Mulembe musketeers flew too close to the sun

Kakamega Senator Boni Khalwale.[FILE,Standard]

The November 27 Malava mini poll has left abrasive Kakamega Senator Boni Khalwale gasping for breath.

For a man once likened to Amalinze the cat – the wrestler whose back never touched the ground in Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, this time, he left disgraced.

But then, Dr Khalwale has a talent for goofing. When he faced off with Mr Wycliffe Oparanya in the 2017 Kakamega governor’s race, he fell with a thud. The silver-tongued politician had simply overrated himself.

In April when he hurriedly championed a Bill to fight cartels in the public transport sector, he limped away. Now, the Malava loss adds to his long list of self-inflicted bruises. Methinks this is the beginning of the end for Kenya’s most theatrical senator.

By 2027, Dr Khalwale will be a spent cartridge and a relic fit for the political museum. He’ll do nothing but rant on X (Twitter).

So, when his security detail was withdrawn and then Speaker Amason Kingi announced that he had been fired as Senate Majority Whip and replaced with Bungoma’s Wafula Wakoli, I couldn’t help imagining what former Finance minister Amos Kimunya may have felt.

In 2008, the ‘bullfighter’ marshalled Parliament to chant ‘Kimunya must go’ over the murky Grand (now Laico) Regency sale to Libyan interests. The minister fell on the then Ikolomani MP’s sword. History repeats itself.

That time, Mr Kimunya had to go. Today, it’s Dr Khalwale who’s been fired. The difference? Mr Kimunya was a victim of political trade-offs but Dr Khalwale danced too close to the sun.

Let’s rhetorically ask: Why bite the hand that soothes you? Even before openly campaigning against the UDA candidate David Ndakwa in Malava, the senator suddenly discovered new wisdom, and turned his guns on the government.

By failing to heed former minister John Michuki’s warning of what happens when you rattle a snake, he’s his own political victim.

Not long ago, the senator demanded the sacking of Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen over insecurity. In April, he openly mocked President William Ruto for offering the Mulembe nation ‘empty’ promises, insisting he would not stay silent ‘like Musalia Mudavadi and Moses Wetang’ula.’

He even jeered at UDA’s failure to open and run a party office in his hometown of Kakamega.

You cannot fight everyone in sight tactlessly and expect to have your way. On May 1, the senator quickly withdrew his Public Transport (Motorcycle Regulation) Bill No 38 of 2023 despite Senate approval.

The Bill would have brought order to the boda boda sector through mandatory rider registration, county-level standardised guidelines, and tighter licensing regimes.

Because of pressure from the real ‘owners’ of the sector, he later pretended he wanted to allow more public participation on the Bill. Far from it, he had simply hit the brick wall. In a country such as ours, some legislations could send you to political Siberia. With all his bravado, Dr Khalwale learnt the hard way.

I’ve one unsolicited advice to the man from Malinya. Retreat quickly, head bowed and palms on your knees. Failure to do so risks landing you in the same ditch where ‘Shackles of Doom’ playwright Cleophas Malala now languishes.

The former UDA Secretary General now barks like a hawk, but no one listens. Even within Rigathi Gachagua’s DCP, Mr Malala is merely a poster child.

In fact, I foresee a future where greenhorn Peter Salasya of Mumias East will carry more weight in Luhya politics than Dr Khalwale and Mr Malala combined. At this rate, the two ‘generals’ without an army will find themselves scrambling for MCA seats in 2027. Not even DAP-K’s Eugene Wamalwa will save them.

For Trans Nzoia Governor George Natembeya and his ‘Tawe’ movement, he must prove himself beyond chiding Speaker Wetang’ula and Prime Cabinet Secretary Mudavadi. At least, we now know that the Mulembe nation has three musketeers of Dr Khalwale, Mr Malala and Mr Natembeya. In the quest for Luhya unity, these three will forever trip over their own boots.

The writer is a communications practitioner. X:@markoloo