Lugari MP Ayub Savula and former Kakamega Senator Boni Khalwale on Saturday engaged in a bitter exchange over the stalled merger between ANC and Ford Kenya.
The political marriage was meant to create an outfit capable of unifying the Luhya community and consolidating its votes ahead of the next polls. It has not been forthcoming. The ANC had accused Ford-K, in which Khalwale is the deputy leader, of flirting with DP William Ruto.
Savula blamed Khalwale for the failure, saying he had been cunningly working at the behest of Ruto. He said in Likuyani that Khalwale was pushing for a hurried merger so he could mortgage the new outfit to the DP and leave Mudavadi partyless ahead of the 2022 election.
“The plot was to convince Ford Kenya leader Moses Wetang’ula to be the party leader of the new outfit and Mudavadi the automatic candidate. They [Khalwale and Ruto] would then buy out all MPs to troop out of the new party and join the DP to derail Mudavadi’s bid,” Savula said.
That was the reason the two parties halted the merger plans and opted to collaborate during elections, the lawmaker said.
He warned Western residents to be wary of politicians hell-bent on mortgaging them for selfish gain. Such leaders are an embarrassment to the Luhya community and must be taught a bitter lesson come 2022.
But Khalwale fired back saying he was preparing the way for the community to rise to the presidency. He added, however, that the merger had been overtaken by events.
“Savula has his democratic right to say what he wants to say. I don’t know whether he is speaking for himself or on behalf of ANC, or both ANC and Ford Kenya, or Mudavadi and Wetang’ula,” he told the Star on the phone.
He said they are working together with some Western politicians to ensure the Luhya and Kalenjin communities vote as a bloc in 2022.
“The only thing I've not laid bare is the details of my discussion with DP Ruto which I will be doing soon. If this is hurting Savula and some people, then I don’t know why because they have done nothing to position the community for power," Khalwale said.
He cautioned Mudavadi and Wetang’ula against keeping the community in suspense over the presidency.
Luhyas risk losing out on the presidency or leader of the opposition if they go it alone in the next polls, he said.
Khalwale urged Mudavadi and Wetang’ula to swallow their pride, as their parties are not the only ones in Western. ODM enjoys significant support in the region. Jubilee Party also bagged parliamentary seats in the 2017 election.
“We’re better off with one leg inside government and another out than having both out of government,” Khalwale said.
