{"id":17972,"date":"2025-08-08T10:27:17","date_gmt":"2025-08-08T10:27:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/goodmorningkenya.com\/wp\/?p=17972"},"modified":"2025-08-08T10:41:00","modified_gmt":"2025-08-08T10:41:00","slug":"osotsi-sifuna-natembeya-and-amisi-stir-political-waters-in-mulembe-nation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/goodmorningkenya.com\/wp\/?p=17972","title":{"rendered":"Osotsi, Sifuna, Natembeya, and Amisi Stir Political Waters in Mulembe Nation"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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By Good Morning Kenya Political Desk \u2013 Kakamega, 08\/08\/2025<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

After the passing of towering Luhya leaders like Masinde Muliro, Musa Mudavadi, Peter Okondo, and the charismatic Michael Kijana Wamalwa, the Mulembe nation has been groping for unity. For decades, political cohesion has remained elusive, and the dream of marching to State House as a united front has repeatedly crumbled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The longevity of COTU boss Francis Atwoli as \u201cthe eternal SG\u201d has done little to rally the Luhya vote into a single, decisive bloc. And despite their seniority, Musalia Mudavadi and Moses Wetangula\u2019s supremacy battles have slowed the region\u2019s march towards national power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cIt is one of the tragedies of our politics that despite our numbers, we remain divided by ego and personal ambition,\u201d lamented a veteran political observer in Kakamega. \u201cAtwoli, Mudavadi, and Wetangula have failed to unite us or fight for our real interests.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Mudavadi\u2013Wetangula Rivalry<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In 2013, Mudavadi ran for president while Wetangula sided with Raila Odinga in CORD \u2014 a move that left Mudavadi politically exposed and handed Odinga an opening to dismantle him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Four years later, in 2017, the duo closed ranks under NASA, hoping to unseat the Uhuru\u2013Ruto alliance. But their failure to consolidate the Luhya vote cost the opposition dearly, as Jubilee made deep inroads in the region. Political analyst Herman Manyora summed it up bluntly: \u201cWetangula and Mudavadi have always shown their inability to understand \u2014 and more importantly, relate to \u2014 their constituency.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

2022: Short-Lived Triumph<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In 2022, they gambled again \u2014 this time backing William Ruto. Wetangula hedged his bets, running for Bungoma senator before ascending to the Speaker\u2019s chair, while Mudavadi\u2019s influence waned after ODM swept his supposed home turf of Vihiga and Kakamega.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Vihiga, Senator Godfrey Osotsi delivered ODM\u2019s victory in the senatorial race, the governorship, and two out of five parliamentary seats, with ODM also dominating the county assembly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Rise of the Young Turks<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Saboti MP Caleb Amisi, once seen as a prot\u00e9g\u00e9 of Raila, has evolved into a fierce grassroots mobilizer. His ability to connect with ordinary citizens has positioned him as a rising force in Mulembe politics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Vihiga Senator Godfrey Osotsi, a former ANC secretary general and now ODM deputy party leader, is winning hearts with his bold positions on national issues, staunch defense of devolution, and open-door policy for constituents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn Osotsi,\u201d says political commentator Mwalimu Amunga, \u201cwe see Eric Khasakhala, Musa Mudavadi, Wamalwa Kijana, and Martin Shikuku all rolled into one. He listens, he acts, and he carries the aspirations of the people.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Natembeya\u2019s \u2018Tawe\u2019 Wave<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In Trans Nzoia, Governor George Natembeya\u2019s TAWE movement has captured public imagination. Unafraid to call Mudavadi and Wetangula \u201ctumbocrats\u201d feeding off the Luhya name, Natembeya has become the face of a restless generation unwilling to play second fiddle in national politics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Shifting Tide<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The once-unassailable triumvirate of Atwoli, Mudavadi, and Wetangula now faces growing dissent from within. Kakamega Senator Boni Khalwale, DCP Deputy Party Leader Cleophas Malala<\/strong> \u2014 allied to Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua \u2014 and MP Ayub Savula have all signaled that the old guard\u2019s era may be coming to an end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Osotsi, Sifuna, Natembeya, and Amisi are redefining Luhya politics \u2014 and shaking the once-unshakable grip of Atwoli, Mudavadi, and Wetangula. As dissent grows, even DCP\u2019s Cleophas Malala and MP Ayub Savula say it\u2019s time for the old order to step<\/em><\/strong>1<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Whatever the eventual outcome, one thing is clear: a Mulembe renaissance is in motion \u2014 and it threatens to sweep away the political comfort of the old order.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  1. \u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/li><\/ol>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    . By Good Morning Kenya Political Desk \u2013 Kakamega, 08\/08\/2025 After the passing of towering Luhya leaders like Masinde Muliro, Musa Mudavadi, Peter Okondo, and the charismatic Michael Kijana Wamalwa, the Mulembe nation has been groping for unity. For decades, political cohesion has remained elusive, and the dream of marching to State House as a …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":17981,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"[{\"id\":\"824763dc-9972-45f0-910c-b969ffa7aec3\",\"content\":\"\"}]"},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17972","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/goodmorningkenya.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17972","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/goodmorningkenya.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/goodmorningkenya.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goodmorningkenya.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goodmorningkenya.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=17972"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/goodmorningkenya.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17972\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17982,"href":"https:\/\/goodmorningkenya.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17972\/revisions\/17982"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goodmorningkenya.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/17981"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/goodmorningkenya.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=17972"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goodmorningkenya.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=17972"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goodmorningkenya.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=17972"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}