Lusaka-Wetangula Rivalry a good thing for Bungoma residents

Regardless of who between NASA and Jubilee wins in the forthcoming General Election, Bungoma County will be part of the next government.

This is due to the rivalry between Governor Ken Lusaka who is a Jubilee point man in the Luhya nation and Senator Moses Wetangula, a seasoned politician and one of the NASA principals.

Statistics from the 2013 elections show that the two politicians hold an almost even influence in the county; Lusaka won the gubernatorial post overwhelmingly with more than 200 thousand votes while Wetangula was voted twice for the Senatorial position.

This shows that the people of Bungoma vote for individuals and not political parties. In 2013 Lusaka was in New Ford Kenya which was dissolved to form Jubilee party while Wetangula is the party leader of Ford Kenya.

The two politicians are in rival camps again in the forthcoming General Election and with due respect to other presidential candidates, most of us are almost certain that either Raila Odinga or Uhuru Kenyatta will be the next president and Bungoma residents will be in government thanks to placing a double chance with its two sons.

The real battle is between Wetangula and Lusaka. Each of them wants to rally the whole county to vote for their preferred candidate.

For a long time, Wetangula and Lusaka have not been seeing eye to eye. The governor has accused the senator of tarnishing his name by abusing him in public forums while Wetangula has accused the governor of presiding over graft in the county.

Unlike most senators who are coveting gubernatorial seats, Wetangula has bigger dreams; he wants to be the president of this country.

However, he is supporting billionaire businessman Wycliffe Wangamati, a political rookie, for the gubernatorial post.

Wetangula is hoping to convince the electorate that the incumbent governor is corrupt and dining with the enemy-Jubilee and therefore does not deserve a second term.

The senator also knows that part of the reason why he was given a very low position in NASA, is because his governor is in Jubilee. He is desperate to remove that tag.

Wetangula wants to bring back the glory days of Ford Kenya party. In his thinking, Ford Kenya is the de facto party of the Luhya land and that’s the reason why it needs to win the Bungoma gubernatorial post.

He already has the Trans Nzoia post in his pocket and Boni Khalwale is also vying for the Kakamega gubernatorial position on the party’s ticket. Win this battle and the Senator will revive his dream of being president, lose it and he will go to political oblivion.

Lusaka is bidding for his last term in office and is hoping his development record will propel him but deep inside the governor is already planning for life after 2022. We are all ambitious and I know Lusaka is seriously thinking about joining national politics. These elections will make or break that dream.

If he manages to deliver the populous Bungoma vote, a region that is perceived to be an opposition stronghold, to Jubilee then he will have a higher bargaining power in 2022. But for now, the governor must overcome a very powerful storm from the opposition.

The above rivalry has escalated the political temperatures in the county.My advice to residents is that they should stop the personal attacks. Let the politicians square it out and may the best candidate win because we the people have already won.