WAMALWA FOR PRESIDENT

The battle for the control of Ford Kenya has a gone a notch higher with all the party’s branch chairmen from Rift Valley and Western provinces endorsing Saboti MP Eugene Wamalwa to lead the party.
Mr Wamalwa has said that the party lost a great portion of its support to the more popular ODM in the last General Election.

“We have to win back the ground we lost to ODM. We are confident of achieving this ahead of the next elections,” Mr Wamalwa said.

He also insisted that the recent endorsement he received from the Jimmy Kibaki-led Simama Kenya was a positive move that should be supported.

The 73 branch chairmen from Rift Valley and Western met the Saboti MP in Kitale and deliberated on their strategy ahead of the upcoming party General Council meeting and party elections.

“These are the people who will endorse the new party constitution in the General Council and I am happy to have received their endorsement to be the party leader,” a jubilant Mr Wamalwa said after the meeting.

He insisted that he was still the front-runner for the chairman’s post, although he will have to contend with Foreign Affairs minister Moses Wetang’ula, Bumula MP Wakoli Bifwoli and former Cabinet minister Musikari Kombo, who have declared their interest to lead the party.

“If this endorsement is anything to go by, I am confident of beating all of them,” said Mr Wamalwa. On the upcoming rally in Bungoma on January 31, Mr Wamalwa said the co-operation he had with Simama Kenya was positive and would give the party a national outlook.

“The rally will be a grand occasion where a major announcement will be made,” said Mr Wamalwa. Ford-K is currently wooing back party rebels who formed the break-away New Ford Kenya in the last elections.