Silent war in Mudavadi, Wetang’ula camps – Weekly Citizen

Even as prime cabinet secretary Musalia Mudavadi plots to be Luhya kingpin ahead of the 2027 general elections, there is a looming showdown between him and national assembly speaker Moses Wetang’ula in supremacy battles in the Mulembe nation.

Already, in Mudavadi’s Vihiga hometurf and ANC, politicians feeling betrayed are trooping towards Ford K.

They argue Mudavadi is now in bed with Luhya elders he served with in Moi regime and are misleding him.

Mudavadi met a section of Luhya leaders and elders in Busia in what insiders say was a wider scheme to take control of Luhya politics.

He was hosted by Busia governor Paul Otuoma, a move that has not been received well by Otuoma’s opponent Sakwa Bunyasi of ANC whom Otuoma defeated in last year’s governor race.

Otuoma

Mudavadi is also said to be trying to woo ODM faces in Western Kenya on his side to stage a decisive onslaught against Wetang’ula.

Constitutionally, speaker of the national assembly is the third in command after the president and his deputy but Mudavadi, as the prime cabinet secretary, believes the position makes him the third in command.

In last Friday’s meeting that lasted late into the night, Mudavadi prevailed upon the Luhya leaders to back him come 2032 presidential ambitions.

However, majority of those invited especially those from Wetang’ula camp did not attend.

Wetang’ula

The former ANC boss held talks with the Luhya elders and politicians in Busia where he appealed to the region to rally together and guarantee president William Ruto a walkover in 2027.

The meeting was attended by among others Otuoma, several elected leaders and the elders.

Busia and the entire Western region, have been political strongholds of ODM leader Raila Odinga. Mudavadi broke ranks with ODM and joined Ruto in the runup to the August 9 general election.

In the Busia meeting, Mudavadi was crowned the chairman of the Western council of elders. Previously, Mudavadi has met governors from all five counties in the western region.

Wetang’ula joined Mudavadi in Busia where they had a meeting with governors from the Western region as well as officials from the Western council of elders.

The meeting took place at former Labour minister Philip Masinde’s home in Busia town.

Governors at the meeting included host Otuoma, Bungoma’s Kenneth Lusaka, Kakamega’s Fernandez Barasa and Wilber Ottichilo from Vihiga.

Baraza

It was the first meeting the leaders were holding in Busia since Ruto took oath of office as Commander-in Chief.

Weekly Citizen has information that the battlelines for the Mulembe nation are drawn and that they are being fanned by their allies.

The Wetang’ula camp insists the national assembly speaker is the senior most while Mudavadi side accuses Wetang’ula of not being impartial as the speaker of the national assembly by playing active politics and not relinquishing his seat as Ford-K boss the way the prime cabinet did by resigning as Amani ANC party boss.

Lamu governor Issa Timammy was appointed as ANC acting party leader. This was after Mudavadi quit following his nomination as the prime cabinet secretary post in line with the constitution as stipulated in the political parties Act.

The Wetang’ula camp argues that Mudavadi was nominated to the position through Ruto’s Executive Order while Wetang’ula had been first elected as Bungoma senator but gambled to resign to run for the national assembly speaker seat, which he eventually won after beating Kenneth Marende.

According to an MP who spoke to Weekly Citizen, Mudavadi got the position on a silver platter as Wetang’ula struggled and even made sure his successor Wafula Wakoli triumphed in the subsequent by-election.

Mudavadi has not run for any elective post since 2013 when he came a distant third in the presidential election.

Mudavadi has not held any elective post since 2002.