ANC leader Musalia Mudavadi has been asked to come up with strategies to strengthen the party at the grassroots level ahead of his presidential bid.
“ANC has no grassroots here in Bunyore and when we call on him we have reasons. The party lost its popularity in this region after that shambolic nomination a few months to the general election,” Luanda subcounty ANC chairperson Koki Kweya told the press on Tuesday at Luanda town.
Several leaders ditched the party and vied on other tickets after they were shortchanged during the nomination.
In Luanda, ANC got one MCA – Moses Opole – and one MP, Emuhaya's Omboko Milemba in the 2017 general elections.
Kweya said it was critical for ANC to widen its grassroots support in Vihiga to boost Mudavadi’s support.
Mudavadi has never visited Bunyore since the last elections "due to the mess his party made".
He even abandoned his foot soldiers in an area that supported him in 2013 and 2017, the party subcounty chair said.
Kweya cautioned the party leader that social media chats on his presidential bid will not reach the locals in remote areas. "That is for the elites, the majority of whom do not vote."
He accused top ANC officials of not facilitating ground offices for proper operations.
Vihiga ANC secretary William Kaisha told the Star by phone that the party's National Elections Board was to blame for the mess during the nominations.
Kaisha said the party is developing a county elections board to oversee elections in the county to avoid another scandal.
“We are going to re-open our offices in Luanda, Emuhaya, Hamisi and Vihiga for quick service delivery to the party members within the county,” he said.
"We are also planning cleanup programmes as part of creating awareness within the county."
He dismissed Deputy President William Ruto's claims that he has swayed the crowd in Vihiga.
“When that time comes, the DP will know that we only loved his pocket, not his politics,” Kaisha said.
Edited by R.Wamochie
