NASA senators defy Raila, kick out Wetang’ula

NASA co-principals Kalonzo Musyoka, (centre), Musalia Mudavadi and Moses Wetang’ula (right). [Paul Mutua, Standard]

National Super Alliance senators yesterday defied their leader and voted to oust Moses Wetang’ula from the Minority Leader position.

Sources said the 28 senators declined an invitation to Capitol Hill for a meeting with Raila Odinga, apparently to talk them out of their planned action, and instead went ahead with the vote at Parliament Buildings to replace the Ford Kenya leader with Siaya Senator James Orengo. 

It emerged that Raila twice met with Wetang’ula, Kalonzo Musyoka, and Musalia Mudavadi to assure them that he was not behind the coup.

Raila was said to have convened another meeting yesterday after the vote.

Protest vote

It is understood the senators’ action was a protest vote against Wetang’ula for reportedly telling off his colleagues that he could only talk with fellow NASA principals about his fate, which the senators viewed as contemptuous.

“Raila wanted us to have the Parliamentary Group meeting at his office. Senators received calls asking them not to have the meeting at Parliament’s Buildings,” said a senator who sought anonymity.

“The intention was to stop us from making a resolution over the issue of House leadership. It was unanimously agreed we have the group meeting and vote before we go for another meeting,” explained the source.

The meeting at Capitol Hill was corroborated by other sources, who indicated that Raila left the office once it became clear that the legislators were not coming.

Claims that Wetang’ula had told the senators that he could only engage his co-principals, Raila, Kalonzo, and Mudavadi, over the ouster bid, which became public last week, complicated his case.

But in the Senate, after Speaker Ken Lusaka confirmed Orengo as the Minority Leader, it was apparent that Wetang’ula was paying the price of the fallout over Raila’s January 30 ‘swearing-in’, which he, Kalonzo, and Mudavadi skipped.

Rewarding support

Senator Ledama ole Kina (ODM) explained that Wetang’ula failed to stand with Raila when he was in need and thus had to bear the consequences.

“Those who stood firm with us must be rewarded and I am happy Siaya Senator James Orengo is now the new Minority Leader,” he said.

The three principals attempted to save their colleague through a letter authored by NASA Chief Executive Officer Norman Magaya, who wrote to Lusaka informing him of the coalition’s decision to reinstate the beleaguered senator.

The Speaker rejected the letter, saying he could only recognise the one delivered by Minority Whip Mutula Kilonzo Jnr, which communicated the election of Orengo. 

Raila was said to have met Wetang’ula, Kalonzo, and Mudavadi on Thursday last week after the ouster bid was mooted in the Senate and again on Sunday, and assured them that senators would not vote to kick out Wetang’ula.

At the first meeting in Karen, Raila told the three principals that the legislators had gone behind his back to make the changes.

The Sunday meeting resolved to prevail upon the senators to cancel a meeting to elect Orengo as the Minority Leader, which had been scheduled to take place on Monday.

Monday election

When the Monday election was postponed, it gave the impression that the intervention had been successful. 

But yesterday, as Wetang’ula, Kalonzo, and Mudavadi were leading national executive council (NEC) meetings for their respective parties to consider Raila’s deal with President Uhuru Kenyatta, NASA senators assembled in Parliament for the vote.

At the NEC meetings, Wiper, ANC, and Ford Kenya warned that any attempt to kick out Wetang’ula would spell doom for the coalition, but their pleas fell on deaf ears.

This prompted Magaya to write directly to Lusaka, stating that the NASA principals had reinstated Wetang’ula.

But Kilonzo Jnr wrote to the Senate Speaker, attaching the minutes of the meeting held in the morning to formally replace the Bungoma senator.

As Speaker Lusaka was accepting the appointment of Orengo as the new Minority Leader, Raila called another meeting at the Panafric Hotel to distance himself from the action.

He was accompanied by Orengo, who coincidentally had participated in the vote that sealed Wetang’ula’s fate. Mudavadi did not attend.

When the three met at Panafric, Raila reportedly called Mudavadi and put him on speaker phone to participate in the deliberations. Raila was understood to have pressed Orengo to explain why the senators had defied him. 

NEC meeting

During the NEC meeting, Wetang’ula’s Ford K party said it was aware of the division in the NASA coalition, which it blamed on the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM).

Ford Kenya accused ODM of ridiculing and demonising the other partner parties in the coalition and their leadership.

“As a party we take great exception to this turn of events, especially those targeting the leadership structure in the two houses of Parliament. Ford Kenya wishes to express its unequivocal support and confidence in the leadership of Moses Wetang’ula as the Leader of the Minority in the Senate,” said the statement read by Eseli Simiyu.

Political ambitions

Mudavadi’s ANC insisted that individuals set aside their political ambitions to support one candidate and that no partner in the coalition was senior to the others.

“We regret that some have missed this point. This has led to mischief in the Senate and even the National Assembly. We find this conduct highly reprehensible. Going forward, we will not accept this kind of tragic mischief,” Mudavadi said. 

But it was too late as Lusaka went ahead to accept the senators’ letter communicating their decision to vote out Wetang’ula.

“We have resolved to appoint Senator Orengo as the Senate Minority Leader with immediate effect, as per the attached minutes of the NASA Coalition Senate Parliamentary Group,” Lusaka quoted Kilonzo Jnr’s letter as he communicated Orengo’s election to the House.

The Speaker ruled that the letter by Kilonzo Jnr was admissible while Magaya’s did not communicate the election of a senator to be the new Senate Minority Leader after the removal of Wetang’ula.

“The letter is not accompanied by minutes of the meeting at which the new Minority Leader was elected and the senators of the NASA Coalition who were present thereto and subscribed to such election. The letter is not transmitted to my office by the Minority Whip,” he said.

Inadmissible letter

He continued: “I find that the letter falls short of the requirements of standing order 20(1) in each and every material particular. It is inadmissible. In fact, it would appear to me that this letter should more appropriately have been addressed to the membership of the NASA coalition in the Senate rather than to the Speaker.”

And with Lusaka’s pronouncement, Wetang’ula immediately lost all privileges associated with the office and also the perking order in the Senate.

[Roselyne Obala, Moses Nyamori, Daniel Psirmoi and Geoffrey Mosoku]