Luhya unity circus: Mudavadi, Ruto and Raila battle for votes

The planned merger of Amani National Congress (ANC) and Ford Kenya was meant to seal off the vote-rich western region and lock in the populous Luhya community spread across the nation.

The party's leaders are Musalia Mudavadi and Bungoma Senator Moses Wetang'ula — principals of the National Super Alliance (Nasa).

They are in a partnership of four that includes Orange Democratic Movement boss Raila Odinga and Wiper Democratic Movement's Kalonzo Musyoka.

Mr Mudavadi and Mr Wetang'ula announced the merger after Mr Odinga's handshake with President Uhuru Kenyatta, but the support was lukewarm and resulted in lobbying for various presidential aspirants ahead of the 2022 poll.

UNITY

From Kakamega Governor Wycliffe Oparanya, Senator Cleophas Malala, members of parliament (MPs) Ayub Savula (Lugari) and Chris Wamalwa (Kiminini), Ford Kenya’s deputy party leader Boni Khalwale and ODM Secretary-General Edwin Sifuna, to Cabinet secretaries Eugene Wamalwa (Devolution) and Rashid Echesa (Sports), everyone is actively angling for a different political player.

Part of the equation are Kenya’s ninth Vice President Moody Awori, former Cabinet minister and Luhya Council of Elders Philip Masinde, and Central Organisation of Trade Unions Secretary-General Francis Atwoli, who appear to be fighting a losing battle to cool the temperatures and unite the community.

Dr Khalwale describes the circus as both good and bad. “It is good because it means we have all gone hunting for friends who can help us rally behind a stronger candidate.

"It is bad because some players, who are now trying to identify a candidate for us, have no history of supporting a Luhya presidential candidate. They are simply opportunists.”

RUTO

Mr Sifuna argues that the fixation on a Luhya President is misplaced. He says the community needs to accept the reality and challenges of the moment “instead of getting consumed by the 'bora mluhya syndrome'.

Khalwale and Sifuna have emerged as the key campaigners for 'outsiders' Deputy President William Ruto and former Prime Minister Raila Odinga.

Prof Amukowa Anangwe, a former Butere MP and a political science lecturer at University of Dodoma in Tanzania, says western politicians seem to be groping in the dark for various reasons, “some quite selfish and predatory. "But their initiatives should be seen positively — as an attempt to define dialectically the future direction for the Luhya nation, whether the Mudavadi way or alternatives including supporting Raila or Ruto in 2022.”

Mr Ruto and Mr Odinga have been featuring prominently in premature campaign talks and rallies in western Kenya.

This is partly attributable to the failure of the ANC-Ford Kenya merger. The opposition has largely been frustrated by Mr Wetang’ula, who has been gravitating towards Mr Ruto.

Dr Khalwale, has been more vocal in drumming up support for the DP.

VENGEANCE

The stand of the Ford Kenya duo has understandably attracted the ire of Mr Mudavadi.

Speaking last Wednesday during a joint requiem mass for victims of the Fort Ternan bus accident at Amalemba grounds, Kakamega, the former vice president slammed the senator over his decision to back Ruto.

“I want to presume Wetang'ula understands that Ruto is our competitor. We cannot work hard to unite ourselves as Luhya leaders and then warm up to our competitor. What kind of scientific logic is that?” Mudavadi posed.

The ANC and Ford Kenya was meant to lock out political competitors such as Mr Ruto and Mr Odinga.

However, the senator may have been motivated by another factor — a revenge mission targeting the Orange party leader, whom he accuses of masterminding his removal as Senate Minority Leader.

CLOUT

The Sunday Nation has established that a team of professionals and politicians, which has been fine-tuning merger legislations and terms, has largely been operating on a pro bono arrangement, sometimes meeting its own costs for air tickets and hotel accommodation.

A source said the merger project has been hampered by lack of adequate financial funding and political goodwill.

Dr Khalwale, a driver of the unity plan who backs Mr Ruto, does not think himself a stumbling block.

“It is up to pretenders to forget their ambitions and back either of these two gentlemen. Like the Biblical analogy of children lost in the desert, we must come to terms with the fact that the crop of leaders in our community has no substance or political muscle to make a credible stab at the presidency,” he said.