DAP-K Explained: The Democratic Action Party of Kenya

The Democratic Action Party of Kenya (DAP-K) is an opposition party led by former Cabinet Secretary Eugene Wamalwa, with its base in Bungoma and Trans Nzoia. It was launched at the Bomas of Kenya on 14 December 2021 by MPs who had broken away from Moses Wetang'ula's Ford Kenya, and it backed Raila Odinga in 2022. As of 23 September 2026 it sits in the united opposition, has lost its only governor, George Natembeya (Governor, Trans Nzoia), and is being courted from both sides: Wetang'ula wants Wamalwa to join President William Ruto, and Wamalwa has invited Edwin Sifuna (Senator, Nairobi) to join DAP-K.

Where it came from

Capital FM reported the launch on 14 December 2021, at the party's first National Delegates Congress. Kanduyi MP Wafula Wamunyinyi was named party leader and Tongaren MP Eseli Simiyu secretary-general. Both had fallen out with Wetang'ula, and Capital FM described the membership as "mostly made up of a breakaway faction" of Ford Kenya. The delegates resolved to back Odinga's Azimio la Umoja campaign. Wamalwa, then Defence Cabinet Secretary, was in the hall and used his speech to tell Musalia Mudavadi to pick a side.

The party's pitch was Luhya representation inside Odinga's coalition, at a time when Wetang'ula and Mudavadi were heading towards Ruto.

What it won in 2022

Its founders mostly lost. The Kenya News Agency reported that Ford Kenya swept Bungoma, where Wamunyinyi, Simiyu and the outgoing governor, Wycliffe Wangamati, who ran for re-election on DAP-K, were all beaten.

Trans Nzoia went the other way. Natembeya won the governorship on a DAP-K ticket with 158,919 votes against 79,020 for Ford Kenya's Chris Wamalwa, according to IEBC figures compiled by the Equal Politics site. The Star's list of winning MPs also showed DAP-K candidates elected in Bumula, Cherengany and Kiminini, among them Jack Wamboka (Bumula).

Wamalwa and the Natembeya split

By 2025 Eugene Wamalwa was party leader, with Wamunyinyi, Kakamega Deputy Governor Ayub Savula and Natembeya among his deputies. In February 2025 he opened new party headquarters with Rigathi Gachagua in attendance, Capital FM reported.

The first open revolt came in mid-2025. The Nation reported on 3 August 2025 that Natembeya and Peter Salasya (Mumias East) were pushing for a change of leadership and a rebrand, and that both factions had petitioned Simiyu, still the secretary-general. "A few individuals want to treat the party as their personal property," Natembeya said. A Wamalwa loyalist on the national executive called it "an attempted coup". Simiyu said any change would have to follow the party's own procedures.

It ended with Natembeya leaving. On 8 July 2026 he said Wamalwa had refused to let him turn DAP-K into a national movement. "Consequently, I have no other option but to quit," he said, as reported by Nairobi Wire. Days earlier he had hosted Sifuna and other Linda Mwananchi leaders in Trans Nzoia and backed Sifuna for president. He then pursued the Ukombozi People's Party, whose proposed name the Registrar of Political Parties rejected in a letter dated 8 September 2026; the dispute is traced in the Ukombozi People's Party timeline. Savula, too, has moved on: People Daily reported that he plans to run for Kakamega governor on UDA.

Where DAP-K stands for 2027

Wamalwa is one of the principals of the united opposition, alongside Kalonzo Musyoka, Martha Karua, Gachagua and others. He attended the principals' meeting of 1 September 2026. The pact they signed is covered in the Windsor unity pact.

The party has not always gone along quietly. When The Star reported on 20 August 2026 that Kalonzo and Gachagua were close to a deal that would make Kalonzo the flag-bearer, it named DAP-K's Simiyu among the figures objecting.

Two invitations went out at the same funeral, in Kapretwa, Saboti, over the weekend of 19 and 20 September. Wamalwa said the Registrar was frustrating the Linda Mwananchi leaders' attempts to register new parties. "Should Sifuna feel frustrated, I warmly invite him to join DAP-K, as we share a common goal of forming a new government," he said, The Standard reported. At the same funeral, The Star reported, Wetang'ula told Wamalwa he was "in the wrong political camp" and asked him to join Kenya Kwanza. That exchange is covered in Wetang'ula's pitch to Wamalwa.

For anyone without a party of their own, DAP-K has one asset that matters on the calendar. It is a fully registered party that already exists, while Sifuna's camp was still trying to get a name past the Registrar in September 2026. The Registrar's deadline for certifying party nomination rules is 30 October 2026, and a movement cannot nominate anyone.

What to watch

Whether Sifuna takes up Wamalwa's offer or goes elsewhere. Whether Wamalwa stays in the opposition after Wetang'ula's approach. And whether DAP-K can hold Trans Nzoia and its Bungoma seats in 2027 without the governor who carried it there. The man himself is profiled in who is Eugene Wamalwa.