MISCALCULATION? How Mudavadi has failed himself in quest for political power

The 2016 unveiling of Musalia Mudavadi as the Luhya spokesperson by the Western Council of Elders left a sour taste in the mouths of many.

Mudavadi’s political journey has been a shamble, to say the least. Having received his first parliamentary seat at 29 on a silver platter following the death of his father, Mudavadi has done little to raise the status of the community in national politics.

A rearward walk into Mudavadi’s political journey reveals an interesting yet worrying trend; a trend that tells you of nothing else but his zeal to remain in opposition, and with him, drag the entire Luhya community behind. Despite open opportunities for him to plunge into the government, Mudavadi has often chosen the back seat. One wonders whose political agenda he advances.

By 2002, Mudavadi had risen through the ranks to a Cabinet minister holding various dockets, to the Vice President. But in the 2002 General Election, he failed to defend his rising star choosing instead to support Uhuru Kenyatta. The result: a deafening defeat of Mudavadi’s party of choice. He also lost his Sabatia parliamentary seat.

While Kenyatta joined PNU for the 2007 elections, Mudavadi supported ODM’s Raila Odinga against President Kibaki. Because of the contested election results, the coalition government was formed and Mudavadi got to government as Deputy Prime Minister for Local Government.

In 2013, Instead of staying put in ODM, Mudavadi decamped and joined UDF party. He then briefly joined URP and TNA alliance, but again, as expected, our spokesperson jumped ship, leaving the UhuRuto team to win.

Then came 2015 and the Amani National Congress. The Luhya community largely remained without clear leadership. Instead of making amends with his past, Mudavadi formed the NASA outfit and on a silver platter, handed it over to Raila.

Like in previous elections, the August election results won’t be any different. It is yet another Mudavadi tragedy. Is a man who falls from a presidential contender to a community spokesperson in a period of less than ten years good enough to be entrusted with leadership? 

Mudavadi has failed the nation; he has failed his community; he has even failed himself.

Angela Silima, Communication Consultant and Lecturer at Multimedia University