Reacting to a possibility of Western Region producing a strong candidate for presidency in 2022, the Central Organisation of Trade Union (COTU) Secretary General Francis Atwoli castigated the leaders for lacking principle and moving around to seek favours from other leaders.
Speaking to Citizen TV on Wednesday night, March 6, Atwoli said he had no respect for leaders who cannot stand up for anything and are only determined to serve their own interests.
“It is better to die a poor man but highly principled…the crop of politicians we have in Western Kenya are not leaders, most of them are beggars…I have no respect for such leaders,” he said.
Atwoli has been critical of the Western leaders and has occasionally openly ruled out a possibility of the region producing a strong candidate with character and financial muscles to run for the presidency in 2022.
In August 2018, he sensationally claimed that no politician from the region could raise KSh 10 billion to vie for presidency.
In January 2019, the tough-taking COTU boss also slammed a section of leaders from his backyard after they paid Deputy President William Ruto a courtesy call in his Sugoi home.
The seemingly agitated Atwoli referred to the leaders as “idiots” who had been misled to seek governance guidance from the DP’s home instead of seeking President Uhuru Kenyatta’s counsel at the State House.
The self-declared Luhya elder, however, still believes not all hope is lost for the Luhya community.
He said he would be assessing performances of the current crop of leaders and whoever would impress the community and pass the vetting process would be announced flag-bearer in 2021 in what he termed the Bukhungu Declaration.