George Aladwa: ODM man with sharp tongue losing fire in his belly

When he grunted, friends and foe took cover for there was no telling what his next move would entail.

Carefree to the core - some called him the Lord of Hate - George Aladwa was the quintessential urban bully, rough to the core, politically rude and loose-tongued.

A foremost zealot of National Super Alliance (NASA) leader Raila Odinga, the former Mayor of Nairobi cut his teeth in the rough of city politics - the estates - elbowing his way to City Hall, the indisputable furnace from where city politicians are bred.

His foray into national politics in 2013 was a false start of sorts but he hang on in there until last year when he was elected Makadara MP on an ODM ticket.

“Fire, Fire! Raila ndio akuwe President lazima watu wakufe kiasi, kwani kuna makosa gani? Na sisi hapana watu wa kutishwa tishwa (For Raila to become President a few people must die),” he fumed in October 2015 in what is perhaps his most reckless diatribe.

Is it strategy?

But the fire in his belly appears to have waned with his victory. Is it the handshake? Is it a strategy? Is it maturity or is something cooking beneath?

When we caught up with the burly legislator in Parliament, he was easy, calm and collected. 

“I am not lost in city politics. I now have a constituency to look after as well as being ODM Chairman Nairobi County. I am pursuing a Bachelors of Business Administration degree at Kenya Methodist University (KEMU),” said Mr Aladwa.

His eyes betrayed him. His lips twitched as he gave the question another shot: “After the ‘Handshake’ we are now trying to bridge the gaps and to heal our country. We are no longer adversaries with Jubilee. But we are solid as ODM and hope that come 2022, we will reap big from the fruits of the ‘Handshake’,” adds Aladwa, offering a wry smile.

Pundits also argue that Aladwa could be eyeing the county’s top seat in 2022 and to do that he has to clear the first hurdle - to put his academic papers in order, as required by the constitution.

On a normal day he would be involved with the youth practising soccer, scout soccer talents across the ‘hood’ but that changed in 1990 when he ventured into politics at the age of 28.

“I was scouting and coaching young talents in soccer. During this time many youth were identified and trained. The residents felt it was time I should represent them at the County Assembly as a Councilor,” says Aladwa.

And with that, Aladwa would join the murky waters of politics first as Makongeni/Kaloleni Ward councillor on Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and now the current Makadara MP.

He would later in 2007 retain the position but under the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party, a seat that propelled him to the powerful position of the last Mayor of Nairobi, thanks to the City Cemetery scandal that implicated the then mayor Geoffrey Majiwa.

At the helm of City Hall, Aladwa claims the defunct Nairobi City Council used to collect around Sh500 million per day, adding that there were developments in the wards.

“I do not see any development in the city. We are in a situation where if you are an MCA then you need to beg the governor for development. You cannot run this expansive city from the comfort of your home and in another county,” Aladwa says in inference to Governor Mike Sonko.

It was at this time that Aladwa’s popularity in the city rose to greater heights and in 2013, vied for the Makadara parliamentary seat and lost to Benson Mutura of the defunct National Alliance (TNA).

But Aladwa says his loss was later overturned by the High Court in an election petition he filed against Mutura and the Electoral Agency.

By-election

“I petitioned the High Court and won the case and by the time the ruling was made, I was already exhausted. I was exhausted financially and there was no merit to go for a by-election,” says Aladwa.

In 2013, when he run for Makadara MP, he won according to the High Court ruling against his main challenger Benson Mutura (The National Alliance) but his victory remained just on papers.

“Raila really wanted me in Parliament but I was exhausted financially. The area Returning Officer then admitted that I had won the elections but the Treasury did not have money to fund a by-election,” says Aladwa.

However, he does not regret vying for the Makadara seat but contends that for a new aspirant to vie in Nairobi, one requires at least Sh100 million to campaign even though success is not guaranteed.

Asked why the Orange party and other NASA candidates loose to Jubilee opponents, Aladwa says it is lack of strategy and failure to conduct joint nominations especially in Nairobi and other cosmopolitan areas.

“It is not that NASA does not have support in the city. All the parties affiliated to NASA field their candidates against only one candidate from Jubilee. At the end, majority of our candidates loose just because we cannot conduct joint nominations,” says Aladwa.

But Aladwa’s fame and popularity is fading away, and the once vibrant city politician is moribund.

Makadara has been billed as the home of football stars like former Harambee Stars Captain Musa Otieno, his coach Jacob Ghost Mulee, Benard Otieno, and Aladwa now wants to lift sports standards; he has already assembled four coaches led by Victor Waweru to run the academy.