With political alignments taking shape for the purposes of gaining an advantage ahead of the 2022 general elections in the far stretch or taking up positions in government the present sense, the Western region has been the centre of public tussles between leaders as they try to consolidate their support base, albeit with different means. Some leaders in the region have already called out Bungoma Senator Moses Wetangula and ANC party leader Musalia Mudavadi for angling towards Deputy President William Ruto and even receiving funding from the DP to host meetings.
However, Bungoma Senator Moses Wetangula has denied the claims, saying the two have been leaders long enough to go about their affairs without the interference or help from external forces, saying that people who are used to being funded think everyone goes down the same path, “People who are so used to taking handouts from others think everyone takes handouts.” Speaking during an interview with West FM on Sunday, Wetangula said he has ambitions of being President come 2022, same to Musalia Mudavadi and Deputy President William Ruto, and they are all competitors.
On the tribulations facing him as Ford Kenya party leader, he affirmed that at the moment he is still the party leader, with the case still at the High Court. He faulted Tongaren MP David Eseli, Bungoma Governor Wycliffe Wangamati and Kanduyi MP Wafula Wamunyinyi after they moved to remove him from the position, “Those are just day dreams. In Ford Kenya we have a constitution, and it says leadership will be changed during party elections,” he noted. He said before the Coronavirus pandemic took off in Kenya, Ford Kenya had already done its grassroots elections in all the 47 Counties and was preparing for its National Delegates Conference.
Wetangula pointed out that if Eseli and Wamunyinyi are democratic they should use the right means to be the party’s top position, “You don’t restore democracy through coups, unlawful or unorthodox means.” He said he is ready for the party election, for the NDC, where party members will have a chance to elect their party leader, after the country is reopened. However, he denied that he pushed out former Minister Musikari Kombo from the party leadership position before taking over, “I was elected as a party leader after campaigning across the country. Kombo will tell you, there was no coup against him.”