NASA Principal Raila Odinga yesterday scoffed at insinuations by co-principal Moses Wetang'ula that he masterminded his ejection from the Senate Minority leadership.
He said he tried his best to save the Bungoma senator but he was rejected by his colleagues who accused him of being arrogant and dictatorial.
In a statement issued by his spokesman Dennis Onyango, Raila told Wetang'ula to stop using his name to shop for sympathy.
“The senators accused Mr Wetang'ula, in his presence, of being aloof, selfish, arrogant and having the tendency to impose decisions on them under the pretext that they were directives from the Summit, which often was not the case,” read the statement.
To compound matters, his colleagues in the Senate yesterday joined the fray in dismissing Wetang’ula’s protestations.
In a statement issued by Siaya Senator James Orengo, the man they replaced him with, the NASA senators said they had taken the decision “in strict compliance with the law and the Standing Orders of the Senate”.
They went on: “The members further confirmed from the NASA Coalition Agreement that there was no provision or position contained therein that gave or awarded any specific position in the Senate, or Parliament for that matter, to any particular individual member of the Senate or any political party constituting the membership of NASA.”
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They denied that the NASA Summit and Raila had a role in their decision.
“It is unfortunate that one of our Principals would seek to denigrate the outcome of a democratic process on the platform of the politics of ethnic division, sectarianism, and parochialism,” the senators said.
In his statement, Raila said Wetang’ula’s problems came out in a meeting he had called to broker an understanding between him and his colleagues.
NEW POLITICAL PATH
But in response yesterday, Wetang'ula asked Raila to focus on addressing issues affecting Kenyans such as good leadership and the creation of jobs.
“However, from his statement, you can see a continuation of the practice of labelling and name-calling, instead of addressing the
substantive issues raised,” Wetang'ula told the Star.
“I do not want to engage in a ping pong game with the Rt Honourable PM or with ODM,” Wetang'ula concluded.
He said he has no bitterness or malice against Raila, the NASA presidential candidate, and was focused on defining a new political path for himself, supporters and like-minded Kenyans.
Raila has shunned any exchanges with his co-principals since his March 9 handshake with President Uhuru Kenyatta. Yesterday's statement was the first reaction to a series of attacks on him over his truce with Uhuru, and his ODM party's cosy relationship with the Jubilee administration.
Wetang'ula has been on the warpath against Raila in the last two weeks. He and his ANC counterpart Musalia Mudavadi last week announced plans to merge their parties to solidify their support base and lock ODM out of Western.
But their merger plans have met resistance, mainly from
Jubilee politicians allied to Deputy President William Ruto, who is wooing the region.
Yesterday, three Jubilee lawmakers from Western dismissed the unity plans as a nonstarter. John Waluke (Sirisia), Fred Kapondi (Mt Elgon) and Janet Nangabo (Trans Nzoia Woman Representative) said the two leaders are driven by selfish political interests caused by frustrations over the NASA falling out.
Waluke said Wetang’ula and Mudavadi cannot purport to champion the Luhya community’s unity when they failed while holding powerful positions in previous governments and they are trying to exploit the community.
He said their unity calls were creating “unnecessary tension” in the region and asked how Wetang'ula could manage millions in Western when he was removed as Senate Minority leader due to his failure to manage NASA senators.
The three, who addressed a press conference at Parliament, claimed that the unity bid will exclude other communities resident in the region like the Teso and Sabaots.
Kapondi said, “When Mudavadi and Wetang'ula were in NASA as co principals, they never represented Luhya interests. But now out of frustrations, they have gone back to their tribal cocoon, which should be condemned.”
Nangabo urged the two leaders to partner with the government so that the Western people benefit from development.
CARRY OWN CROSS
Raila said the kind of rejection against Wetang'ula in the Senate “was unprecedented and pointed to a deep-rooted problem between him and his colleagues”.
He said Wetang'ula knows that he was rejected by senators from all the National Super Alliance affiliate parties and the Orange Democratic Party played no role.
“To date, none of the NASA senators has come out to support Wetang'ula,” he said, adding that he did all he could to save him, including instructing the NASA CEO Norman Magaya to write to the Speaker to retain
him as Minority leader.
Raila urged Wetang'ula to accept his weaknesses and carry his own cross.
“The persistent efforts by
Mr
Wetang'ula to avoid the facts and blame his problems on
Mr
Odinga, therefore, point to a personal vendetta and a refusal to face and deal with the truth,” the statement from Raila's office said.
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