Do-or-die
battle as Eugene and Mudavadi raise political stakes
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Updated 7 hrs 8 mins ago
By Oscar Obonyo
Two months since declaring he would run for
president, it is emerging Deputy Prime Minister Musalia Mudavadi’s move has
hurt ODM and disorganised the G7 Alliance even more.
Although the two camps claim Mudavadi’s
presidential bid has “changed nothing”, the situation on the ground tells a
different story. Whereas ODM’s strategists were worried they would sink with
him as Prime Minister Raila Odinga’s running mate because of a condemned
western region ticket, there has since been suppressed celebration.
And within the G7 and PNU affiliates, whereas
there was panic that a united Raila-Mudavadi pair would be difficult to beat at
the polls, there has equally been muffled celebration after Mudavadi was lured
out, or quit the Orange party.
Mudavadi is more like a fresh wrestler just
eased into the ring in the Royal Rumble amid “tired” wrestlers, who have been
on the beat much longer. Under the Royal Rumble professional wrestling match, a
number of wrestlers aim at eliminating their competitors by tossing them over
the top rope.
Incidentally, Justice Minister Eugene Wamalwa
and Lugari MP Cyrus Jirongo, from Mudavadi’s Luhya backyard, are the first
targets on the edge of being tossed out of the ring.
Row in New-Ford Kenya
Those cheering on include Housing Minister Soita
Shitanda and Ikolomani MP Bonny Khalwale. The MPs, who are embroiled in a
battle over control of New Ford-Kenya party with Eugene, instead want the
minister to back his senior and more experienced kinsman – Mudavadi.
But Nominated MP and former Cabinet minister
Musikari Kombo is opposed to “manoeuvres to arm-twist” certain players to give
room for or support others politically.
“The two have never walked the same political
path and neither did Musalia and Eugene’s elder brother, Michael Kijana. To expect
the two to engage in a quick fix and easily support one another is wishful
thinking,” says Kombo.
The underlying message of Kombo’s sentiments has
partly got to do with the voting patterns in western Kenya, where residents of
Vihiga County ordinarily never vote alongside their colleagues in Bungoma and
Trans Nzoia counties. The rest of the counties usually vote alongside either
side.
If the voting pattern takes the traditional
sub-tribal trend, then on paper Eugene starts off with an edge over Mudavadi.
But Khalwale insists Eugene is an overrated paperweight weight politician.
Sought alliances
“He can only be equated to a rolling stone that
gathers no moss. He has tried an alliance with everyone including with members
of the outlawed Mungiki, Jimmy Kibaki of the Simama Kenya, and now Uhuru – all
with little success,” he claims.
The bitter exchanges among Mudavadi and Eugene’s
camps are indeed demonstration of how the two leaders of the populous Luhya
community are locked in a do-or-die political battle.
Pundits say if Mudavadi clinches the presidency,
Eugene might be technically locked out of the race for donkey years, “since
Kenyans may not quickly embrace another Luhya for presidency”.
Curiously, the two have very different campaign
strategies. While Mudavadi’s approach is national and widespread, Eugene seeks
to place the Luhya region under lock. This partly explains why his strategists
settled on the leopard as his political outfit’s symbol.
The leopard is also the mascot of the AFC
Leopards soccer team, 13-time Premier League Champions, which enjoys fervent
support among the Luhya.
“Our people know exactly what type of candidate
they want. And the candidate is definitely not a puppet of forces outside
Luhyaland,” says Jack Wamboka, an ally of Eugene.
Claiming that Mudavadi is a hard sale in western
Kenya, Wamboka, who is eyeing the Bumula parliamentary seat, says Eugene and
Mudavadi “will never” – as before – be in one political camp: “If he (Mudavadi)
moves to work with our current allies then we shall be forced to cross over to
his foes”.
Back seat
Having initially egged Mudavadi to bolt out of
ODM, some of the key politicians are no longer enthusiastic about his campaigns
or have since been subdued by the focus on Mudavadi.
Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka and Eldoret North
MP William Ruto, in particular, have since been relegated to the back seat
since the DPM’s entry.
“It all seemed rosy when we jumped into the ring
with support coming from everywhere. But some of the MPs initially enthusiastic
about UDF have since been warned against associating with us, meaning we have
either become a threat to other competitors or the game has become rough,”
concedes an MP allied to Mudavadi, who declined to be named.
In the meantime, the battle for western between
Mudavadi and Eugene has intensified.
Foes and friends are waiting to see whether and
when the latter, in particular, will give meaning to his party symbol. At the
moment, he has exhibited no killer-instincts, as the famed “Ingwe”. Or maybe,
like the leopard itself, he is just being calculative before he pounces on his
political prey.
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