SABOTI MP Eugene Wamalwa, a key cog in the G7 Alliance, could be headed out of New Ford Kenya. Sources told the Star yesterday Wamalwa could walk out of the party with his supporters after a reported fallout with its boss Soita Shitanda and secretary general Boni Khalwale a fortnight ago. Multiple sources that cannot be named for confidentiality reasons said the presidential hopeful is shopping for a new party on whose ticket he will be running during the general election.
The absence of Shitanda ad Khalwale at G7 rallies at Kamukuywa, Kimilili, Chwele, Mayanja and Posta Grounds in Bungoma on Saturday where Wamalwa hosted Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka, DPM and Eldoret North MP William Ruto served to heighten speculation that it was only a matter of time before the MP joins another party.
Two weeks ago, Wamalwa and his close political allies from Trans Nzoia, Bungoma and Kakamega counties met secretly with Lugari MP Cyrus Jirongo of the United Republican Party at Kampala's Imperial Royal Hotel to evaluate recent happenings and plot his next political move. "The issue of forming a new political party was also broached at the Kampala meeting. We have even seen the Registrar of Political Parties Lucy Ndung'u and given 40 days to comply with the Political Parties Act will apply only to old political parties, we are going ahead to register ours," an inside source that attended meeting told the Star.
The Kampala meeting was reportedly brokered by Yvonne Khamati and activist Jack Wamboka. The latter is the one who sent out text messages inviting participants who included academics, parliamentary aspirants and influential civic leaders. Sources close to Wamalwa, who requested not to be named, said the Saboti MP was reportedly miffed by Shitanda's and Khalwale's stated preference for Deputy Prime Minister Musalia Mudavadi, whom they are preparing to welcome into New Ford Kenya as its presidential flag bearer in the coming general election. "He has not been picking calls from the two for a couple of weeks now,'' said a source.
The Saboti MP has been touted as NFK's presidential candidate since his exit from Ford Kenya following turf wars with Foreign Affairs minister Moses Wetang'ula early last year when he was also offered the Labour Party of Kenya presidential ticket by Dr Julia Ojiambo. He opted to join NFK and has been busy trying to consolidate support for the party in Western Kenya.
Matters came to a head when Shitanda and Khalwale publicly declared support for Mudavadi's candidature after he took on ODM party leader Raila Odinga for the orange party's presidential ticket. Last Friday, Shitanda declared during the burial of his step brother, Bering Shitanda, that he was ready to welcome Mudavadi to his party "and they should not waste time in ODM", with a key Mudavadi ally, Shinyalu MP Kizito Mugali, saying ''they will not just remain in ODM to support others if the nomination is flawed''.
The DPM and Local Government minister himself has gone on record threatening "unspecified consequences" were he to lose the ODM ticket unfairly to Raila. Shitanda later accused Jirongo of trying to destroy Eugene politically by trying to strategically position him to fight Mudavadi while maintaing Eugene was still NFK's presidential flag bearer.
Jirongo on his part accused Shitanda and Khalwale of undermining Luhya unity and being selfish in abandoning Eugene to further their campaigns for Kakamega governor and senator respectively by allying themselves with Mudavadi. A Wamalwa aide told the Star yesterday: ''Our people met with Shitanda and resolved the differences and it was decided that Eugene takes to the party's NDC his representatives but we do not know know when that will happen. Other options are being explored though.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment