Luhya leaders in yet another search for elusive unity

Luhya politicians under the auspices of Western Parliamentary caucus are toying with the idea of collapsing all political parties in the region into one outfit so as to have a strong bargaining platform for power at the national level.

Mr Sakwa Bunyasi (UDF), the chairman of the caucus that brings almost all Luhya MPs together, told the Sunday Nation that the region has for a long time been taken for granted, hence the need to change tack.

The chairman said that through the group which is hardly five months old, they will have a structured way of engaging other regions ahead of the 2017 elections.

HERO WORSHIP

“We will look for whom to support for the Presidency either from within the community or out but I can tell you it will not be about hero worship,” he said.

“The group is a new magnet that will alter the existing political grids. If we are able to speak with one voice, down the road, our people will move to one political outfit,” he said.

He singled out their Nyanza neighbours for being responsible for Luhya problems.

“Our frustrations with our neighbours from Nyanza is that we have been subsumed in our alliance with them for a very long time, that does not work for us,” he said in his Continental House Nairobi office.

Details of how the merger would be achieved remain scanty. And the fact that there are many competing parties and leaders such as Senate minority leader Moses Wetang’ula (Ford-K), Musalia Mudavadi (Amani National Congress) and CS nominee Eugene Wamalwa would no doubt pose a challenge to the unity.

In as much as the Nambale MP insists that they are not keen on working with Jubilee or isolating Mr Odinga, the mention of “the need for independence” from their neighbours would certainly attract a backlash from ODM.

The renewed unity efforts come hot on the heels of a State House visit by some Western Kenya MPs, an event that preceded President Uhuru Kenyatta’s visit to the cash-strapped Mumias Sugar Company where he issued a Sh1 billion bailout cheque.

All the 42 MPs from Kakamega, Busia, Vihiga and Bungoma counties, what was formerly Western province, are members of the caucus.

“We want to talk with one voice on issues affecting our region. It is not about one party because both Jubilee and Cord MPs are members of the PG,” he said.

Mr Bunyasi denied reports that a powerful Jubilee figure from outside the region was behind the renaissance of the PG, saying the need to have a say on who becomes the next president is the reason for their renewed energy. “This will significantly influence the final outcome of the polls. We shall have a voice in power negotiation or influence the pattern of power,” he said.

A cautious Butere MP Andrew Toboso told the Sunday Nation that no political agenda has been discussed.

“For instance, when you talk about the State House visit, the motivation was solely to rescue Mumias,” he said.

Funyula MP Paul Otuoma said, “Our major challenge is political tokenism. We need a sense of purpose if the unity is to be actualised.”

LUHYA ECONOMY

Kakamega Senator Bonny Khalwale believes that for any people to unite, they must have a shared vision implying that this has been lacking or still lacks. He said “the collapse of the Luhya economy” means that unity is not a matter of choice but an urgent necessity.

But Kakamega Governor Wyclife Oparanya said that unity will remain elusive as long as proliferation of political parties continues.

“The solution is to be united under one party. And as we come together, people should not assign themselves responsibility. From amongst us, a leader will then naturally emerge for us to support.”