The 2022 presidential election will be a two-horse race between ANC leader Musalia Mudavadi and DP William Ruto, an MP has said.
Lugari MP Ayub Savula on Sunday said Mudavadi’s rating has increased in the past two years and he is tipped to win resoundingly.
“Mudavadi is no longer the mule among horses as he was earlier branded but a mature horse ready to feature in a premier race,” he said in Kakamega.
He cautioned Luhya leaders in Ruto's camp to be ready to disappear from the political scene. He said they will be "swept away in 2022" if they fail to read the mood on the ground and join the Mudavadi team before it's late.
He said the Luhya community stands the best chance of rising to the throne come 2022. Savula said the former deputy Prime Minister has been scouting for a running mate from Central Kenya.
The claim perhaps explains the frequent visits by the former vice president to the Mt Kenya region, where he has met elders, traders, the clergy and influential personalities in the recent past.
ANC has been rebranding and cleansing itself in readiness for the 2022 battle. Its strategies include instilling discipline among members. Its national youth wing is engaged in grassroots mobilisation and registration of new members.
Mudavadi first ran for the top seat on UDF ticket in 2013 and finished a distant third. In 2017, he dropped his bid and backed ODM leader Raila Odinga under the NASA coalition.
He has lately been packaging himself as the face of official opposition after the famous handshake between Raila and President Uhuru Kenyatta that left the opposition in a shambles.
Addressing mourners in Emukale village, Mumias East, on June 8, Mudavadi said time for supporting others was over and urged the Luhya community to believe in themselves if one of their sons or daughters is to ascend to power.
On Saturday, Mudavadi, Ford Kenya leader Moses Wetang’ula and Devolution CS Eugene Wamalwa announced that the community will only produce a single presidential candidate for the next general election.
Meanwhile, Savula appealed to elected leaders from the region to support President Kenyatta’s development agenda for the region to benefit.
“We have been treated to the launching of fake projects by the DP. We must now deal directly with the holder of the purse to see real development,” he said.
(Edited by F'Orieny)
