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Sibling rivalry rocks Kenya Kwanza as Boni Khalwale accuses Mudavadi, Wetangula of undermining him

By Mercy Simiyu November 12th, 2022 2 min read

Kakamega Senator Boni Khalwale has sensationally accused Kenya Kwanza principals Musalia Mudavadi and Moses Wetangula of elbowing him out of the race to become Kakamega governor in the August 2022 polls.

Speaking at the Bungoma Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) offices where he had accompanied the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) senatorial aspirant Mwambu Mabonga to present his nomination papers, Khalwale accused the two politicians of undermining him in the region.

“Mudavadi and Wetangula said they needed a young man (read Malala) to become Kakamega governor, I asked them are you sure? Do you know Kakamega well? They said yes, so I left for them that seat and contested for Senator. I convincingly won the Senate seat but did that young man win the governor?” he posed.

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A seasoned politician who served as Ikolomani lawmaker for close to two decades, Khalwale unsuccessfully contested for the Kakamega gubernatorial seat in 2017 and lost to Wycliffe Oparanya.

He intended to give it a second shot in 2022 and even rolled out his campaign only to be stopped in his tracks when President William Ruto asked him to step down in favour of Cleophas Malala in a negotiated democracy format within the coalition.

Khalwale won the senatorial seat but Malala lost to Orange Democratic Movement’s (ODM) Fernandes Barasa.

Khalwale has also challenged Wetangula to support (UDA) candidate in the Bungoma Senator by-elections.

“I want to tell Wetangula you only have five MPs in Parliament. UDA has 145. The UDA lawmakers rallied to vote for you as National Assembly Speaker against stiff opposition from Azimio. Please let UDA have this seat. You are now a big man and should concentrate on getting the presidency when Ruto retires.”

The IEBC has primed announced December 8, as the date for Bungoma senate by-election.

The Bungoma senate seat fell vacant following Wetangula’s election as National Assembly speaker.

He had retained his seat for a third term

Other senatorial aspirants in the race include Wafula Wakoli (Ford Kenya), Robert Sifuna (The Roots party), Elias Sikuku (Peoples Empowerment party), Wafula Wamunyinyi (Azimio la Umoja One Kenya) and Geoffrey Wanyonyi (NOPEU-P).