Senate Majority Leader Khalwale Backs Opposition Candidate in Malava by Election

The Senate majority Boni Khalwale from the ruling United Democratic Alliance (UDA) has thrown his weight behind an opposition party candidate in the upcoming Malava parliamentary by-election slated for November 27, 2025. This comes after Khalwale, despite being a member of the United Democratic Alliance (UDA), came out to support the Democratic Action Party of Kenya (DAP-K) candidate Seth Panyako over his party’s candidate, David Ndakwa, who are both competing for the same seat in the upcoming November mini-polls. According to Khalwale, since the Malava by-election has attracted a lot of external forces with imposed leaders, he decided to support the Kenya National Union of Nurses (KNUN) chairman Seth Panyako, who he says represents a genuine cause. He also urged the Democracy for Citizens Party (DCP) to withdraw their candidate from the race to give Seth Panyako an easy run and avoid splitting votes. “I am supporting Seth Panyako for Malava MP because he represents the genuine interests of our people. I urge the Democratic Congress Party (DCP) to back him and avoid splitting the vote. Malava must choose its leader without external interference,” Khalwale said. The DAP-K man faces strong competition against the United Democratic Alliance (UDA)’s David Ndakwa and Democracy for Citizens Party (DCP) candidate Edgar Busiega. In Malava, Panyako, the DAP-K candidate, was cleared on Wednesday, December 8th, 2025, some minutes after 11:00 pm. Panyako was flanked by his party leader, Eugene Wamalwa, and Kakamega Senator Boni Khalwale. Khalwale and DAP-K Party Leader Eugene Wamalwa broke into celebration after Panyako was cleared by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to participate in the upcoming Malava parliamentary by-election. The incident took place at the IEBC Malava Constituency offices on Wednesday, October 8, 2025, after the three joined hands to present their candidate for clearance by the commission.