Top ranking political leaders from the Luhya land have sent strong warnings to Azimio La Umoja One Kenya Coalition presidential candidate Raila Odinga to respect the community and its leadership.
In a statement signed by ANC leader Musalia Mudavadi, Ford Kenya’s Moses Wetangula, Mumias East MP Benjamin Washiali and Hon. Ababu Namwamba, the Luhya kingpins warned Odinga against his obsession to hate, isolate, discriminate, demean and frustrate leaders from the Luhya community.
Commonly referred to as the Mulembe nation, the community has backed Odinga in all his previous attempts at presidency to an extent that he mockingly claimed to be more of a Mulembe breed than the native women and men.
Odinga has used the community’s strong electoral numbers to negotiate entry into governments after every election circle but once in power, he has always treated the community and its leadership with little regard.
Even after the infamous handshake in 2018 with President Uhuru Kenyatta, Odinga turned his back on the community and his NASA partners. He did not share the dividends and the spoils with the community but only concentrated in his Nyanza backyard.
Kisumu County benefited through completion of mega development projects including the expansion of the Airport, constructions of highways and rehabilitation of the Kisumu Port.
Odinga’s home county of Siaya also had three of its natives appointed to the cabinet at the expense of Mulembe nation which got nothing from the ODM leader.
STATEMENT BY MULEMBE NATION ON THE DIABOLIC CONSPIRACIES OF RAILA ODINGA AGAINST THE COMMUNITY. pic.twitter.com/59vs4WATw8
— ANC PARTY (@anc_party) June 20, 2022
He also turned a blind eye on the community as he dished out plum positions in all levels of government to his tribesmen as he embarked on killing NASA coalition to bar Musalia Mudavadi from rising to presidency.
Odinga’s demeanor of the community’s leadership traces back to 1995 when he unleashed his signature violence on the late Kijana Wamalwa at a meeting in Thika as he attempted to snatch the Ford-K party from him.
But as he began killing NASA, Odinga instructed his ODM army to uproot Hon. Moses Wetangula from the position of Minority Leader at the senate despite the NASA agreement apportioning the position to the Bungoma Senator.
He also removed Chris Wamalwa as the Deputy Minority Leader in the National Assembly and Cleophas Malala as the Deputy Minority Leader in the senate. Benjamin Washiali was also kicked out as Majority Chief Whip at Odinga’s instigation.
Recently, Raila Odinga denied Tim Wanyonyi an ODM ticket to vie for Nairobi gubernatorial position after he was coerced by his Jubilee sponsors to force Wanyonyi to shelve his bid in favor of Polycarp Igathe.
And Odinga was still part of the team that plotted futile schemes to bar Nairobi Senator Johnson Sakaja from vying for Nairobi top seat to hand Igathe an easy win.
The community has now charted a different political path in the run up to August 9 polls.
Odinga is now referring to Mulembe leaders as criminals but they have warned him that they can’t be toyed anymore and he will never cheat the community again.
