Papa wa Roma: Moses Wetang'ula's 'holy' politics and divine survival skills

National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetangula with President William Ruto during a development tour in Busia County on Jan 23, 2025. [PCS] In a world where he could be anything, Moses Wetang'ula, the learned man from Sirisia, opted to be the 'pope'. The self-styled Papa wa Roma hails from Bungoma, a county with its own Jesus, famously known as Yesu wa Tongaren, who too scared to relive crucifixion, disappears whenever the Easter season nears. He, perhaps, learnt the lesson from Jehovah Wanyonyi, another son of Bungoma, who has never resurrected since he went to be with himself in 2015. Seeing that the names Jehovah and Jesus were already taken, the National Assembly Speaker opted for Papa wa Roma. Man Weta's decision must have been informed by the realisation that he couldn't perform miracles. If he could, perhaps he would have turned stones into gold to resolve his issues with some Emirati royals. Weta knows the limits of his abilities, which do not go beyond making prophecies. Sometime in 2018, as the opposition stripped him of the Senate's minority leadership, Weta warned that the Nasa coalition's divorce would be "noisy, messy... and with casualties." Indeed, the divorce was acrimonious and culminated in former Prime Minister Raila Odinga's fifth loss in a presidential election. Weta, a master of political survival, landed a prime job that lets him bark orders at the nation's greediest patriots. READ: Moses Wetangula: Kenya's ultimate political gambler The 68-year-old seems to have lost his mojo as he can no longer predict the future. For instance, he could not foretell that he would not raise the 70 per cent vote target in Western that President William Ruto had him commit to in 2022. The Ford Kenya leader did not see the June 25, 2024 storming of Parliament coming. Neither could he predict that Ruto's popularity would plummet as fast as it has. But Bwana Weta, who goes by other monikers such as Wakishiba Hawasumbui, a name he shares with Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi, and 30-bob ya Kutoa - is not short of talent. He wears many hats. Papa wa Roma is a Speaker by day, and mouthpiece by day (who knows whatever he is by night). He can be Shakespeare, too. Weta excels at everything he does. In an age when speakers are little more than the Executive's errand boys, Weta does not disappoint. Overseeing a House that is taking puppetry to new heights, Papa wa Roma does not find the idea of independence appealing. As the rest of the nation pushes to have Bunge freed from the President's chokehold, Weta strives to tighten the grip. In his other job as a mouthpiece, Papa wa Roma's deliverables include attending the Head of State's rallies and singing Tawala Ruto Tawala from the top of his lungs. Weta, recently branded Ruto's youth winger, is also tasked with lashing out at the President's critics and campaigning on Ruto's behalf, as the Head of State seems too fearful to admit he is addicted to early campaigns. His most recent brief is dealing with former Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka's "mundu khu mundu". Weta's dedication has been on show during Ruto's "development tour" (code for an electrifying campaign) of Ingo. Months ago, he was granted the honour of revealing to former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua that he would not survive his impeachment. ALSO READ: Wetangula, shrewd cat with 9 political lives Being a lawyer of repute, Weta knows what his role entails. Like Hustler, now more famous as Kasongo, the man of Mulembe heads an arm of government that is not subservient to any other. But being no fool, Weta knows he cannot afford to offend Bwana Mkuu, lest he loses his job as Riggy G did. Given that he refuses to dissolve his party like Mudavadi, he is fully aware that he is walking a tightrope. As the Speaker, Papa wa Roma should uphold impartiality. Whether or not he does so depends on who you ask. To fellow Ruto zealots, Kenya has had no wiser Speaker. They often flatter him for his "Solomonic wisdom" and "reasoned rulings." To detractors, Weta is a serial breaker of rules. At the height of last year's youth-led revolt over proposed tax hikes, Starehe Mheshimiwa Amos Mwago termed Weta a "hired gun" for the Executive and demanded the Speaker's resignation. President William Ruto consoles National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang'ula during the burial of his mother Maayi Nanyama in Kabuchai, Bungoma County on Jan 3, 2025. [PCS] But Papa wa Roma could well argue that he is an impartial arbiter. With the government and opposition getting cosy in bed, should Weta try to split them up? No one has complained they are stuck! In his former political life, Weta served as the Bungoma speaker. A fierce critic of government excesses, he distinguished himself as a prolific debater, often lavishing phrases from Shakespeare's greatest works. Back then, he was Raila's ally and had supported him through two successive futile presidential bids. Weta earned a bad reputation for alleged arrogance among the opposition senators he led. His stature as a principal in the opposition coalition did not matter when Nasa decided to boot him in 2018. ALSO READ: Wetangula cited for being Ruto's 'youth winger' He has survived other coups. Sometime in 2020, some politicians plotted to dislodge him from the Simba party. Led by former MPs Wafula Wamunyinyi and Eseli Simiyu, they announced Papa wa Roma's eviction from Ford-K. "Coups are archaic. Coups are anachronistic to good order and coups are activities of cowards," Weta said then, terming the actions "treachery" and promising to deal with them mundu khu mundu. He, indeed, dealt with them, hence their new prefix is "former". Before his Senate stint, Weta served as Sirisia MP and the Foreign Affairs minister. His tenure in the late President Mwai Kibaki's Cabinet is mostly memorable for the scandals that stalked him. His name was featured in an alleged corruption scandal involving the procurement of several foreign embassies. He was also mentioned in a fake gold scandal involving Emirati royals. Weta began his political life on what many consider "the right side of history". His early political life gave no hints that his name would feature in the same sentence as scandals, although he has never been charged with any wrongdoing. As a young lawyer, Weta sprung to the limelight in the wake of the 1982 coup when he defended Airforce servicemen accused of plotting to overthrow the late President Daniel Moi.

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