How fallen matriarch shaped the destiny of her only son, Mudavadi

ANC Leader Musalia Mudavadi during the requiem service of his mother Hannah Mudavadi. [Elvis Ogina, Standard]

Musalia Mudavadi is Kenya’s political goldmine that remains untapped. His gentle and pleasant style, as well as his personal ethics run against the grain. They are unique attributes on a national landscape where to be a good politician you need to be loud, antagonistic and foul.

When he declared himself the last standing man in the Opposition in 2018, some felt that he was not punching hard enough. They expected to hear noisy bombast and invectives. They wanted to see street protests for them to accept him as the face of the Opposition. But the former vice president told Kenyans that everyone has his or her own style. His is a controlled carriage. It is informed with patience, method and modesty. This style, he said, was the new face of the Opposition.