Mudavadi thanks ‘earthquake’ for aligning politics
Many thought that Musalia Mudavadi had taken the wrong gamble to abandon the Azimio la Umoja coalition to support the then Deputy President William Ruto in the run up to the 2022 General Election.
The former ANC leader caught many by surprise when he made the major announcement dubbed the “earthquake,” during his party’s National Delegate Conference on January 23, 2022 .
He was heavily criticised for joining Ruto’s UDA to form the Kenya Kwanza Alliance.
So bad was the situation that scores of MPs elected on the Amani National Congress (ANC) ticket deserted him to join Azimio la Umoja but Mudavadi was to be vindicated when the Kenya Kwanza Alliance won the election to form the government.
He now serves as the Prime Cabinet Secretary, the third most powerful position in government.
In his address during the party’s NDC, Mudavadi announced together with the Ford Kenya leader Moses Wetang’ula had formerly joined Ruto.
In the Thursday media interview to mark the ‘earthquake’s’ first anniversary, Mudavadi narrated how a trust deficit in local politics then made him take the drastic move.
“Earthquake was a moment of surprise. We executed it as a surprise,” he said.
And speaking at the Kitale Showground on Saturday, Mudavadi revealed that the formation of the Kenya Kwanza team in the run-up to the 2022 General Election was a result of a well thought out, strategic and calculated plan crafted to guarantee a win the presidential election in the first round.
Mudavadi while making his remarks at the ordination and installation of ceremony of the new Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Kitale, Rev Bishop Henry Juma Odonya, said it took deep reflection and the intervention of religious leaders for him and Wetangula to decide and join hands with then Deputy President William Ruto who was the UDA Party Presidential candidate.
“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, through the grace of God he showed us the way,” said Mudavadi.
Mudavadi said Crowley’s conviction that Kenya needed a leadership that will focus on addressing the needs and challenges facing the common mwananchi, and a leadership that respects and fears God has come to pass.
Counsel and mentorship
Mudavadi said that he and Wetangula owed Bishop 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 truly we knew which direction the country was headed in terms of the succession politics and the livelihoods of Kenyans, and he quickly pointed to us that it was time we looked for Deputy President William Ruto then,” said Mudavadi.
“After a lengthy talk and having shared with us his thoughts, Bishop Crowley told us William Ruto was a friend we could count on. And here we are,” added Mudavadi.
Mudavadi’s remarks were echoed by Wetangula and Ruto who acknowledged the role the church 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 I 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?” said President Ruto.
In an interview with People Daily on Thursday, Mudavadi decried state interference and intimidation during the campaigns preceding the last presidential election.
“Taxation was used a tool to punish those opposed to the regime,” he revealed.
Asked why he decided to join Ruto, Mudavadi said he was listening to the ground and the situation was that the country was in support of change. “My ears were on the ground, I was convinced that Kenya would go in the wrong direction should people be pushed to elect a certain side,”; he said.
Talks with Uhuru
Weaponization of the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) and the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) had gone too far and he did not want to be part of such a system. He said that he and Wetangula had talks with retired President Uhuru Kenyatta severally but did not agree on whether to support a certain candidate as alleged.
“Somebody was trying to create a narrative that we were being herded to a corner to support someone. I got offended and said somebody somewhere was playing games,” he narrated.
Uhuru was making attempts to push Mudavadi, Wetangula and Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka to support Raila Odinga, the Azimio la Umoja candidate.
Mudavadi says that his support for Ruto is yielding results for his people. Asked whether he was contented with the government positions his ANC party had received, Mudavadi says that forming a government is a work in process. “We are contented in what we have received so far.”
He said there were challenges in some areas like parastatals where terms for board members have to expire for others to be appointed.
His roles as the Prime Cabinet Secretary include assisting the President and the Deputy President in the coordination and supervision of government ministries and state departments.
In liaison with the ministry responsible for Interior and National Administration, he oversees the implementation of National government policies, programmes and projects. He also chairs and coordinates the national government legislative agenda across all ministries and state departments in consultation with and for transmission to the party and coalition leaders in Parliament.
He also facilitates inter-ministerial coordination of cross-functional initiatives and programmers and coordinates and supervises the technical monitoring and evaluation of government policies, programmes and projects across ministries.
