We are more amused than surprised by the contents of a statement released by ANC Leader Musalia Mudavadi a short while ago.
Amused because as a politician perennially programmed to be the “compromise” in nearly every political fallout in our politics, it is strange that Musalia would then act as professional mourner in the happenings in Ford Kenya today.
However, our attention has been caught by his reference to “the leader of a NASA party” as being behind the changes that have been carried out in a party that should neither concern us nor him. It is a poorly disguised attempt to once again lay blame on ODM and its leader for for Mudavadi and his friends shortcomings.
Clearly, Mudavadi has never been in a party long enough to understand the dynamics that inform the choices of its membership, and has generally run parties so small that no voices of dissent can be heard.
We therefore wish to remind him that among the people he has derisively referred to as “quislings” include political achievers of the mould of Governor Wangamati, Hon Wamunyinyi and Hon Simiyu Eseli, who, having been Ford Kenya Secretary General for such a long time, must have had a prime ring-side seat to watch the failure and utter ineptitude he has accused his former Party Leader, Senator Moses Wetangula of.
Be that as it may, the cowardice that informs Mudavadi’s politics is such that he wouldn’t even mention the “leader of a NASA party” he was making reference to.
It is in public domain that Mudavadi has been holding meetings with politicians of different shades in the past few weeks. We have neither raised any issue about it, nor begrudged him the right to chart his own political future, when not crossing the land trying to be a fence-sitting compromise candidate. It is imperative in the same vein that he must let Ford Kenya members and officials chart their own future too.
Mudavadi in 2002 chose Kanu over NARC and UDF over ODM in 2013, with disastrous results, but still within his rights. He has no right to lecture anyone on political choices, given the catalogue of failures from his own choices since 2002, and from which he has been politically saved countless times by the “leader of a NASA party”.
We notice that he has chosen to also drag the name of COTU SG Francis Atwoli into the saga. Barely four years ago when Mr Atwoli held similar meetings to which he is holding now, and whose sole beneficiary at that time was Mudavadi, the latter didn’t have a problem with it. As usual, Mr Mudavadi prefers to be the hyena that follows a man, hoping his hands will fall. The same way he sat pretty as Atwoli organised everything to make him the “Luhya Spokesman”, which gave him his current political profile, is the exact way Atwoli would push the same resources and clout behind more capable people.
In conclusion, Mr Mudavadi should desist from seeing the ghost of ODM everywhere. It is ODMs stated policy not to interfere in the internal workings of other political parties. We do not pretend to know the issues within Ford Kenya that have occasioned the changes, but unlike Mudavadi, we will let Ford Kenya members exercise their right to choose their leadership, without us pretending to know why they did it and what informed these specific changes. This is the basis of democracy, which may be alien in ANC.
Edwin Sifuna
Secretary General.
31/05/2020
Bungoma
