Let us strive to fulfil Michael Wamalwa’s ideals

The family and friends of former Vice-President Michael Wamalwa will on Sunday converge at his home in Kitale for a memorial service.

The former Ford Kenya chairman and Saboti MP died 12 years ago at a London hospital after a long illness.

As usual, the event is likely to be characterised by politics, both local and national. The rituals that characterised his burial, according to the Bukusu traditions, are spectacles that will definitely colour the event.

However, it is important to reflect on the 12 years that have passed since the death of the leader.

When he died, Mr Wamalwa had largely succeeded in politically uniting the fractious Luhya community. He was a symbol of unity and hope for the people of western Kenya. He was held in high esteem by MPs and other leaders from the region.

Today, as we mark 12 years since his death, the unity he had helped nurture lies prostrate, shattered by the selfish interests of politicians.

The current leaders of western Kenya have not only disappointed the Luhya electorate but have also betrayed Mr Wamalwa’s ideals. The region is littered with disparate groupings and political parties, all jostling for a limited electoral space.

There are six political parties fighting for the control of the region’s voters. There is Ford-K, a party Mr Wamalwa led for close to a decade. There is also New Ford Kenya, a splinter from Ford-K, which was born in the wake of Mr Wamalwa’s death as his political orphans feuded over his inheritance.

The Orange Democratic Movement also lays claim to support in the region.

Mr Musalia Mudavadi’s Amani National Congress, the United Democratic Front that he ditched recently, the Federal Party of Mr Cyrus Jirongo and the outfit former National Assembly Speaker Kenneth Marende is trying to form.

Some MPs from the region have also come together under the umbrella of Western Kenya Parliamentary Caucus. All these smack of betrayal of the initial unity achieved by Mr Wamalwa and which should have been promoted by the leaders as a legacy.

The continued disunity and political differences in the region will definitely undermine the ambition of the Luhya community to produce a president or even a substantive running mate in the 2017 elections.

Ford-K, the party that Mr Wamalwa left behind, has been dragged through embarrassing situations. It has been cannibalised and divided into unproductive factions.

The politician who inherited the leadership mantle, former Webuye MP Musikari Kombo, failed to fit into Mr Wamalwa’s shoes and live up to the expectations of the rank and file. He then bolted out to New Ford-K.

Although Ford-K still enjoys massive support from the people of Trans Nzoia, Bungoma and Turkana counties, poor organisation and mismanagement of its nominations in 2013 cost it many seats.

In Trans Nzoia, Mr Wamalwa’s home, the party only has two MPs, four members of the county assembly, the senator and the governor.

In Bungoma, it has four MPs out of the nine, a number of MCAs and the senator. However, due to its superior grassroots structures, Ford-K remains the most popular party in the counties cited.

NEW CHALLENGE

The current party leader, Mr Moses Wetang’ula, who is the Bungoma senator and Cord co-principal, needs to work extra hard to restore Ford-K’s lost glory in its strongholds as we head for the 2017 polls.

The appointment of Mr Eugene Wamalwa, the former VP’s younger brother, to the Cabinet by President Uhuru Kenyatta poses a new challenge to the party and calls for concerted grassroots efforts and mobilisation strategies to keep Mr Wamalwa’s political ship afloat.

Indeed, Eugene’s New Ford-K is likely to be energised by this appointment and become an even bigger player in the region.

One of Mr Wamalwa’s grand betrayals is attributed to former President Mwai Kibaki. According to the agreement that helped the National Rainbow Coalition clinch power in 2002, Mr Kibaki was to support Mr Wamalwa for the 2007 presidential race. Upon his death, the Luhya community believed that a successor of the VP in Ford-K would be appointed vice-president and keep the promise in 2007.

However, Mr Kibaki and his handlers played the politics of division and appointed Mr Moody Awori to the vacant position. Mr Awori was seen as a man of little ambition, who was, therefore, unlikely to threaten Mr Kibaki’s hold on power.

This open betrayal of the community and Ford-K by Mr Kibaki partly explains why it is hard for the Luhya community to enter into any political pact with the Jubilee coalition, which succeeded him.

Suspicion and mistrust among the people of western Kenya run deep, and this is why Jubilee forays into the region are unlikely to bear fruit.

It is important to note that despite having been a popular VP, no mausoleum has been erected anywhere in his honour by the government.

Our fear is that, as time goes by, Mr Wamalwa may be forgotten like Mr Masinde Muliro, the other doyen of Luhya politics. The 23rd anniversary of his death last week passed without mention or event. Mr Muliro died on August 14, 1992.

As we mark 12 years of Mr Wamalwa’s death this weekend, we must ask ourselves what we have done to help advance his ideals, beliefs and aspirations.

We must avoid political rhetoric and address the issues that were dear to him in Trans Nzoia County and the whole country.

Mr Wamalwa yearned for a democratic Kenya, free from any form of oppression, neglect, discrimination and poverty. He was a great proponent of devolution as well as national integration. Let us be honest to ourselves and live Mr Wamalwa’s dream.

The writer is the director of the Centre for Democracy and Human Rights, and a Ford-Kenya official in Trans Nzoia County.