Amani Coalition leader Musalia Mudavadi defends Uhuru's appointments

Amani Coalition leader Musalia Mudavadi (left) addresses the Press at his home in Mululu village where he praised President Kenyatta for nominating Eugene Wamalwa as Cabinet Secretary for Water and Irrigation Services. With him is his brother Raymond Mudavadi. [PHOTO: BENJAMIN SAKWA/STANDARD]

Sabatia, Kenya - Amani Coalition leader Musalia Mudavadi has told off Kakamega Senator Boni Khalwale over his criticism of appointments made by President Uhuru Kenyatta.

 

Mr Mudavadi especially took issue with Dr Khalwale’s terming of Eugene Wamalwa’s nomination for the position of Cabinet Secretary for Water and Irrigation a clerical appointment.

On Saturday, Dr Khalwale dismissed Wamalwa’s nomination by President Uhuru as “a ploy to woo residents of Western Kenya through small jobs handed to friendly individuals” and described the Water docket as “kazi ya mkono” (clerical job).

But addressing the Press at his Mululu home yesterday, Mudavadi said the recent appointments considered diversity and should be encouraged given that the administration has in the past been under attack for lack of inclusion.

“The appointment of Eugene Wamalwa, General Samson Mwathethe as Chief of Kenya Defence Forces and other officers to the various positions in Government, shows a departure from Jubilee government’s normal way of doing things. It shows some cohesion and integration,” said Mr Mudavadi.

The former Deputy Prime Minister said Amani Coalition has always told the President to show national integration by involving all Kenyans in public appointments rather than just pleasing those who voted for him. He asked leaders to look at the appointments from a broader perspective.

DEROGATORY TERMS

“Let us acknowledge that this has happened and urge the Government not to relapse.

“This inclusivity must be sustained and not just preserved for those who vote for a particular government,” said Mudavadi.

He said it was hypocritical for people in the Opposition, who have been asking for the Government to reflect the face of the country, to use derogatory statements to criticise the Government’s latest move.

“As leaders and Kenyans as a whole, we need to be more realistic and mature in articulating certain issues. Politics should not go as low as to be associated with duping and unnecessary hype. There is little dignity in the eyes of the voters about this animal called politician,” he said.

He said leaders should not only celebrate when they are in the limelight while condemning others who want to rise to certain positions, as this amounts to selfishness.

Mudavadi said an elective post did not give leaders superiority in ideas and knowledge.

He said appointing individuals to Government did not necessarily mean that the regions they came from were being divided or targeted and neither did it mean someone wanted to make an entry into the region.

The former Sabatia legislator said media reports that he had turned down the offer of a Cabinet position were false and that he was focused and working on his future ambitions.

“If you knew me well, you would realise I have made the statement many times. My focus is 2017 and beyond. Nobody knows the interesting scenarios that will come before 2017,” he noted.

Khalwale and others in the Opposition have criticised the President’s recent appointments, claiming they were intended to hoodwink Kenyans.