Why I turned down Raila’s lunch invite after ouster, Wetang'ula explains

Ford Kenya Party Leader Moses Wetang'ula

Bungoma Senator Moses Wetang’ula has admitted to a falling out between him and Opposition supremo Raila Odinga, but insists the parting of ways has not in any way left a bitter taste in his mouth.

In his first interview with the media since he was dethroned from the Senate Leader of Minority position, Wetang’ula has kept a low profile, opting instead to retreat into Ford Kenya for reflection.

After some soul searching, Wetang’ula says he is now ready for another chapter in his political life after what he says was a betrayal from Raila, a man for whom he set aside his ambitions to back on two occasions.

“It is time to go flat out and endear myself to Kenyans. The country will know a new and reinvigorated Wetang’ula,” he says.

The Bungoma senator, who has been a legislator for the last 21 years in a stint that includes nearly a decade as Cabinet minister, has plans to make a stab at the presidency in 2022. This, of course, not being the first time he has said this. Often though, his ambitions are firmly outweighed by his ability to deliver the top seat to the Mulembe nation.

Although he has on many occasions fallen short of the ultimate prize, he has almost always like a cat landed on his feet when it seemed obvious that he would fall on his back.

Twists and turns

It is this ability to twist and turn midair that has seen him warm his way into political coalitions. He hopes that this skill, perfected over years, will come in handy again as the country’s political class trains its eyes on 2022.

“I will build bridges where none have existed before and engage everyone to win the presidency or have enough support to help me partner with others,” he says. For years, a huge chunk of his support has come from Bungoma and Trans Nzoia counties where his Bukusu sub-tribe is dominant.

Recent developments in his block are, however, causing the once assumed leader of the Luhya Nation sleepless nights. President Uhuru Kenyatta’s Jubilee Party won two parliamentary seats previously held by Ford Kenya in Bungoma and Trans Nzoia.

In spite of this, he believes the party is still strong, saying when he took over its leadership from former Cabinet minister Musikari Kombo, it only had one MP. It now has 14 elected legislators and 89 MCAs from across the country.

Wetang’ula has for long influenced the politics of western Kenya in some way, particularly in Bungoma and Trans Nzoia counties. But his current tiff with Raila and the emergence of a new and re-energised Musalia Mudavadi threaten to knock his ambitions further back and unbalance his political equation.

Although he claims to be his own man, he cannot run away from the fact that a large part of the success he has enjoyed over recent years is a result of his association with Raila, Mudavadi and Kalonzo Musyoka, the other co-principal in the National Super Alliance (NASA).

So what now for him?

For the first time in many years, he finds himself almost isolated, with Ford Kenya left to look around for suitors in what might end up as a forced marriage with other players. A few weeks ago, hos party MPs openly talked about their availability, openness and willingness to get into bed with any willing partner.

Several weeks back, MPs from Bungoma County including those from his party, met Deputy President William Ruto. The meeting at the DP’s Karen residence left tongues wagging that Wetang’ula had sent emissaries to broach the topic of a partnership between him and Jubilee.

Moving on

“They had gone to impress on the government to consider projects in the region before the budget was rolled out. When I make a deal with Ruto, it will not be a secret one,” Wetang’ula says.

Even as he plots a future, he cannot let go of a past that seems to have put him in a rut. His ouster in March muddied the waters for the NASA coalition, where for a brief period, Wetang’ula found a home. 

“They (ODM) seem to have left us, they nowadays hardly identify themselves with NASA. We are also moving on,” the Ford Kenya leader says, his frosty relationship with Raila yet to thaw.

He says the two have not spoken face-to-face since the Senate coup, a far cry from the days when the Bungoma Senator would wax lyrical on podiums around the country about his friend, now nemesis.

“He had invited me for lunch a couple of weeks ago but I declined,” he says, adding that the two have only had one phone conversation through Kalonzo’s cellphone.

As he navigates this new minefield, he is holding his cards close to his chest.

“I will not share my plans with the world,” he says.

But political observers say his book of tactics is only a few pages thick, and most of them involve partnerships. He is looking for another one with Mudavadi’s Amani National Congress (ANC).

New partnerships

“We have a joint committee of the two parties, currently looking into the matter and by the end of this week, each party will review the report on the merger. It is work in progress and we might see the union mid next year,” he says.

On proposed Constitutional reforms, Wetang’ula believes it is time for the country to go back to the Kilifi and Bomas drafts and critically look at the hybrid system of Government that will see ministers picked from elected MPs.

“A similar system is used in Europe. Such an arrangement will also see the pressure to win the presidency eased because of other centres of power,” he says. 

After his ouster, Wetang’ula promised the world a messy and noisy divorce from the former Prime Minister.

There has been pin drop silence so far. In fact, no one is sure if he ever got to file the divorce papers.

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