Photo/FILE Dr Khalwale said it was high time the PM realised there were other power bases in Western Kenya beyond deputy Prime Minister Musalia Mudavadi and that he needed to consider them all.
By DANIEL OTIENO danotieno@ke.nationmedia.com and BENSON AMADALA benamadala@yahoo.com
Posted Tuesday, May 24 2011 at 22:32
Posted Tuesday, May 24 2011 at 22:32
Dr Boni Khalwale’s victory in the Ikolomani by-election has elicited mixed reactions within the political class in Western Province.
While some say that it is a sign of a new political path, others say it is an insignificant move that affects an individual, that is Dr Khalwale, and therefore cannot be used to make conclusions on national politics.
On Monday morning, Dr Khalwale declared that he would be taking his political battle a notch higher.
“It is no longer about the constituency but about telling Prime Minister Raila Odinga that I am a force to be reckoned with,” he said.
He argued that a victory for the ODM candidate would mean that the Luhya vote was done and dusted for Mr Odinga’s 2012 presidential bid.
After the victory, Dr Khalwale said it was high time the PM realised there were other power bases in Western Kenya beyond deputy Prime Minister Musalia Mudavadi and that he needed to consider them all.
Saboti MP Eugene Wamalwa, who has presidential ambitions, says New Ford Kenya’s victories in Ikolomani Constituency and Kimilili North Ward have dealt a blow to ODM and Mr Odinga’s presidential ambitions.
“There is no going back as the die is cast for Mr ODM and Mr Odinga. The victories in Ikolomani and Kimilili North Ward have proved that New Ford Kenya is the party to watch,” says Mr Wamalwa, who is the party leader.
But other politicians say it is too early to make any conclusions and that the win may be insignificant in the 2012 dynamics.
A few days before the by-election held on Monday, Dr Khalwale himself declared that he would have preferred a Mr Odinga presidency and that he would not mind if his constituents pick him in 2012.
Kaddu leader Cyrus Jirongo says the outcome has underlined the fact that voters are opposed to tribally inclined political parties.
“ODM’s candidate managed an almost 50:50 sharing of the vote. It is a wake up call to join a party with a national outlook or be seen as the community that never learns from the past,” argues Mr Jirongo.
“If Dr Khalwale’s association with Eugene Wamalwa’s presidency was as popular as they think, then ODM candidate would have not lost by a slim margin of 3,000. This is a worrying sign that we are already splitting our votes.”
Mr Jirongo says it is easier for the ODM leaders to iron out issues with the non-ODM MPs in the province than for individuals to start forming community parties or joining other parties.
He argues that when Wamalwa Kijana ran for the presidency in 1997 on a Ford Kenya ticket, he failed miserably, but when he joined a party with a national outlook, Narc, in 2002, people voted for him overwhelmingly.
Planning minister Wycliff Opranya shared Mr Jirongo’s sentiments, but said that some of those seen as dissenting voices have never been keen on being on the same side.
“I have been pushing for Dr Khalwale to join the ODM but he has refused. How hard can we push someone who is not interested? As for Eugene (Wamalwa), we can only wish him luck; he will not go far,” says the Butere MP.
And assistant minister George Khaniri says that those who think that Ikolomani could be a launching pad for an assault against ODM in the region are wrong.
“Ikolomani is an isolated case. Even in 2007 when everyone else was voting for ODM they voted the other way,” he said.
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