ALBERT KASEMBELI: Mudavadi joining Ruto a plus for Raila in Western

I may be wrong but I believe that ANC party leader Musalia Mudavadi’s decision to team up with Deputy President William Ruto could be his biggest mistake yet.

Residents of Western Kenya were looking up to Mudavadi and they had a lot of faith in him as the most senior politician from the region. And it is not just in Western, lots of people from other parts of the country also had a lot of faith in the ANC party leader.

Some were even seeing him as the best person to succeed President Uhuru Kenyatta. They had viewed Mudavadi as a straight forward person who believed in fair play, a man who heavily condemns corruption and is keen on reviving the economy.

But in joining Ruto’s camp, Mudavadi erased the trust and belief his supporters had in him. The team he joined has been tainted by corruption. Many people will tell you their biggest concern is runaway graft and by associating with leaders accused of corruption, Mudavadi blundered.

We must also remember that ODM leader has beaten Musalia in his backyard during the 2013 polls when the ANC party leader was also contesting for the presidency.

Even in his Vihiga stronghold, Raila got good votes. Raila has also performed extremely well in the region in other elections.

Opinion polls are therefore telling the truth when they say Raila has in fact gained from the decision of the ANC party leader. Mudavadi has lost clout in his backyard and the biggest beneficiary of his move to join Ruto would be none other than Raila.

We have seen DAP-K also benefiting from the move by Mudavadi to join Ruto. ANC MPs have been defecting to DAP-K and ODM, all of which are fully behind Raila’s presidential candidature under Azimio La Umoja.

DAP-K has also benefitted from the move by Ford Kenya party leader Moses Wetang'ula to follow in the footsteps of Mudavadi. Ford Kenya leaders have defected to DAP-K, which means Raila has gained in Western. You now cannot say that Mudavadi is in control of the region.

Political analyst Albert Kasembeli spoke to the Star 

(Edited by V. Graham)

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