Speaker Moses Wetangula, PCS Wycliffe Musalia Mudavadi, Speaker Amason Jaffer Kingi, and the Sultan of Mombasa Ali Hassan Joho are men in a mission.
The four horsemen are President William Ruto’s mercenaries in a bid for Tutam.
1. Moses Wetangula
Those who have interacted with the National Assembly Speaker describe him as ruthless to the core. Since joining parliament as a KANU nominated MP in 1992, Wetangula has cut a larger-than-life image as a seasoned debater, passionate and very eloquent.
Prior to his nomination, the daredevil young lawyer had represented the 1982 Kenya Airforce coup plotters in an explosive court martial. The system took note and decided to use him in high-profile cases.
When Dr Ouko was murdered in 1990 by agents of the then Moi system, Wetangula was hired to represent the widow, Christabel Ouko.
Lawyers play dual roles. They offer legal services, counsel their clients, and align them to state pendulums in matters of interest. It is believed that Wetangula was paid a tidy sum by state agents to defend this case and many other briefs.
His breakthrough, however, arrived after the death of Vice President Kijana Wamalwa in August 2004. By then he had abandoned KANU for Ford Kenya. He executed a coup in the party, kicked out Musikari Kombo, and installed himself as the King of the Ababukusu.
During the 2013 and 2017 elections, Wetangula auctioned the 500,000 Bukusu votes to Raila Odinga. He later fell out with Raila after being sacked as Senate Minority Leader and replaced with James Orengo. Wetangula promised a noisy divorce with Raila, which he executed by signing a pact with UDA and President Ruto.
It is Wetangula who gave Ruto the swing vote that defeated Raila, Uhuru Kenyatta, and Eugene Wamalwa.
Wetangula boasts of old money. As early as 1985, he drove a brand-new red Citroen, dropping his brother Timothy Wanyonyi, now Westlands MP, to Nairobi School.
Looking ahead to 2027, Wetangula will face off with Eugene Wamalwa and Governor George Natembeya for the Bukusu vote. The Bukusu vote is independent of other Abaluhya and votes as a solid block.
Wetangula has been accused of demeaning the stature of the Speaker of the National Assembly for attending empowerment engagements alongside DP Kithure Kindiki, Kimani Ichungw’a, among others.
In the meantime, Bungoma and Trans Nzoia, his cradle, is boiling nicely against Wetangula two years to the election. Signs of violence are imminent as each of the protagonists has political goons.
Assuming Raila Odinga works with Ruto, Wetangula has a fresh stick to deal with his opponents. Worst case scenario: Wetangula failing to win his Senate seat and the Bukusu vote going to the opposition. Best case scenario: splitting the Bukusu vote in the middle.
Already, Tim Wanyonyi has declared he will contest the Bungoma seat. Tim is a grassroots mobilizer and is a popular figure in Western Kenya.
He belongs to the ODM party. If he contests, he will help UDA to penetrate the volatile county.
Prime CS Musalia Mudavadi
The land economist-turned-politician is a born leader.
The Nairobi Primary, Nairobi School and University of Nairobi alumni was a no-nonsense person during his formative educational years.
During the crackdown on the University of Nairobi students sympathetic to the 1982 coup plotters, he was among those interrogated
Then the political call came in 1989 after the death of his father Moses Mudavadi, Moi’s henchman from Mululu Village in Sabatia
Moi ensured Musalia was elected MP and immediately appointed him to the cabinet at 29 years.
Moi was not done. He appointed Mudavadi to the powerful Ministry of Finance, where Paul Kamlesh Pattni was the substantive boss.
And so Mudavadi’s tenure at Treasury was marred by the Goldenberg and Anglo Leasing scandals. He however, was cleared of any wrongdoing in both scandals.
He holds the record of the shortest-serving Vice President; October 2002 to December 31st, 2002
Mudavadi is also the first sitting VP to lose a Parliamentary seat. He was trounced by Moses Akaranga chiefly because he blindly chose to back Uhuru Kenyatta
Embarrassed, Mudavadi refused to attend a press conference called to concede defeat to NARC’s Mwai Kibaki. Only Ruto (President) showed up.
Fast forward to 2022. Musalia’s political tsunami was to back Ruto against Raila. He vowed to deliver the united Luhya vote through the ANC party.
He failed.
Vihiga Governor is ODM, Sabatia MP too. Ferdinand Barasa is also an ODM Governor.
So what does Musalia Mudavadi bring to Ruto’s table in 2027? Name recognition, good political company but no votes.
Raila Odinga remains a force in Kakamega but Cleophas Malala is on the ascendancy.
Could 2027 signal the end of PCS Mudavadi and the end of Moses Mudamba Mudavadi’s dynasty? Likely, unless he does a real tsunami between now and December 31st, 2025.
The sad part of Mudavadi is that he was once ahead of President Ruto in the political pecking order.
In 2013, the deep state bankrolled him to deny Raila victory by fielding him. He got all the votes in larger Kakamega.
Musalia sometimes cuts the figure of a jinxed politician. In 2012, he was duped by Uhuru Kenyatta and William Ruto into signing a useless document.
UhuRuto drove themselves to Musalia’s Westlands home, took tea, mandazi and Chivas… and told him they would support him should The Hague come for them.
Mudavadi is a likeable politician. But in Kenya, this counts for nothing.
PART 3: Ali Hassan Joho
The self-styled Sultan of Mombasa cut his political teeth in 2004 as Kisauni’s LDP chairman before riding the ODM wave to Parliament in 2007.
His meteoric rise signalled the arrival of a new coastal power broker with national ambitions.
Joho, the political leader of the business cartel that rules Mombasa, is a tough, no-nonsense politician when he believes in a cause.
During his tenure as the first and second Governor of Mombasa, Joho played a key role in mobilising votes for ODM.
He was a fierce critic of UhuRuto, once comparing their leadership to a bus crew of a drunk driver and a pickpocket conductor.
Through his antics and political skills, he has kept Mombasa an ODM bedroom for over 20 years!
When he was appointed to the Cabinet by President Ruto, Joho became an instant defender of UDA. Together with Sports CS Salim Mvurya, they have formed a partnership that could ensure Pwani Arabs, Swahilis, Mijikendas, Taitas, vote for UDA in 2027.
Joho has deep pockets, though much of the wealth is controlled by his brother Abu Joho, the family patriarch who dominates Mombasa and the Coast economy
Joho has fought and won seemingly impossible battles and emerged unscathed. He remains a sure bet for both UDA and ODM
Amason Jeffar Kingi
Amason Jeffa Kingi, the Speaker of the Senate, is politically a lucky person. He was effortlessly elected MP in 2007, exactly ten years after graduating from the University of Nairobi law school.
He later served as a Cabinet Minister during the nusu mkate Government.
When devolution arrived in 2010, he vied for the Governor of Kilifi seat on an ODM ticket and won, later securing re-election in 2017. Then reality struck. Kingi realized his terms as Governor were over, yet he still craved political relevance.
Deploying his resources, he is reputed to be the richest Giriama in East and Central Africa—he founded the Pamoja Africa Alliance (PAA). With PAA in the bank, he struck a pact with then Deputy President William Ruto, which earned him the Senate Speaker position. Fortune seemed firmly on his side.
Once settled, Kingi forged tighter relations with the deep state and the hidden powers around the President. Then came his most dramatic assignment: the political slaughter of Rigathi Gachagua.
Like a surgeon on a mission, Kingi hurried the impeachment process in a manner that would make Pontius Pilate jealous. He concluded the proceedings as Gachagua lay hospitalized, gazetted the outcome at midnight, and carried on as if nothing significant had occurred.
Kingi, however, had little choice. He is bound by an amorphous deal that compels him to take directions from the Executive and its agents.
Now drooling for a second term as Speaker, along with another pension to add to his billionaire status; he is firmly aligned with the President’s Tutam movement and ready to bankroll it.
As the undisputed king of the Giriama and Chonyi communities, with a political network built during his governor days, Kingi remains a valuable asset. In a presidential contest often decided by less than 200,000 votes, he is a star
