalwa enjoys stronger support within the party’s hierarchy.
He cited the support of Secretary General Eseli Simiyu, first and second deputy party leaders Athanus Wafula Wamunyinyi and Ayub Savula, as well as several MPs, MCAs, and county chairpersons.
According to party insiders, Natembeya’s support base within the party includes chairman David Muchele and assistant secretary David Masanja.
“Despite being the third deputy party leader, Natembeya is neither a member of the NEC nor the NMC. It’s an open secret that he is on a mission to destabilise DAP-K because of the party’s growing strength in Western Kenya after Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi folded his Amani National Congress (ANC),” Ajiba told PD Wikendi.
Ajiba further claimed that Natembeya’s ambition to take over the DAP-K leadership stems from the failure of his previous attempt to launch a party — Conservation of Democracy in Kenya (CODK) — which flopped due to its lack of traction in the region.
Wamalwa has served as DAP-K’s political figurehead since the 2022 General Election, positioning himself as the de facto Western Kenya kingpin after Mudavadi disbanded ANC and joined President Ruto’s United Democratic Alliance (UDA).
With former Prime Minister Raila Odinga — who previously commanded strong support in the region — now part of Ruto’s broad-based government, and some of his allies shifting allegiance to back the president’s 2027 re-election bid, Wamalwa’s DAP-K has been working to occupy the vacuum left in the region’s political leadership.