MUSALIA MUDAVADI: A sad story of demons and absent father.

The sad story starts at Mululu Village in the present Vihiga County. The year is 1989 and there is an air of premonition hanging across the country. Just two years ago Hezekiah Rabala Ochuka had been hanged after being convicted of treason charges. The hanging of the guy who had dethroned Moi for a total of six hours has not sated the president’s quest for blood. Politicians like Raila and Orengo are being harassed. Moi himself is not having an easy time ruling, Matiba, Oginga and company are pressuring for the return of multi party politics.

Moi gets a blow when his key lieutenant passes on. The guy who had helped him tame Luhya land. Moses Mudavadi the MP for Sabatia Constituency. Moses Mudavadi is rumored to have introduced President Moi to politics. He was able to persuade Moi to leave teaching career and join colonial politics where he became a member of Legco.

History has painted Moi as a made who liked making quick decisions. Perhaps that would explain why he moved so swiftly to fill the gap left by Moses Mudavadi. As gods would have it, Moses Mudavadi was blessed with a chubby sweet little boy whom he named Musalia. Although he did not grow near his kind – the Kanu boys: Uhuru, Gideon … – playing at the lawns of State House, Musalia was brought up with all the trappings of power. He was groomed from a young age to take his position at the table when the fathers exited the stage and Kanu Boys given the mantle to run the vast land named Kenya.

What started as a normal day at the University of Nairobi would change the destiny of this young man forever and with it the fate of Mulembe nation. Moi plucked Musalia Mudavadi out of classroom and told him in no uncertain terms that he had to man up and lead his community. In a submissive voice that might characterize the young man, Musalia would meekly say, “Yes rais mtukufu”. The yes is all that mattered. Musalia did not have to worry about campaigning. At the tender age of 28 years, Musalia Mudavadi would represent the people of Sabatia at the Kenyan Parliament as well as symbolically carry the hopes of Luhya community.

With an absent father, Musalia would find a father figure in President Moi. In his first appearance as a member of parliament, Musalia Mudavadi would be named as the Minister of Supplies and Marketing making history as one of the youngest ministers in Kenyan history. As long as Moi was head of this nation, he made sure Musalia never lacked. Four years after joining politics, Musalia would be promoted and given the powerful docket of Finance. In the twilight years of Moi presidency, Musalia would be made Minister of Information, Transport and Communication.

Heading 2002, politicians started to leave KANU en masse. A wave of revolution was brewing in the country. George Saitoti a long serving vice president would angrily walk out of the government after being bypassed in the succession plan. Moi would have to look for a replacement. The young boy he had plucked from university and adopted as a son would be made the Vice President. For a few months Musalia Mudavadi would be the second in command.

The three months Musalia served as the vice president would make him lose his seat in the 2002 elections. He would go on to spend five long years outside the corridors of power. The first in his adult life. Heading 2007 he would team up with Raila and others to form the Pentagon. He would be rewarded for his loyalty by being given a deputy prime minister position.

Raila was never part of the Kanu Boys, just a black boy with a rich father who bought a house in a white neighborhood. It did not matter that he was a nerd and athletic. He was subjected to racism. Kanu Boys would play ball with him at the park but whenever he suggested he be made captain they would remind him he did not belong. Unlike Ruto who was made a Consigliere, Raila was never given a deep role in the family. That’s how Uhuru came for Musalia in 2013. He was reminded he was a Kanu Boy. He was reminded about loyalty to the family and when he questioned of the years he was neglected, Uhuru promised him the presidency. With that promise, Mudavadi betrayed Raila and changed camp.

Together with Uhuru, Musalia would sign a deal making him the flag bearer. Uhuru would go back on his promise and become the TNA flagbearer. When asked, President Kenyatta would say, “He (devil) came to me and told me that if we are elected, the West will not give Kenya money; that our tea can’t be sold abroad and that Kenyans are not ready for another Kikuyu president as this will cause more bloodshed. Given that I love peace, then I decided to quit and support Musalia.”

It was a master stroke from the president. There was no way Musalia would go back to Raila. Musalia took the betrayal personally and decided to run on his own. He would fail miserably as President Uhuru cruised to an easy win. Not only would he win the presidency but he would also have majority numbers in both houses and county administration.

Moi had a lot of sons. Boys he mentored to become men. He would teach them political survival to be applied long after he was gone. It is not known whether Moi gave President Uhuru after class tuition or that Uhuru was the brightest of the lot. Where others have faltered, President Kenyatta has rose to shine and it is no coincidence that as his political term nears the end it is shining more than ever.