Westlands MP Tim Wanyonyi has said the Luhya community is lacking an authoritative leader who can speak and bring the community together. Speaking during an interview with West Media, Tim said the community currently doesn’t have the calibre of leaders like the late Kijana Wamalwa or the late Masinde Muliro. He said in the past, Luhyas were always together, “When Luhyas united, we didn’t have selfish leadership of people coming up and thinking they are more important.”
He said the community lacks a leader who can speak and other leaders rally behind him, adding that one should be able to marshall support from any of the Counties in the former Western province regardless of the County they hail from.
He attributed the problem to the current generational change, noting that some generations come up that lack the required charisma. However, he said that Luhya unity can be achieved if the efforts to bring the community together start from Nairobi heading to Western, not the other way round. “There is no problem back at home, the problem is in Nairobi…when we lose here we lose big, in Western I don’t think we can lose anything.”
He cited the example of ODM leader Raila Odinga, saying he has played out his politics from Nairobi and yet has consolidated the votes from Nyanza. The issue of Luhya unity has been a contentious one, with leaders calling for a united front ahead of the next general elections. It remains to be seen if they will unite, with different leaders from the community voicing their 2022 presidential ambitions.
