Leaders from the recently recently formed Kenya Kwanza Alliance were this weekend crowned as Mijikenda Elders in Kwale County.
During the event organized by the Kaya Council of elders, Deputy President William Ruto and his co-principals Moses Wetangula and Musalia Mudavadi were officially granted some of the community’s most respected names.
The United Democratic Alliance (UDA) party leader was given a Digo nickname “Bilashaka” which translated into simple Swahili means ‘no doubt’.
His counterpart from the FORD Kenya party, Moses Wetangula, was named after “Mbodze Mbodze”.
As per the locals, Mbodze and Matsedzi are names of respected ancestors in the Mijikenda history who are believed to be the first people who gave birth to th community.
The name is also commonly proffered to a tree whose leaves fold when touched.
Recently dethroned Luhya Kingpin Musalia Mudavadi was accorded “Mwamgunga” who is said to have been a prominent leader of the post-colonial past.
After the unofficial coronation, prayers were conducted on the three politicians who were dressed in the popular Kaya traditional attire that includes a red hat with a free black tail hanging on the sideways, covered with black pieces of clothes on the lower side.
