Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi has revealed that a prominent Catholic cleric urged him to team up with President William Ruto in the run-up to the 2022 General Elections.
While noting that the formation of Kenya Kwanza was a well-thought-out, strategic and calculated plan, Mudavadi said Maurice Crowley- retired Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Kitale- had a hand in his move.
“As I stand here in Kitale, I want to let Kenyans know that the retiring Bishop Maurice Antony Crowley, who is a very good friend of mine, had a hand in the decision that I made to join William Ruto. Bishop Crowley is a man of God and indeed a man of faith, and through the grace of God he showed us the way,” said Mudavadi.
He made the remarks in Kitale during the ordination and installation of the new Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Kitale, Bishop Henry Juma Odonya.
Mudavadi said together with National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang’ula, he owes Crowley a debt of gratitude “for his wise counsel and mentorship he freely offered to them as servants of the people in the political sphere.”
“During one of our discussions in a meeting at the Bishop’s residence back in July 2020, Bishop Crowley paused and asked us if we knew which direction the country was headed in terms of the succession politics and the livelihoods of Kenyans. He quickly pointed to us that it was time we looked for Deputy President William Ruto then,” Mudavadi said.
He said after a lengthy talk, Crowley told them Ruto was a friend they could count on.
Mudavadi’s remarks were echoed by Ruto and Wetang’ula who acknowledged the church had a role it played ahead of the Kenya Kwanza victory in the 2022 August Presidential elections.
“I want to thank the Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi for the revelations he has made so that Kenyans can fully understand how we won the last election and how Kenyans ultimately won as a people and a nation. If indeed Bishop Crowley, a man of God told people to join hands with me, was there any room for us to be defeated?” Ruto posed.
The Prime Cabinet Secretary used the occasion to congratulate the newly ordained Bishop Henry Juma Odonya and urged him to walk in the steps of his predecessor Bishop Crowley and even scale up further in his service to the church, the people and Kenya as a nation.
“The ordination and installation of Rev Henry Juma Odonya as the new Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Kitale is a manifestation of how the church is also laying trust on the youth to advance the service to God," Mudavadi said.
"As I congratulate Bishop Odonya for the new role bestowed on him, I am confident that he is the right man God has appointed for his service to humanity.”
The Prime Cabinet Secretary also thanked the church for its continued partnership with the government in various sectors of the economy.
He named the education sector which the Catholic Church has been at the forefront of supporting.
Mudavadi assured the church and other religious institutions that the government will continue engaging them at various levels on topical issues of interest to the Kenyan people and the nation at large.
