Mudavadi keeps Kenyans guessing ahead of big day
By People Team, January 21, 2022Mukalo Kwayera and Jeremiah Kiplang’at
Amani National Congress leader Musalia Mudavadi has promised an earth-shaking declaration this Sunday, leaving both friend and foe, guessing what he might be up to.
Eyes will be trained on Mudavadi as his party prepares to hold a National Delegates Convention at the Bomas of Kenya after drawing the attention of the country with his declaration that his Sunday pronouncements will cause a political earthquake.
By last evening, the ANC leader and his team were readying the systems for his big day but were guarded on what was in the offing only asking Kenyans to make sure they followed closely the events on January 23.
ANC Secretary-General Simon Kamau yesterday asked Kenyans to be ready for the political “earthquake.”
“On January 23, we will issue a statement that will cause an earthquake in this country,” Mudavadi declared last Sunday during a visit to Nyamira.
In an interview with People Daily on Monday, he confirmed that many people were nervous about what he had in store, adding there had been attempts by some detractors to steal attention from his day.
“I can tell you for free that there are some people who are extremely nervous about the position we are going to take during the NDC and the direction that the party will show this country.
They are extremely nervous and they are trying to do anything within their means to try and divert attention from that NDC or to water down the anticipated impact of the NDC but I want to tell you we shall remain focused, we shall continue planning and we shall have the NDC,” he said.
Not invited
Deputy President William Ruto and Orange leader Raila Odinga’s offices confirmed they had not received any invitations by last evening.
“As a party, I can confirm we have not received any invitation,” ODM secretary-general Edwin Sifuna said.
Ruto’s spokesman David Mugonyi also said they had not received an invite directing our inquiries to Mudavadi’s party.
However, Mudavadi’s co-principals in One Kenya Alliance Kalonzo Musyoka, Moses Wetang’ula, Gideon Moi and Cyrus Jirongo have all been invited and yesterday confirmed they will join their colleague during the function.
“Yes he has received the invite and he will be attending,” Kalonzo’s spokesman Dennis Kavisu said.
The new entrants to the alliance Tujibebe Wakenya party leader William Kabogo, counterparts Justin Muturi (Democratic Party) and Martha Karua (Narc-Kenya) are also expected at the function.
Prof Macharia Munene, a professor of history and regular commentator on politics, said the best Mudavadi could do on Sunday is to show grit and hunger for the country’s top job.
“From what he has said before I would not expect him to turn back and say anything other than being a presidential candidate. The best Mudavadi can do is to show the vigour, the hunger and the fire common with serious presidential candidates. He must show that he is the right man for the job. You see the fire and hunger in Ruto and Raila, he should do the same,” said Prof Munene.
It is expected that 61-year-old Mudavadi will receive his party’s nod to push his case in a fierce presidential contest against Ruto and Raila who are the perceived front-runners.
The former Minister for Finance will release his campaign manifesto that heavily hinges on his policies on economic recovery, which his handlers say will not be a “touch-and-go event” but a painful one in the meantime and rewarding in the long-term.
Amani manifesto
A one-time Vice-President, Mudavadi has been at the forefront warning against the ballooning public debt and economic development under the Uchumi Bora and Pesa Mfukoni catch-phrases.
The Land Economist maintains that if elected as the fifth President, his government would implement the policies to support faster economic recovery by way of restructuring public debt with emphasis on external borrowing which he argues is cheaper than domestic debt.
In a draft manifesto seen by People Daily, Mudavadi intends to deepen the capital markets to further lengthen the maturity profile of domestic debt, rationalise recurrent expenditure in the medium-term to make public debt sustainable, cut trade deficit in order to reduce the vulnerability of the exchange rate to external shocks, rationalise government expenditure to increase the share of development expenditure, enhance the absorption rate of development funds and promote domestic revenue mobilisation efforts.
However, unveiling the manifesto and getting his party’s endorsement to officially join the State House race are probably the easiest of Mudavadi’s tasks ahead of the August elections, the greatest of his assignments commencing after the Sunday NDC event.
Depending on how he handles his affairs, Mudavadi faces an uphill task as he will first have to craft methodologies that will enable him catch up with both Ruto and Raila who hit the road three years ago and have been criss-crossing the country on numerous occasions, the Ministry of Health coronavirus guidelines notwithstanding.
His party has lately been rocked by defections by Members of Parliament from his native Western Kenya. Matungu MP Peter Nabulindo, who was elected in a by-election in April last year, Lugari MP Ayub Savula and Christopher Aseka of Khwisero, decamped from ANC on December 31 last year at the pro-Raila Azimio La Umoja rally hosted by Cotu secretary-general at Kakamega’s Bukhungu stadium while Nominated MP Godfrey Osotsi jettisoned the party in 2018 since which time he has been fraternising with ODM.
Oka wars
However, Prof David Kikaya, a former Kenyan ambassador to the United Nations who is Mudavadi’s adviser on diplomacy and international affairs, pours cold water on the defections, saying they are inconsequential.
Says he: “That is a storm in a tea cup. Those people were induced to make those decisions. What is the effect of anyone defecting now?
It serves no purpose. If they were serious those MPs should have left the party long ago and accepted to be subjected to by-elections. Our party leader will not be consumed by such mundane issues.
He is concentrating on finding a solution to the real challenges Kenyans are faced with such as a dwindling economy, insecurity, healthcare, unemployment, corruption, poverty, poor agricultural yields and a shaky education system. Defectors are none of his concerns for they are unprincipled characters who are merely a liability to the voter.”
Mudavadi will also concern himself with turf wars within the One Kenya Alliance (OKA). where the subject of picking a presidential candidate is a ticking time bomb.
There have been reports of a cold war between Mudavadi and Kalonzo over who should be OKA’s presidential flag-bearer on the one hand, while on the other his co-principals, save for Wetang’ula, are alleged to have under-the-table dealings with the powers-that-be to whittle down the clout and influence of the ANC chief, claims that the two leaders and their surrogates have refuted.
It is not clear how Mudavadi’s end-game is insofar as navigating around the issues pertaining to OKA and MKUF is concerned. But Prof Kikaya states that the situation will pan out properly after the Sunday NDC.
“What you are alluding to are mere speculations. Everything will be clear after the NDC. There should be no cause for alarm.
We know that our enemies are creating all manner of propaganda out there. We are unperturbed. We shall stick to our lane and our path will become more and more clearer as we forge ahead. No amount of mischief will shake or distract us,” Kikaya said.
He said Mudavadi’s agenda at the moment is to sell his policies to Kenyans with a view to convincing them to vote for him based on his commitment to revive agricultural production and marketing to ensure food security and expand global trade, release untapped potential of tourism through diversification, enhance inter-county linkages through enhanced infrastructure development, tap into the creative innovations of the ICT Industry, expand the manufacturing base by reducing the cost of doing business and enhancing domestic, regional and international trade through diversified exports.
Cabinet minister
Kikaya stated that Mudavadi is keen to establish a predictable economic foreign policy for Kenya, fast track integration under the African Continental Free Trade Area and other regional integration initiatives, promote internal cohesion, integration and peaceful co-existence among Kenyan communities which he says is the true meaning of Amani, run an open government that is truly accountable to the people, strengthen consultations between and among all government organs and agencies, strengthen and protect the independence of institutions of governance, and of constitutional commissions and offices.
He said Mudavadi believes in the principle of separation of powers, expeditious rendering of justice by allocation of sufficient funds to the Judiciary, preparing the next generation of leaders through mentorship and volunteerism and strengthening of devolution through wholesome implementation and protection of devolution gains among other principles.
Mudavadi was MP for Sabatia in Vihiga County for many years and also served as a Cabinet Minister in the governments of Presidents Daniel arap Moi and Mwai Kibaki, among them ministries of Supplies and Marketing, Finance, Agriculture, Transport, Information and Broadcasting and Local Authorities.
He is best remembered for putting an end to the multi-billion scandal of the 1990s known as Goldenberg, liberalising the economy when he was Finance Minister, and the reforms he undertook in both the financial and communications sectors.
Kenya Revenue Authority and the creations of service providers such as Safaricon, Airtel and Telkom are offshoots of his reforms. A scandal on the purchase of an alternative cemetery in Nairobi County blotted his otherwise checkered career.
Mudavadi is married to Tessy Mulama and has three children: Moses, Michael and Marryane.