Elders seek to reconcile Raila and OKA ahead of elections
Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) leader Raila Odinga yesterday held a meeting with elders from Western region, with discussions to reunite him with his former allies Musalia Mudavadi and Moses Wetang’ula topping the agenda.
Raila, who was accompanied by Ugunja MP Opiyo Wandayi and Nominated MP Godfrey Osotsi is said to have agreed to reach out to Mudavadi and Wetang’ula towards forging a united front against Deputy President William Ruto in the 2022 presidential election.
It is instructive to note that Raila skipped a scheduled appearance at the unveiling of the newly formed Democratic Action Party of Kenya (DAP-K) that is associated with Defence Cabinet Secretary Eugene Wamalwa.
He, instead, dispatched Wandayi, who had earlier escorted him during the meeting with the elders, to the DAP-K meeting at the Bomas of Kenya to represent him.
“The Bukusu Council of Elders met our party leader today, and they have endorsed him. They have assured him they will go down there to popularise his candidature,” Wandayi said.
According to Wandayi, the elders underscored the need for Raila to engage the two One Kenya Alliance (OKA) principals with a view to re-uniting with them.
“We engaged and agreed that they mediate and bring on board our former allies for the sake of unity of the country,” said Wandayi.
During the meeting with the elders, mainly drawn from the Bukusu sub tribe of the larger Luhyia community, Raila is said to have agreed to engage Mudavadi and Wetang’ula.
The meeting, according to Wandayi, discussed the unity of the country, the August 2022 polls and the need to mend fences with his two former comrades in the defunct National Super Alliance (Nasa).
During the meeting, the elders endorsed the former premier to succeed President Uhuru Kenyatta.
The council led by Patrick Wangamati, the father of Bungoma Governor Wycliffe Wangamati, is said to have indicated their plan to engage Mudavadi and Wetang’ula to drop their presidential ambitions in favour of the ODM chief.
People Daily has established that the Council agreed to popularise Raila in the region and sell him as the best bet for the region in the Uhuru’s succession matrix.
During the function former Ford-Kenya officials Wafula Wamunyinyi and Eseli Simiyu were unanimously elected DAP-K party leader and secretary-general respectively, readying them for a war with their former outfit.
The two were expelled from Ford-Kenya last year after attempting to forcefully remove Wetang’ula who they accused of running the party with an iron fist.
