COTU Secretary General Francis Atwoli has on several occasions asked Amani National Congress (ANC) leader Musalia Mudavadi to stick with Raila Odinga if he wants to ascend to power.
Atwoli, a phenomenal political player firmly wired and connected to the dreaded deep state operatives, has always held that the son of for powerful KANU minister stands a great chance of becoming Kenya’s president if he remains loyal to Raila.
I am a kingmaker and a kingmaker is not a leader. Mudavadi is the official Luhya spokesman but he is not speaking. He is on the fence, yet Kenyan politics is taking shape, and from where I seat he only stands a chance if he accepts to work with Raila Odinga, otherwise, he will fail again,” said the COTU boss.
Mudavadi and Raila are long-time friends and political associates. Although they have had an on and off political collaboration, their chemistry has always been effective and productive.
In almost all the political formations they have been in, they have shaken the country and pressed the government of the day to near submission.
Raila has been the master planner, tactician, and trailblazer of these revolutionary courses. He has always held Mudavadi’s hand and walked with him through thick and thin.
History is replete with several occasions where the ODM leader has resuscitated Mudavadi’s deeming political career and placed him in high office to dine with the mighty once again.
When KANU was dethroned from power in 2002, Mudavadi, who was the regime’s last vice president and Uhuru Kenyatta’s running mate, went underground and lost his fast-rising popularity.
It took Raila’s intervention to rekindle his political career when he ordained him as the Western Kenya political supremo during the 2005 constitutional referendum.
In the 2007 General Election, the ODM boss settled on Mudavadi as his running and later proposed him to serve as the deputy prime minister in charge of local government.
When he ditched Raila in 2013 and tried his luck at the presidency, the ANC boss lost miserably and came a distant third with less than 500, 000 votes.
His political career was resuscitated in 2017 when he teamed up with Raila again under the NASA coalition.
Although they lost the election, the NASA coalition was a force to reckon with, similar to the Pentagon wave of 2007.
As 2022 General Elections approaches, Mudavadi still finds himself in a political thicket that only Raila can extricate him from.
Political pundits have already predicted the upcoming presidential race would be a tussle between the ODM leader and Deputy President William Ruto.
Although Mudavadi has vowed to take a second stab at the top seat, his chances remain slim before formidable candidates like Raila and Ruto.
With the DP out of his equation due to obvious political egos and past experiences, the ANC boss stands a better chance of working with Raila than any other partner in this race.
At the age of 76, the former premier is likely to serve for only one term then pass the baton to the next leader on the ladder, this could be Mudavadi if he plays his cards well.
Joining Ruto might condemn him to another 10 years of waiting considering the DP is still energetic and even younger than him.
The One Kenya Alliance (OKA) he is fighting to fly its flag in the upcoming General Election is full of feeble political figures with little influence limited in their regions only.
Apart from Kalonzo who enjoys considerable support in Ukambani, Gideon Moi and Moses Wetang’ula have little to offer from their backyards.
It’s against this backdrop that the committee of experts tasked to advise them on strategy and coalition formation frankly informed them that they were bound to fail if they won’t court Raila to join the alliance.
Political analyst Javas Bigambo once opined that none of the OKA principals would beat Ruto even if they were to get the support of the president and the Opposition chief.
“It’s very unlikely that any of those principals (OKA) would beat William Ruto for the presidency, even if they were to be supported by Raila and President Uhuru Kenyatta. The only option to stop DP Ruto is to field Raila Odinga,” said Bigambo.
Similar views were shared by the University of Nairobi Lecturer and political analyst Herman Manyora.
“William Ruto will have a field day if he faces off with any of those OKA principals, that will be like a birthday gift. The only man who can stop Ruto is Raila Odinga, any other option is a field day for Ruto,” Opined Manyora.
With these realities on the wall, Mudavadi’s political future is only guaranteed if he works closely with Raila, a man who has proved to be his long-term friend, associate, and political partner.
