Last Man Standing: Mudavadi Turns Down “Spanner Boy” Offer

Is the Opposition dead? This is the question many Kenyans have been asking for days now given the current moves made by key opposition stakeholders led by Hon. Raila Odinga and Kalonzo Musyoka.

Key Opposition principals have joined President Kenyatta’s camp after the now famous handshake with ANC party boss Musalia Mudavadi and partly Ford Kenya leader Moses Wetangula the only last men standing.

Mudavadi says that he will only be of value to the country by keeping the government in check rather than joining the government by pointing out that he does not want to get gagged.

“You know when you join government, you are gagged. There are things you may not be happy about like soaring public debt, plight of maize and sugar farmers but because of collective responsibility, you cannot freely speak about them,” he said.

Mudavadi has said it is not a crime to be in the opposition.

“People seem to have forgotten that even Uhuru was once an opposition leader. By choosing to remain in the opposition, it does not mean that I am unpatriotic. I’m not disloyal to my country in so doing but keen to provide alternatives to what the government of the day has to offer, this is how we can grow our democracy,” Mr Mudavadi said.

Mr Mudavadi’s remarks come in the backdrop of reports that he had been offered a State job by Mr Kenyatta but turned it down. His recent meeting with Mr David Murathe, Kenyatta’s confidante and vice-chairman of the ruling party, has helped fuel the speculation.

“I have known Murathe since our days in school. We always meet, in fact this was not the first time we were meeting this year. And the President, too, is a friend,” he said.

He also described the current political tranquillity in the country as “a false calm hiding in a devastating storm”.

While appreciating the peace being experienced courtesy of the ‘handshake’, the Amani National Congress leader warns the opposition may be playing in the net of the Jubilee administration.

“The fact that we are being rail-loaded into a single de jure party system at will is worrying. All indication is that this is the bigger picture — kill the Opposition. Secondly, to fiddle around with the notion of removing presidential term limits. The story about amending the executive to make it inclusive is just a smokescreen,” said Mr. Mudavadi.

Mudavadi is seen by many as the only remaining critic of the government as some have even viewed Bungoma senator Moses Wetangula as an being undecided with various reports suggesting that it is only a matter of time before he joins William Ruto’s bandwagon.

Do you think that Mudavadi can perform the opposition’s oversight role diligently?

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