Uhuru has no legacy other than debts, says Mudavadi

Amani National Congress (ANC) leader Musalia Mudavadi.

President Uhuru Kenyatta has already written his legacy and he will forever be remembered for overburdening Kenyans with debt, Amani National Congress (ANC) leader Musalia Mudavadi has said.

In an interview with the Sunday Standard, Mudavadi did not spare Opposition leader Raila Odinga either, who he said is “no longer the man we knew”, while he dismissed Deputy President William Ruto, saying his 2022 ambitions have turned into an obsession.

Mudavadi, who has already established his presidential campaign centre, said he has little confidence in the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) that is likely to present its report in the next three weeks. Instead, he believes the best route is for the country to go back to the Bomas Draft.

The draft had proposed a four-tier government where there would be the national level, regional level, district and the location level. 

“That was the best document, even in our NASA manifesto, we pledged to revisit it. We would save the cost and a whole process of collecting views again,” said Mudavadi.

He said as NASA, they had agreed on certain principles, including strengthening devolution, a restructure of the executive, unity and cohesion of the country.

The former Vice President expressed his support for a referendum but said it should be about the people and not creating positions for political leaders.

He said most of the presentations to the BBI by the mwananchi focused on the need to address cost of living and fight against corruption.

Mudavadi said the BBI was not well conceived but he would give it the benefit of the doubt. “Let’s wait for their report, we will then go through it and critique,” he said.

He said he is preparing to give a second stab at the presidency and insists that he has the experience and the charisma to lead the country after shelving his his bids twice in 2007 and 2017 for Raila.

“I have begun making networks across the country, when the right time comes I will hit the road running,” said Mudavadi.

Two weeks ago, the ANC leader met Makueni Governor Kivutha Kibwana in a visit seen by observers as political. Before that, he had met some members of the Kikuyu Council of Elders in Limuru as he begins to charter his second bid for State House.

Mudavadi said he plans to traverse the country to sell his policies as well as get views of Kenyans on things they want fixed to better their living standards.

He said President Kenyatta’s administration has put the next government in a difficult position as it will struggle to repay the expensive debt that Jubilee has committed the country to.

“With the kind of debt mess we are in, the next administration will have a difficult task operating, the legacy for Uhuru is the heavy debt he has committed the country to,” he said.

Mudavadi asserted that for the country to get out of the “debt hole” all the loopholes that enable pilferage of public funds must be sealed.

“Corruption is hurting this country, in every project implemented we see overpricing in terms of millions and billions meant to feed the thieving government officials,” he said.

Mudavadi singled out the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) construction from Mombasa to Nairobi and now to Naivasha as one of the inflated projects that does not have justification.

“Why are our neighbours building more superior electric railway lines at a cheaper cost?” he wondered.

Mudavadi said it is clear some people were making a killing from inflating the price of projects at the expense of Kenyans.

He also said the Galana-Kulalu irrigation project was a noble idea killed by corruption.