They want me to run for Nairobi Governor in 2017- Eugene Wamalwa

Stories doing the rounds have it that you fell on hard times as soon as you left government...

It is not correct that I became broke. I am a lawyer of international repute and a farmer. Apart from politics, my passion is in my farm and law practice.

Why didn’t you just run for MP?
I had already been endorsed by my Saboti constituents to run for president. In the process, I had prepared candidates at the county level and there is no way I could have gone back to displace my own candidates.

People say you were given the tail of a cow, a mere bone, because your ministry was a department in Prof Judi Wakhungu’s Environment Ministry...
That is not correct. Anyone thinking my ministry is a little docket doesn’t really understand or comprehend the scope of what is to be done. The Ministry of Water is a huge docket because it cuts across sectors and is what really drives the economy. With enough water for people and livestock, there will be fewer conflicts, better health and food security for all.

As minister for Water and Irrigation, what will be your immediate priorities?
Access to water, sanitation and food security. We have mapped the country to facilitate water harvesting and storage capacity in terms of building more dams, boreholes and water pumps. Increasing acreage under irrigation is also our top agenda as a ministry.

Elijah Masinde of Dini ya Musambwa said leadership will come to the Luhya from the lake (Victoria). Now that you are ‘Facing Mt Kenya,’ aren’t you contravening this prophesy?

I think the only thing that can come from the lake is fish. I believe leadership comes from God, not from mountains, lakes or savannas. To me, that saying is just a myth. Elijah was a freedom fighter and I respect him, but that saying has been exploited by certain people for a very long time for selfish gains.

If your brother Mike (former vice president Wamalwa Kijana) was alive, would he have had a realistic stab at the presidency?

I believe if Mike was alive, he would be the president of Kenya today. He had a clear understanding with President Kibaki that after him, he would be next, but God took him before that could be realised. He was the best president Kenya never had.

You are a very suave individual. What was that about bringing Kijana’s spirit back home?

Traditions. For over 10 years, the elders have been asking me to do the honour as the head of the family and it was like I debt I owed the community to enable them honour their hero. So, I did that with Mike’s widow Yvonne and his children and my cousin Dr Mukhisa Kituyi on behalf of our clan. We went to London and did what was required by the community, which was to bring from London a pebble, or anything symbolic of the place where their hero died to complete the journey of bringing his spirit home. It is a symbolic journey, which is very important for any hero who died far from home. I am at peace now; the community and family is happy.

Where is Jabali? And the other children?
Jabali is a graphic designer based in Copenhagen, Denmark. He is doing well, working hard to raise his two kids Malaika and Simiyu.
The other two boys, Willy Big and Willy Small, are here with us also doing well. They are completing college. The last born daughter, Chichi, is now back from Australia with her mother. She is in school now. Their father would be proud of them. They have grown into fine young people.

At one point, it was rumoured that you received millions of cash from the US government to whip Kenyan youth into electing an ‘Obama’...

It was propaganda because I had declared my intention to run for the presidency on a platform of generation change and send the old generation leaders, that I call ‘analogue,’ home. The message didn’t go down well with the leaders. When I went to Kamukunji to hold my rally, I was tear-gassed on the same day the Prime Minister (Raila Odinga) announced that young people were being used by the American government to cause instability in the country. It was nothing like that.

Do you see Kenya carrying out irrigation using Lake Victoria’s waters?

Yes. It is a possibility. But our focus now is to see how we can use the water for drinking. It is sad that people living around the lakes are the ones with the biggest water problems. We have underutilised the fresh water from the lake.

What is your beef with Wetang’ula?

This man (Wetang’ula) has same ambitions as I do, but that makes us competitors, not enemies. When he was not ready to go through a democratic election in Ford Kenya and used unorthodox means to take over the party, that’s when we parted ways and formed New Ford Kenya. But we are good friends. Once in a while we meet and have a drink.

You have been accused by Cord leaders of being used by Jubilee to scuttle Luhya unity...
I don’t think Wetang’ula is capable of supporting another Luhya leader. He never supported Musalia. He and Jirongo said they would rather support Raila. In 1997, when my brother ran as a presidential candidate, he never supported him. In 1991, when Masinde Muliro declare his candidature, Wetang’ula supported Moi. So, I believe this talk of Luhya unity has become like a riddle. People don’t mean what they say.

Your detractors call you a ‘Jubilee mole’. Ayub Savula (Lugari MP), Ababu Namwamba (Budalang’i MP) and Silverse Lisamula (Shinyalu MP)have threatened to impeach you because you are dabbling in politics contrary to a constitutional provision that bars ministers from getting involved in politics...

I am not a Jubilee mole. I am a Jubilee minister implementing and defending the Jubilee manifesto. It is a misinterpretation of the law by those accusing me of politicking. The Constitution doesn’t limit me from advising the president and anyone else including my larger Luhya family. Anyone who wants to go to court to challenge that is free to do so.

Will you run for any political seat in Trans-Nzoia in 2017?

There’s huge demand for me to run as governor in Trans-Nzoia and Nairobi. There is also demand that I run as MP for Kiminini. We will cross that bridge when we reach it.