Bonnie Khalwale asks Mudavadi and Marende to declare stand on coming elections

Kenya: Kakamega Senator Dr. Boni Khalwale has come out strongly against former House Speaker Kenneth Marende and Deputy Premier Musalia Mudavadi, for not declaring their political positions as 2017 presidency race nears, a matter he believes will interfere with luhya formation at the ballot.

The outspoken senator cautioned the two that the Jubilee administration which they seem leaned towards,  had nothing substantial for their political lives and they should not stay about waiting.

"I told my brother Mudavadi that Jubilee will never consider him for anything but he told me to remain patient for one year. I waited and waited but nothing was forthcoming, I quit to work with people who can work with luhyas," he said at Bukhungu stadium after presiding over a bull fighting contest between Messi and Simba bulls on Saturday.

Khalwale took on Marende saying that former speaker Marende would be better of politically without his current post at Kenya power.

"Our brother Marende was given a small post at the Kenya Power from heading a big jurisdiction of a national assembly," he said.

A few weeks ago in Bondo during the funeral of Fidel Odinga, Mudavadi hinted on a possibility of working with Raila Odinga but Khalwale wants him to come clean.

"I cannot fight Mudavadi because he is a fellow luhya leader but since he said in Bondo that he wants to work with Raila, he has gone quiet, I dare him to come out this early as sun shines and declare it publicly in Western so that we know where he is leaned," he said.

But United Democratic Forum party secretary General Justus Kizito said Khalwale was no longer a member of the UDF party and had no mandate to dictate to its party leader what he should do.

Kizito said UDF was solidifying its base and would soon re-brand to Amani National Coalition before rethinking on with like minded parties to work with.

"Khalwale stands expelled from our party UDF, he is a stray man who is speaking for no one,  he has no stand at all, is he not the one who led us out of ODM, in which party is he today? We as a party will come up with our stand at an appropriate time," Kizito said on phone.

The former Shinyalu MP said that Khalwale was an indisciplined politician who may end up wrecking CORD from within as is his norm.

The Kakamega senator who was elected on an UDF ticket declared to the hundreds of bull fighting supporters who had gathered at the stadium that he will not serve party interests because he got votes from voters across all parties.

 

He urged the luhya community to register and vote because for the first time,  the Bukusu who usually vote against other luhya sub-tribes had come on board with all luhyas through senator Moses Wetangula (Bungoma).

"Me and Wetangula have brought luhyas together,  what is remaining is for you to take voters' cards and turn out to vote, that's how we can take power. Power is not acquired through throwing stones, whipping people or through the bullet it is through voting," he said.

The seventeen minutes bull fight ended with Messi carrying the day, the owner of Messi beside the Sh 15,000 he bagged from the organizers of the tournament, got a reward of Sh 10,000 from the senator and that of Simba received Sh 5,000.