Wetang'ula, Mudavadi 'rejection' in Western gives Ruto a headache

Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi and National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang’ula at a past function. [File, Standard]

President William Ruto and his key point men in Western Kenya, Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi and National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang’ula, were hoping to capitalise on UDA’s win for Malava by-election to perpetuate a narrative that the popularity of the government was still intact in the region.

Recent political developments, however, indicate that Ruto’s grip on the Luhya nation is still facing a significant challenge marked by emerging unity efforts among local leaders and growing support for alternative political movements.

The growing resistance of Mudavadi and Wetangula, who are Ruto’s co principals in the Kenya Kwanza coalition, also proves that the President’s win over the voter-rich Mulembe nation is a tall order.

After defeating the opposition in the Malava by election, Mudavadi claimed the win marked more than a routine political victory but an early indicator of Kenya’s political mood ahead of 2027.

He described UDA candidate David Ndakwa’s victory as a strong signal of Western Kenya’s growing confidence in President Ruto and his administration.

“I assure the residents of Malava and the broader Western Region that the government remains committed to delivering development projects across the Luhya community and the entire country through the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA). We shall intensify community engagement to assess the progress of projects promised during campaigns and ensure accountability,” Mudavadi said.

But what was witnessed during the burial ceremony of former legislator Cyrus Jirongo, where mourners staged a walkout as Mudavadi read Ruto’s condolence message, indicates otherwise.

Pundits opine that Ruto’s decision to give the ceremony a wide berth was by design as they argue that he must have received intelligence that it would be better for him to avoid it.

“Ruto worked with Jirongo during second President Daniel Moi’s regime and he was well known to him. He must have wanted to attend the ceremony but he may have received intelligence to keep off the ceremony due to possible heckling,” Dennis Nyamori, a political analyst said.

Nyamori says the diminishing influence and popularity of both Wetangula and Mudavadi would have serious political ramifications on Ruto’s re-election and warned that it was high time the President went back to the drawing board and rethink how he would win back the region.

The growing influence of Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna and other Luhya leaders is also a major blow to Wetangula and Mudavadi as the youthful leaders continue to coalesce together to speak on behalf of the region.

During Jirongo’s burial, as Wetangula and Mudavadi faced tough times, Sifuna had an easy time with mourners who kept applauding as he slammed the government over extra judicial killings, among other vices.

“We want answers on how Jirongo was killed. Some of those who know how that happened are here sitting silently,” said Sifuna.

Although Trans Nzoia governor George Natembeya was absent following a freak accident while distributing Christmas gifts, the mere mention of his name by Senator Bonny Khalwale drew a wild applause, contrary to the muted reception Wetangula and Mudavadi received during their speeches.

Critics of the two so called Luhya kingpins have also taken advantage of their declaration that they will support Ruto in 2027 to paint them as weak and indecisive, especially after Mudavadi agreed to wind up his ANC party and join the President’s UDA outfit.

“Since you have decided to support Ruto in 2027, please support one of us from the Luhya community to contest against him in 2027 and then we will back one of you in 2032,” said Sifuna to a rapturous applause.

Mudavadi did not respond to the challenges thrown at him by various speakers but promised to answer them at an appropriate forum, while Wetangula used his time to respond to queries raised about his meeting with Jirongo at The Karen Oasis Restaurant before his grizzly death. 

“If you want to vie for President in 2032, you should then support those leaders from our community who want to vie in 2027. Who said that this region can’t produce a presidential candidate in 2027?” added Sifuna.

Wetangula’s Ford Kenya party’s humiliating defeat in Kabuchai, Chwele ward by election also indicates his influence in his own county is dwindling and he runs the risk of outliving his usefulness in Ruto’s camp. At Namakhele Primary School, where Wetang’ula cast his vote, Ford Kenya candidate got 195 votes against the independent candidate’s 268 while the overall results showed a huge gap of 6162 against 2765, which analysts describe as a protest vote against the National Assembly Speaker and the Kenya Kwanza administration.

Former Bungoma governor Wycliffe Wangamati maintains that Wetangula’s defeat signals the end of his political influence in Bungoma and Trans Nzoia counties even as he accused the Speaker of chest thumping and lording over politicians from the region for a long time.

“After a lot of chest-thumping by Wetangula and his team, I want to tell you that the narrative of Papa Wa Roma is over after this humbling defeat,” Wangamati said.

Kabuchai MP Majimbo Kalasinga described the results as a new awakening for voters who are beginning to reject the Ford-Kenya hegemony while putting Wetangula on notice over his prolonged dominance. 

“Wekesa’s victory shows that those who thought they were godfathers in the region should know that voters have changed their mindset,” said Kalasinga.

Other than the electoral loss, a section of leaders who campaigned for Ruto from the region, led by Kakamega Senator Boni Khalwale, have decamped from the government and started courting the opposition in what analysts believe will be a major blow to the Kenya Kwanza administration next year.

Khalwale, who served as the Senate Chief Whip before he was stripped of the position due to his continued onslaught against Ruto, slammed Mudavadi and Wetangula of blindly following Ruto without a clear plan on how the region will benefit politically.