Luhya top political leaders failed to meet expectationss when they unveiled their 2022 presidential flagbearer, as highly expected, during the Vihiga meeting.
Earlier, it had been hyped that leaders, Moses Wetang’ula, Eugene Wamalwa and Musalia Mudavadi would decide which one of them would be the community’s 2022 flagbearer during the Maragoli Festival.
A closed-door meeting held at Mudavadi’s Mululu home in the morning before the Maragoli festival is however said to have hit a snag in the presence of luhya council of elders.
During the Maragoli on Wednesday at Mbale, a large crowd that had turned up had expected the leaders to declare they were behind Mudavadi, only to be disappointed.
Despite Lugari MP Ayub Savula, during his speech, declaring that the leaders had decided it was Mudavadi, other leaders read from different scripts. “We have had meeting together with all this leaders early his morning and decided that our sole flag bearer is Musalia Mudavadi,” Savula declared.
His statement however visibly irked both Eugene Wamalwa and Moses Wetang’ula who were seen shaking their heads in denial. Wetang’ula denied they had agreed on one candidate, and instead said they were still having talks and will support anyone among them that will be agreed upon. “We are still talking, but one thing we are certain of is that we will remain united like siamese twins,” Wetang’ula said.
This comes even as Deputy President William Ruto allied Members of Parliament and dismissed the luhya unity bid saying it was “an exercise in futility”. Kimilili MP Didmus Barasa, Dan Wanyama (Webuye West), and John Waluke (Sirisia), who spoke separately on phone, said the leaders showed they were not serious with the initiative and were indeed planless. Wanyama said the event was only hot air aimed at directing personal attacks against DP William Ruto.
“It would have made lots of sense if they told the Mulembe nation who they had decided to support rather than turning a cultural event into a centre of insults,” Wanyama said.
He said David Murathe, Jubilee vice chair, would not to dictate how the house of Mulembe should operate.
Waluke said the leaders should have agreed on one person. “We all know the people behind those kinds of theatrics, I can assure you that they are not interested in Luhya unity at all,” Waluke said.
Barasa asked which unity the leaders were talking about saying they were always attacking leaders from the region with divergent political opinions. “You can’t talk of unity when all you are doing is abusing other leaders instead of extending an olive hand,” he said.
They said their support for the DP would not be wavered.