Former Kakamega Senator, Boni Khalwale, Wednesday threw the team tangatanga bandwagon into a fit of confusion, after revealing that the faction planned to proceed with its previously cancelled rally at Nabongo Grounds, in Mumias.
This came just hours after politicians allied to Deputy President William Ruto announced that they would, going forward, join ODM leader Raila Odinga in his BBI consultative forums across the country.
The entourage heads to Mombasa County on Saturday, the day on which Khalwale and his team have also slated their ‘Western Economic Forum’.
Sharing a police permit for the meeting on social media, the controversial politician vowed that the Tangatanga brigade would remain unbowed, despite the fact that odds are increasingly playing against their favour as political temperatures in the country rise.
Despite the violent, brutal & uncouth disruption of the Western Economic Forum on 18/01/20, we remain unbowed. We will reconvene at the same Nabongo Grounds on 25/01/20. Our economy remains our priority. pic.twitter.com/WnNwVvtxYU
— Dr Boni Khalwale, CBS (@KBonimtetezi) January 22, 2020
On Saturday, Khalwale and other DP Ruto die-hards were teargassed by police when they attempted to defy the cancellation order on their Nabongo meeting.
In an interesting twist of events, ANC leader Musalia Mudavadi and Bungoma Senator Moses Wetangula ended up attending Raila’s rally at Bukhungu Grounds on the same day, despite having been the convenors of the flopped Nabongo parallel meeting.
In their press conference on Tuesday, the Tangatanga faction explained that their move to join the BBI movement was fuelled by their desire to participate in the process and to ensure that objectivity is maintained.
Ruto and his camp have, since the advent of the BBI, been heavy critics of the process, which they view as a political stepping-stone for Raila, who is prospected to be on the 2022 presidential ballot.
According to them, the planned BBI consultative forums are actually a subtle campaign forum for the former Prime Minister.