Foreign Affairs Chief Administrative Secretary Ababu Namwamba has declared he is in UDA.
Ababu said he will not support leaders whom he described as story tellers. He said Kenya needs action-oriented leaders like Deputy President William Ruto.
The former Budalang'i MP was to host Ruto in Teso North subcounty in Busia on Friday during the Isambo football tournament in which the DP was to award trophies and other prizes. Ruto did not attend the event.
The event was organised by Ababu alongside Malaba Central MCA hopeful Leonard Karakacha and attended by UDA officials from Busia and local football enthusiasts. Speaker after speaker drummed up support for Ruto.
After confirming that Ruto was unable to grace the football tournament finals, Ababu said a similar event may soon be organised and he would not hesitate to invite the DP as a guest.
Ababu said Ruto had demonstrated the ability to lead Kenya.
“For me and my sister [former Teso South MP] Mary Emase who believe in the yellow colour, we will organise another event that will bring together all football clubs in Busia county,” he said.
Yellow is associated with the UDA party.
“And to you the people of Malaba and Teso North don’t entertain the politics of stories. Don’t allow people to come here and tell you stories.”
"In Budalang'i we have decided we will stand firm with the chief hustler. We are not going to leave anyone behind. We will follow leaders who perform and that is why we have declared that he will stand with leaders who perform."
Kenyans, Ababu said, should embrace action-oriented leaders as well as elect development-conscious leaders.
He said without “action-oriented politics”, Kenya may take long to realise development.
Kenyans, he said, should elect leaders who will leave a positive mark after their departure from their respective offices of representation.
Ababu has shown little interest in rejoining ODM, the party that sponsored him to Parliament when he served as MP for two terms.
He lost his MP seat in 2017 to ODM’s Raphael Wanjala after decamping from the Orange party to the then little-known Labour Party of Kenya.
Ababu is yet to declare whether he will be in the race to recapture his MP seat during this year's elections.
He represented Budalang’i in Parliament between 2007 and 2017 when he was defeated by Wanjala.
Ababu was among vibrant youthful leaders who tirelessly campaigned for ODM leader Raila Odinga’s presidential candidature ahead of the 2013 general election.
He also served as the chairman of the powerful Parliamentary Committee on Constitutional Review, Justice and Legal Affairs, as well as the Public Accounts Committee courtesy of ODM.
Emase urged Kenyans to elect Ruto. “Today in Teso North, we have tarmac running from Malaba-Angurai-Moding and Angurai-Malakisi and all this is because of the efforts of the chief hustler,” the former Teso South MP said.
“When our competitors come here to ask for votes, ask them what they have done for you in Busia and in Teso North. I want to tell you that the government that will come after 2022 will be the government of hustlers and I want to urge you the people of Busia to be in that government.”
“The hustler we are supporting is not someone whose leadership is still under test. The chief hustler is someone we have seen what he is capable of doing.”
Karakacha said it is time for Kenyans to embrace youthful leadership.
Teso North FKF chairman Victor Ochakala said leaders should embrace sports and nurture local talent.
Edited by A.N
