Political feud between Atwoli, Mudavadi and Wetang’ula rages on

The political feud between Cotu boss Francis Atwoli and two Western Kenya leaders, Musalia Mudavadi and Moses Wetang’ula, raged on Tuesday as the trade unions boss accused the latter of "spreading propaganda."

Mr Atwoli, speaking at his Ildamart home in Kajiado, said that it was wrong for Mr Mudavadi and Wetang’ula, to claim that he went to State House last week just to receive a bus donated by President Uhuru Kenyatta to Nzoia Football Club.

The Cotu boss, who was accompanied to State House by Kakamega Governor Wycliffe Oparanya and Devolution Cabinet Secretary Eugene Wamalwa, said that he had actually participated in the buying of the bus worth Sh7 million to help the soccer club riddled with financial difficulties.

“Whatever they are peddling is clear misinformation to create a perception that we went to the State House to pick a bus donated by the President,” Mr Atwoli said.

“I want to make it clear that I helped buy that bus alongside Oparanya and Eugene and Mr Mudavadi and Wetang’ula know this. But because we had a meeting with the President on the material day, we felt it wise that he blesses it,” he said.

He claimed that Mr Mudavadi and Mr Wetang’ula had in fact declined to offer their contributions towards acquiring the bus.

According to Mr Atwoli, the only thing the President did was to top up the donation to the club with Sh2 million.

After the meeting at State House, Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Peter Munya announced that the government had written off the Sh58 billion owed by sugarcane farmers in loans to the government as well as the Sh4 billion in taxes owed to the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA).

Tuesday, Mr Atwoli said that waiving off the billions is good news to the Sugarcane farmers at a time the Covid-19 disease has hit the national economy hard forcing the government to intervene with various stimulus instruments.

The change in fortunes for the Western Kenya region comes after a Luhya leaders’ meeting at Mr Atwoli’s home in May endorsed the Cotu boss, Mr Oparanya and Mr Wamalwa as spokespersons of the region.

The three were immediately tasked with the responsibility of talking to the government to push for the revival of stalled projects as well as influencing the appointment of professionals from the region into the government.

Currently, Western Kenya is not represented in the Cabinet as Mr Wamalwa comes from Trans Nzoia, which is in the Rift Valley.

The region also expects the government to improve its infrastructure, construct dams along river Nzoia to check the flooding menace downstream as well as having new factories up and running.