Nasa leaders have ganged up against Opposition Chief Raila Odinga to “teach him a political lesson” in what promises to be a nasty and gruelling political duel.
Bungoma Senator Moses Wetang'ula has now declared that he will not take back the Senate Minority leadership position and for the first time blamed Raila for being behind his ouster.
Living true to his vow that the NASA divorce would be “nasty and messy”, Wetang’ula has promised a relentless war on Raila and his ODM party.
“We will continue giving them in small measures and calculated dosage to ensure they enjoy no comfort,” vowed Wetang’ula, narrating his woes during the closed-door NASA Parliamentary Group meeting on Thursday.
“I was subjected to name-calling, harassment and humiliation in the presence of my brother Raila Odinga and when he stood up to speak, he said nothing about what had happened. His silence showed a distinct message that my ouster was rehearsed and purely his deal,” he said.
But the new battle, especially for the soul of the Luhya nation, the second largest community in Kenya, is likely to produce three centres of power and radically shift the political landscape.
Wetang’ula and ANC Party leader Musalia Mudavadi have launched a campaign against Raila in Western Kenya in a calculated tribal arithmetic.
Dubbed “Project Luhya Nation”, the two leaders have vowed to field a single presidential candidate in 2022 and hinted at folding ANC and Ford Kenya into a single formidable political entity.
Wiper Leader Kalonzo Musyoka, who is now pushing for the registration of NASA as a political party, is seen as gravitating towards the Musalia, Wetang’ula axis.
Then there is Deputy President William Ruto, who is assembling his 2022 political arsenal, backed by a massive financial war chest.
Analysts also say Raila will be on the ballot, with the possibility of backing from the Mount Kenya region following his surprise truce with President Uhuru Kenyatta.
“We do not expect the tiger that is Raila Odinga to lose his stripes overnight. We must understand that it’s not salvation, he found he is just reinventing himself as he has done so many many times in the past,” said political analyst Mark Bichachi.
Related: Nasa, ODM divided over Raila 2022 bid
Also read: Nasa stand-off as Raila refuses to yield ground
Wetang’ula and Mudavadi have promised to completely lock Raila out of Western, a region that has been one of his strongest political bedrocks.
Dangling the Luhya numerical superiority, Wetang’ula declared, “the majority cannot continue to be subordinate to the minority day in day out”.
Mudavadi has also rubbished the Raila-Uhuru deal as hollow, selfish and meaningless to the millions of NASA supporters.
In their onslaught against Raila, the duo also paints a picture of a man who received something extra, unknown to the public.
“What they [Raila and Uhuru] discussed we don't know, what they did we don't know, what he [Raila] was given we don't know,” Wetang'ula claimed on Saturday in Vihiga.
Mudavadi was also quoted by the Saturday Standard claiming that Raila’s deal with Uhuru was “personal gain at the expense of his supporters.”
On March 12, Raila met his co-principals at Athi River for lengthy talks over his meeting with Uhuru and the squabbles appeared to fade.
However, the dramatic ouster of Wetang’ula as Senate Minority Leader has added fuel to the fire.
But ODM, the big brother in NASA, has sent the clearest signal that it would not take the political combat lying down.
More on this: Nasa lawmakers divided on Uhuru’s Parliament address
Read more: Nasa leaders facing dilemma over Raila
Party Secretary General Edwin Sifuna termed Musalia and Wetang’ula “cowards and political brokers” whose time was over.
Sifuna said it was in bad taste for Wetang’ula and Mudavadi to mobilise using the tribal card when the country is grappling with the mess of negative ethnicity.
“And by the way, one of the biggest misconceptions has been that people support Raila Odinga through these brokers. We are tired of this broker business,” Sifuna told the Star yesterday.
“The Luhya will support Raila Odinga directly, as they always have. We are a proud community. Mimi Sifuna Kijana baru baru nifuate mtu mwoga (How can a young energetic man like myself follow a coward)? We will not follow cowards, my friend. Let them remain, the two of them.”
Sifuna said it was a political joke for the two leaders to threaten to teach ODM a lesson when they were retreating to their ethnic backyards “to grow their small political parties” instead of reaching to other regions.
“I hear they have opened a waoga sacco (cowards’ sacco). They will have a very difficult time to get the nod of the Luhya nation to back them. They have a lineup that Musalia will be President, Wetang’ula his deputy and Khalwale Prime Minister. Where are they going? What kind of nonsense is that? These guys should stop disturbing us!” he thundered.
Siaya Senator James Orengo, the leading legal brain in Raila's inner circle and who is proposed to take over as Senate Minority leader, has signalled that he will take the job.
His Kakamega counterpart Cleophas Malala has also said he will take over as the deputy Minority leader in the Senate.
Malala and Vihiga Senator George Khaniri were elected on Mudavadi’s ANC, but have come out openly to back Raila.
Yesterday, Wetang’ula said he will not attend the retreat that was proposed by NASA to resolve the leadership row.
“I will not participate in that retreat because I will be subjecting myself to a goat walking into a court of hyenas to be tried and the hyenas will come laughing, saying ‘where did you delay we want to deal with you immediately’,” he stated.
Also see: Raila-Uhuru handshake erased poll feud, ended opposition politics
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