The move by a faction of Ford Kenya leaders led by MPs Wamunyinyi (Kanduyi), Eseli Simiyu (Tongaren) and Bungoma Governor Wycliffe Wangamati was not totally unexpected.
Bungoma Senator Moses Wetang'ula has dismissed as hot air an announcement by these leaders that he has been dismissed, blaming his removal on sponsored forces and NEC meeting that he termed fake.
In a presser conducted hours after his removal, an image of a shaken Wetang'ula in near crouching – tiger position perhaps buoyed by the impact of that announcement, opined that these are wider schemes by NASA leader Raila Odinga and Central Organization of Trade Union (COTU) Secretary General Francis Atwoli to install puppet leaders in Ford Kenya and clip the wings of the party.
Unlike the position taken by Wetang'ula and Mudavadi, blaming Raila and Atwoli, I hold a view that his ouster was internal. It is the patriotic members of Ford Kenya that have seen a shortage in his leadership and thought of getting a new stronger leader.
Wetang'ula is someone you’d want on your side. He can be a nuisance when he wants to and can cling to you like a hungry, thirsty tick. Not even the hottest of flames from a cigarette butt can shake the lawyer from Bungoma loose. He can also be an asset. He can be an attack dog, a fearless snaper of heels with a solid jaw that has over the years of his political career stood up to the test of punches aimed at him.
His record in the Senate represents the good that can come out of our elected leaders. He is an avid debater who thrives in going toe-to-toe with opposing sides and never shies away from going against the grain for public good.
But in other moments like the recent “ouster” from the Lion Party leadership, he has shown the other side of our politicians. That in moments of vulnerability they can become what we as a nation are trying to run away from, warning the opposition leader Raila Odinga against looking for votes in the Mulembe Nation. Everyone knows that Raila Odinga doesn’t need Wetangula’s or Mudavadi’s approval to enter Western Kenya. Mr. Odinga’s political acumen is legendary. No quixotic adventurism, like Wetangula’s can dent Mr. Odinga’s standing in the Mulembe Nation.
Being the life of the party means a lot to the Bungoma Senator. As Daniel Wesangula puts it, you can spot him by the tremors in his shoulder and later on by his one legged jigs whose infectious rates are so high that anyone within a two metres radius gets afflicted.
Last year, Wetangula was in the headlines with his “noisy and messy” assertions when he was replaced by Siaya Senator James Orengo (ODM) as Senate Minority Leader.
When you choose the path of evil the consequences await you.Wetang'ula affirmed
In letting go of the minority leader position without a fight or a strategy, but a mere threat on noisy and messy divorce, he failed his followers who looked up to him for leadership, who believed he can give the Lion Party at least a position of National Importance.
The Lion Party needed a strategic and brave lion as a leader, not a frog that croak threats but disappear to thin air when provoked, till now, it has not gotten messy, no one has suffered except himself. He has now warned of a brutal fight ahead. “when you choose the path of evil the consequences await you”, he affirmed.
Away from Wetangula’s ouster from the Lion Party, he has a lot more to offer. Unfortunately, this will fall on both sides of the scale. He will give us some good, reflective moments, as well as some utterly bad and despicable ones too, as to whether this will mark an end to the political journey of the outspoken Bungoma Senator, we wait to see.