By Oscar Obonyo
“Beware the fury of a patient man”, the famous line from renowned English poet John Dryden’s Absolom and Architophe, may well be a worthy caution for political leaders dealing with Deputy Prime Minister Musalia Mudavadi.
As per the counsel in this political satire by Dryden, his rivals need to be wary of Mudavadi’s uncharacteristic traits as he is increasingly sounding angrier, tougher and firmer. Mudavadi, who has been on the political scene for nearly two decades, is known for his gentlemanly mien and calm – but he has not been calm lately.
A loyal deputy of Prime Minister Raila Odinga in Government and ODM, who respectfully referred to his boss as ‘Captain’, Mudavadi was least expected to quit the Orange party. He did it early this year.
His move was hailed by some as calculative and geared at securing the compromise candidate slot. This was because many believed Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta and Eldoret North MP William Ruto, who are suspects at the International Criminal Court, were shopping around for an agreeable candidate to support for presidency.
But lately, the DPM has been speaking his mind fearlessly even at the risk of antagonising the duo, who he was largely anticipated to benefit from politically.
Uhuru-Ruto camps
Recently, he stated at a campaign rally in Rift Valley, that Kenyans should vote wisely for a leader who will foster the country’s image and relations with the international community. This position has irked Uhuru-Ruto camps.
It is instructive that Mudavadi made those remarks in Ruto’s backyard. He appeared to contradict the position of Uhuru and Ruto, who have made it clear that the international community does not matter with regard to the forthcoming elections.
The “unordinary” actions of Mudavadi beg a host of questions. Having been around longer than most of his competitors, is he finally acting out of impatience? Alternatively, is he enraged for being betrayed by those who allegedly lured him out of ODM with promises that have come to nought? Or has he waited in vain over the years for help from others and now wants to personally take charge of his campaign?
Dujis MP Aden Duale attributes Mudavadi’s new sense of restlessness to a false sense of entitlement. According to the legislator, the DPM left ODM with the notion that he would walk straight into a hefty position specifically reserved for him.
Duale, an ally of Ruto, was particularly irked by Mudavadi’s remarks in the Eldoret North MP’s backyard and he castigated him during a recent rally in Isiolo.
“There are people who decamped from their parties thinking we had all along been laying ground for them, and so they walked in exuding confidence they would ascend to presidency with our help. That will not happen,” said Duale in a veiled attack on Mudavadi.
But the DPM’s official spokesman Kibisu Kabatesi says such analysis are based on the wrong premise that Mudavadi’s bid was going to be hinged on certain individuals’ sponsorship or support: “Who said that Mudavadi was not serious about his presidential bid, or that he was going to play second fiddle to competitors?”
Ongoing friction
Kabatesi attributes the current friction to differences of policies amongst Mudavadi’s United Democratic Forum (UDF), Uhuru’s The National Alliance (TNA) and Ruto’s United Republican Party.
“If Uhuru and TNA feel the international community does not matter, well we think otherwise. Our candidate and UDF say it matters, therefore on this one, we have differences of policy projection,” reacts Kabatesi.
Kabatesi says the DPM is acting from an informed position having served as Finance minister in the 1990s. Then Mudavadi went begging for money across the globe from donor agencies following economic embargoes on Kenya by the international community over the country’s poor democratic and human rights record.
Even as he embarks on coalition negotiations with others including Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka, sources within the Sabatia MP’s camp say he will be going for nothing short of the presidency.
Lower slots
Last weekend, while on a tour of Bungoma and Trans Nzoia counties, he told residents “unlike the others (read Justice minister, Eugene Wamalwa), who were negotiating for lower positions, I am going for the real thing.”
“Whatever the negotiation arrangements our party leader engages in, his irreducible minimum is to run for presidency – period,” says an MP allied to Mudavadi, who declined to be named.
Meanwhile, Nominated MP George Nyamweya says any negotiations with Mudavadi will be based on shared policies and not power grab: “In our dealings, we shall be more interested in where there is convergence in terms of policy”.
The MP says UDF is not ready to repeat the mistakes of Narc and PNU coalition parties where political groupings simply teamed up for purposes of grabbing power but found it impossible to operate cohesively once in Government.
Duale, however, maintains Mudavadi, like other political players, is realistically more interested in political marriages of power deals as opposed to a marriage policy structures. Indeed, in an earlier interview with The Standard On Sunday, Housing minister Soita Shitanda described Mudavadi’s departure from ODM as a reaction to the political realities of the moment: “This is not about betrayal of the Prime Minister or ODM. Mudavadi is just being practical because there is political space out there for him to exploit and we are simply making him available for the same.”
In the meantime, the road remains bumpy for Mudavadi as he looks for support for his bid amongst other candidates including Kalonzo, as well as the Uhuru-Ruto duo, whom he has not given up on. Because of his energised quest for the top seat and sense of restlessness, it remains prudent for rivals to beware of the fury of Mudavadi.
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