Khalwale, Savula clash over western Kenya's political direction ahead of 2027 polls

Kakamega Senator Boni Khalwale and Deputy Governor Ayub Savula. [File, Standard]

Kakamega Senator Boni Khalwale publicly differed with Deputy Governor Ayub Savula on Saturday over Western region's political direction ahead of the 2027 General Election.

The two leaders differed during a funeral in Lugari constituency, turning the solemn send-off of Rose Anyona, mother of Mautuma MCA Charles Anyona, into a political battlefield.

Senator Khalwale fired the first salvo, tearing into the Deputy Governor for leading the campaigns for President William Ruto’s re-election bid.

He challenged Savula to drop his current political stance and instead throw his weight behind Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna.

“You, Savula, you have to change your style of politics and support our own Senator Edwin Sifuna for the presidency,” Dr Khalwale said.

He announced that he was on a mission to unite the Luhya leadership and would reach out to National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang’ula, Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi, and Central Organisation of Trade Unions (Cotu) Secretary-General Francis Atwoli to rally behind Sifuna.

"I am seeking the mandate of our people to go and talk to Wetang’ula, Mudavadi, and Atwoli to stop dividing our votes and instead support Sifuna because this is a God-sent moment," Khalwale said.

The senator took a swipe at Atwoli saying that he risks backing the wrong horse once again.

"Atwoli is our elder, but if he is not keen, he is going to get it wrong. When I brought Mudavadi, Atwoli never gave out his support. The same happened with Ruto in 2022, and his side lost before he jumped to Ruto. Now I am telling Atwoli that all Luhyas respect him, and he should not lose that respect by not supporting Sifuna," he said.

When he rose to speak, Deputy Governor Savul, who serves as the deputy coordinator for the 'Ruto Two Terms' movement in Western Kenya, dismissed Khalwale’s proposals.

He characterised the senator's proposal as an invitation to the political cold, and urged the region to stick with the ruling Kenya Kwanza administration.

“As far as I know, the only presidential candidate who will win this election is President Ruto,” a defiant Savula said.

The deputy governor asked Khalwale to abandon "politics of opposition", which he dismissed as a complete waste of time.

He argued that Western Kenya stands to benefit more by remaining firmly in government to ensure the completion of multi-billion-shilling development projects initiated by the Head of S.

"We will not allow a few leaders to mislead voters in this region to go into the opposition," Savula said.

The deputy governor claimed that the Western region is already organising itself around the President's re-election matrix with a long-term goal in sight.

"Bungoma Governor Ken Lusaka has already initiated high-level consultative meetings among Luhya leaders to map out the strategy, and the ultimate plan is to fully support Ruto in 2027 by delivering a staggering 4 million votes from the region, which would logically position a leader from the Luhya community to take over the top seat in 2032," said Savula.