Luhya unity: Mudavadi, Wetangula no longer at ease, rush to meet Western MPs
Politics
By
Ndungu Gachane
| Apr 30, 2026
National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang’ula, Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi and Cabinet Secretary Ministry of Cooperatives and Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) Wycliffe Oparanya on Wednesday met more than 30 MPs from the Western region to strategise on how they will approach next year’s polls.
Their meeting comes at a time when Luhya regional politics is facing a dramatic shift from their grip to ODM Secretary General Edwin Sifuna, whose rallies in the region have attracted massive support from the electorate and the elected leaders.
Trans Nzoia Governor George Natembeya has also, over the last two years, championed his Tawe movement, which is also strongly supported by Kakamega Senator Bonny Khalwale. The two-hour meeting held in Nairobi, where they discussed a wide range of issues such as the ruling UDA’s incursion to their strongholds that threatened their influence and led to their State appointments.
The UDA-ODM broad-based coalition government talks expected in the coming weeks also appear to have created some panic in Mudavadi and Wetangula.
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The duo’s stake in the next government was also on the agenda at the discussion, with the leaders revisiting Mudavadi’s decision to fold his Amani National Congress (ANC) party and donate its officials to the UDA party with the hopes of inheriting the ruling party in the 2032 transitional politics.
Mudavadi had, on June 19, 2024, told the ANC officials that they were only safe in Ruto’s hands and committed that he would not sponsor a candidate against Ruto who published a gazette notice on his job.
“After my moment of meditation, I’m satisfied that with Ruto, you are in safe hands. The alternative would have been to keep quiet and to let you go into wildernesses that would have been highly irresponsible of me. He has not forced it to have a conversation going on,” he said at the time.
Two years down the line, Mudavadi as retraced his footsteps to join hands with Wetangula and Oparanya to demand the Mulembe nation's share in next year’s polls.
The push by President William Ruto for Wetangula’s Ford Kenya to join UDA was raised in the meeting.
The MPs raised concerns about why the Head of State was keen on folding the parties that formed the Kenya Kwanza administration from the region, yet was quick to recognise the ODM party as an equal in next year’s pre-election talks.
Sources said the leaders discussed how best they would rally together to establish a structured pre-election negotiation with Ruto as they plan to table their irreducible minimums before they support his reelection bid.
“Most of the leaders felt Ruto was considering the Western region as his stronghold while considering ODM as an equal partner ahead of next year’s polls, there are those who mooted for a one united political vehicle, while others suggested more consultations,” a source who attended the meeting said. The Luhya leaders, another source said, were apprehensive that ODM was loud on its demands with President Ruto and had gone ahead to demand the Deputy President and Speaker posts, a move that threatens both Wetangula and Mudavadi’s relevance in Ruto’s political arithmetic.
“Proposals to go back to the people and conduct civic engagements were placed on the table as the three leaders urged to come out and publicly speak about what the region would demand of the President in case he wants the region to back his re-election bid,” an MP who attended the forum said.
The meeting maintained that they would be keen on demanding the Deputy President and the Speaker position, a move that will put Ruto into political conundrum as the two positions have been demanded by the ODM party.
Four days ago, Homa Bay Governor Gladys Wanga suggested that their talks with UDA should be based on equal partnership, insisting that positions must be shared equally.
“If we enter talks, we will enter as equal partners. Everything must be put on the table.If they have the President, ODM will have the Deputy President,” Wanga said.