Mudavadi: I have no ill will against Gachagua

The reports gained traction thanks to a war of words between Mt Kenya and Western leaders after Gachagua read the riot act to Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja over plans to kick out matatus from the central business district and crack down on nightclubs.

But in an interview on Thursday with The Standard, Mudavadi clarified that there was no animosity between him and the deputy president.

"I don't know where the narrative that I am in a tiff with the deputy president is coming from. I see my role as complementary. When you are in government you work as a team and the DP and I are working as a team.

"If there were any cross-cutting issues, there are mechanisms of dialogue that we can use to resolve those issues. I know very well that I am assisting both the President and the Deputy President," he said, adding that their roles were clearly defined.

Mudavadi also defended his efforts to unite western Kenya leaders, a move that has been viewed by many as stacking his political arsenal against Gachagua in readiness for the 2027 polls.

"There is no secret card. The message I am sending is that the elections are over and we have to work with everybody. I should be able to talk to my brothers and sisters who are of a different political dispensation. I think it is a good national gesture. The same is happening for the President and the DP in their regions," he said.

Mudavadi also weighed in on revelations by President Ruto that there was a plot to kidnap and murder former IEBC chair Wafula Chebukati, and the skullduggery that defined the August 2022 election, saying there seemed to be a well-orchestrated plot to disrupt a constitutional process by their competitors.

Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi. [David Gichuru, Standard]

Ruto's sentiments offered a peek into the behind-the-scenes happenings at Bomas of Kenya which, according to him, involved roping in the military and top security officials into a nefarious scheme to deny him victory.

"The President never speaks in vain and time will tell who was behind the ill intentions. From the onset, it was clear that were people from the school of impunity who were out to disrupt the electoral process," said Mudavadi.

On calls by the opposition to the President to set up a commission of inquiry to probe the Bomas implosion, the Prime Cabinet Secretary called for patience.

The Raila Odinga-led Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Coalition had on Wednesday accused the President of being 'all bark and no bite', even as they demanded a public inquiry to investigate election-related deaths since 2007.

They questioned why, with all the resources and powers at his disposal, Ruto was merely making revelations and not acting on them.

"I cannot predict how this process will end, but I can tell you that time will tell. What is important is that going forth, we as a people take action to ensure that such things never happen again. It's as if people have forgotten the 2007/2008 aftermath," said Mudavadi.

The Kenya Kwanza principal also criticised the Azimio camp following their attacks on Mr Chebukati and their renewed claim that the electoral agency had colluded with Ruto to deny Raila victory in last year's elections.

Jubilee Party Secretary General Jeremiah Kioni on Wednesday claimed to have received a report from a whistle-blower containing evidence that Raila was robbed of the presidency.

"The dossier by Azimio is nothing but hot air. Where was this whistle-blower when the matter was at the Supreme Court? Those aggrieved had a chance to go to court for redress but the Supreme Court unanimously affirmed and validated the results. So where was this whistleblower then?" posed Mudavadi.