CORD leaders insincere on referendum says Musalia Mudavadi

UDF Party leader Musalia Mudavadi (right), Bungoma County Senator Moses Wetangula, CORD Leader Raila Odinga during burial service of the late Hon. Peter Kibisu at Mudungu primary school in Sabatia in Vihiga County recently. [PHOTO: BENJAMIN SAKWA]

Nairobi, Kenya: Amani Coalition leader Musalia Mudavadi has broken his silence on Opposition’s push for a referendum, accusing the Coalition for Reforms and Democracy (CORD) of dishonesty and selfishness.

The former Deputy Prime Minister claims that demands for national dialogue by the Raila Odinga-led CORD was bait proposed not in good faith to deliberate on national issues, but with a clever political agenda hidden in popular issues.

“Referendum is another ploy. It will provide CORD with talking points for its supporters for a while,” Mudavadi told The Standard on Sunday in an exclusive interview from his United Democratic Forum (UDF) party headquarters in Lavington, Nairobi.

 Mudavadi says both political protagonists – CORD and Jubilee – wanted the initial call for dialogue to land where it has. He observes that the CORD leadership of former PM Raila, former Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka and Senate Leader of Minority, Moses Wetang'ula, never wanted dialogue. They deliberately designed their push in order for Jubilee to refuse.

“Jubilee on the other hand was ambushed, panicked and misread the Opposition agenda and in confusion managed to advance semblance of crisis that was CORD’s aim. It’s all a political game so far. It is that whatever CORD says, Jubilee must oppose and vice-versa,” says Mudavadi.

Mudavadi’s candid observations come barely a month after he volunteered to play the arbiter between the two feuding main political groupings. His offer was, however, snubbed by both parties which have elected instead to separately woo him to their camps. The latest political overtures were made last weekend by CORD leaders at the burial of former Vihiga MP Peter Kibisu.

Mudavadi responded by stating that he did not believe in ultimatums. He protested that this was not a case of “join us or else...” And on Thursday night, he told The Standard on Sunday that this narrative of him joining others was becoming irritating.

“Some people are still fixated on having followers or being cheerleaders. I have a party and a coalition to lead. We are independent from other outfits on matters of national interest. These statements are only self-serving, meaningless smokescreens to excite the crowd. If you have an agenda for the people of Kenya and think we can work together, convince me. But don’t ask me to join you. Join you to do what as if we cannot talk over the fence? My fate is not predicated on following and cheering you,” he charged.

The middle stand taken by Mudavadi is not particularly surprising to many. Regarded by political foes and friends alike as the gentleman of Kenyan politics, the Amani coalition leader has over the years refused to take extreme political positions. A generally low voltage politician, Mudavadi similarly marketed himself to the electorate as “a safe pair of hands” during last year’s presidential election.

POLITICAL OVERTURES

“That is the same old Mudavadi for you. And you cannot just rattle him,” reacts Teso North MP Arthur Odera, with reference to the former Sabatia MP’s reluctance to give in to the political overtures of CORD and Jubilee. Noting that Mudavadi joined the Cabinet at the early age of 29 serving in various ministries and has been Vice President and DPM as well, Odera says the Amani leader is a “difficult politician to engage politically”.

“He can hardly be attracted by most offers considering that has been around longer and the only title missing from his political career is ‘president’. And my hope is that in his long silence, he has been in some kind of retreat to strategise on how best to capture that elusive seat,” says Odera.

But Kakamega County Senator Bonny Khalwale argues that Mudavadi should stop living in past glory and instead team up with colleagues and fight to regain political power. Khalwale points out that if the Opposition’s current push for a referendum succeeds, for instance, the team shall oust Uhuru and (Deputy President, William) Ruto from power in 2017. He wants Mudavadi to be part of the struggle. “My public plea that he should join us is not because he will add any value to the struggle but rather because I do not want him to miss out. His continued dalliance with Jubilee only serves to confuse our voters, because as a community we are not on the radar of the Jubilee scheme of things,” claims Khalwale.

The Senator was one of Mudavadi’s lead lieutenants ahead of last year’s General Election. But once safely in the Senate, he jumped ship to join CORD forces and shifted political alliance to Wetang'ula. By virtue of his position as Senate Leader of Minority, the Ford-Kenya leader and CORD co-principal is the most senior politician from the western Kenya region. However, Mudavadi’s UDF party has more elected leaders as compared to Wetangula’s Ford-Kenya.

Wetangula’s backers, including Khalwale, have been projecting the Bungoma Senator as the emerging regional political kingpin. However, Mudavadi could not be drawn into debate revolving around the two as he equally declined to comment on Khalwale’s decision to decamp from UDF.

“There may be attempts at self-promotion, but that is expected of any politician. However, you must notice a unique character; the reference point, positive or negative, is Musalia. Some fellows have even determined that to make it in news, they must invoke my name. My concentration now is who I will compete with for presidency next time,” said Mudavadi.