What Raila, Atwoli Discussed at COTU Leader’s Home Yesterday That Has Sent Panic in Ruto’s Camp

Opposition leader Raila Odinga yesterday met with politicians from Western Kenya to quell what is building as a revolt in the region, where some leaders have accused him of destabilizing their parties.

Raila retreated to Cotu leader Francis Atwoli’s Kajiado home for a roast-meat chat, said to have focused on the BBI and Western politics. Raila was reportedly accompanied by Senate Minority Leader James Orengo and Suna East MP Junet Mohamed. 

The Opposition chief is keen on ensuring all his plans are in place ahead of the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) events in Western region in the coming weeks. 

The meeting brought together some 40  lawmakers from the region. Devolution Cabinet Secretary Eugene Wamalwa and Kakamega Governor Wycliffe Oparanya were present, and were tasked to spearhead efforts to consolidate the Luhya vote ahead of the next general election.

Amani National Congress leader Musalia Mudavadi and his Ford Kenya counterpart Moses Wetangula, who have accused Raila of meddling with the region’s politics, gave the meeting a wide berth.

Yesterday’s meeting has been  interpreted as part of the efforts and strategies to rally support for the BBI final report which is due for release. 

The BBI task force led by Garissa Senator Yusuf Haji is today expected to retreat to an unidentified location to finalize its report ahead of the expiry of its mandate on June 30.

With the revelation that the pandemic will be here for long, the constitution reform proponents are meeting again to chart the way forward.

Raila-Atwoli meet comes a day before the BBI team retreats today to write its final report before its term elapses at the end of this month.

Separately, Jubilee Vice Chairman David Murathe confirmed yesterday that the party would not hesitate to kick out Duale as majority leader if majority of party MPs sign up to his ouster.

“Duale has lost the confidence of his troops, and it would only be fair that the party acts in some way,” said Murathe. He added that while he had heard of the collection of signatures, they had not received the list at the Jubilee headquarters.

Duale was saved the chop last week but his reprieve was short-lived. Almost immediately after the State House Parliamentary Group meeting, Kieni MP Kanini Kega started collecting signatures to force the Garissa Township MP out of office, through a petition of the majority of party legislators having no confidence in him.

On Thursday last week, Kega said he had more than the threshold required to oust Duale, claiming 120 MPs had signed the petition. He said he planned to hand over the list to the party by the weekend.

Murathe’s assertion came even as a high-placed source at the party revealed the dilemma it was facing on who would replace Duale – who in the past seven years has been the face of Jubilee in Parliament – and command the respect of MPs.

Duale has dismissed the move by Kega, arguing that the removal of the majority leader, as stipulated in Standing Orders 19 of the National Assembly, did not require collection of signatures.

“Standing Order 19 is very clear on the process of removal of the majority leader. There is no place for collection of signatures, and being a second term Member of Parliament, he knows the rules and procedures. The process of changing the leadership was already completed at the Parliamentary Group meeting, chaired by the President and which he attended,” said Duale.

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