Why Ababu Namwamba is too 'delicate' to dump

Kenya: Vocal Budalang’i MP Ababu Namwamba is like the proverbial gadfly, whizzing disturbingly in the face of Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party leader Raila Odinga.

Now Raila and the ODM party are agonising over the delicate task of thwarting his upsetting movements.

The former Prime Minister and his backers may be stung by Ababu’s alleged remarks to the effect that ‘he lacks moral authority to spearhead the referendum push before fixing his ODM party’s botched polls’, but Raila has to react cautiously. Otherwise responding to the insect bite with a hammer will only deface him severely.

Describing Ababu as a smart politician who knows how and when to touch the ‘right buttons’, Prof Amukowa Anangwe, political analyst, points out that when one engages in a fight, he or she must pick the one weapon that is most effective. In this case, he observes, Ababu opted to whip up the tribal card ‘which is working very well’.

Identity crisis

“What he is saying resonates quite well with our people,” explains Anangwe, a former Cabinet minister and MP for Butere consituency. Anangwe adds, “There is a collective identity crisis in Luhya land where people feel they are not getting their rightful political share and feel they are being denied access to power by both CORD and Jubilee leadership.”

And for his calculated and timely remarks, Ababu has easily won the support of leaders from his Western  backyard, including non-ODM legislators, who do not necessarily approve of him as political leader of the Luhya.

United Democratic Forum, allied Lugari MP Ayub Savula, for instance, is impressed by Ababu’s fearlessness and ability to stand up for the interests of the Luhya community.

Savula now wants all political bigwigs from the community, including former Deputy Prime Minister Musalia Mudavadi, Senate Minority Leader Moses Wetang’ula and former Cabinet minister Eugene Wamalwa to join forces and identify one among them to run for presidency in the next election.

With CORD co-principal Wetangu’la as the senior most politician within the Opposition coalition in western Kenya and Kakamega County Senator Bonny Khalwalwe’s political star rising fast, Ababu may also be getting crowded out. His bold attack on Raila may, therefore, be because he is looking for a political home outside ODM and CORD.

And for hiding among his community, Raila finds it hard to isolate Ababu for punishment. In navigating through weighty challenges of life, Ababu says he draws his strength from respected American essayist and poet, RalphWaldo Emerson’s famous quote: “Do not go where the path leads, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail”.

 

Many are in agreement that this particular path, of openly confronting Raila while maintaining his loyalty remains unwavering and is a completely new one. Contacted by The Standard On Sunday over the same, Ababu promised to revert, but by the time of going to the press he had not come through.

In an earlier related interview, the Budalang’i MP told this writer that his push for the post of ODM Secretary General was persuaded by the fact that “I have been a fearless, loyal and consistent warrior for ODM since it was forged from the furnace of the November 2005 constitutional referendum.

Extremely suspicious

Ababu maintains he has lived the ODM soul and story, “I know the Orange story intimately, and I can tell it with passion, valour and honour.”

But while his supporters are in agreement about his sentiments on ODM polls, some find the timing– when CORD is spearheading the referendum push – extremely suspicious. Already a section of MPs from the Orange party have accused him of deliberately aiding Jubilee rivals to scuttle to referendum campaign.

“Different interpretations of Ababu’s move are plausible. One is that, may be amekula kitu (has been bribed) to stoke up the embers within ODM to frustrate calls for referendum,” offers Anangwe.

It has not helped the MP’s case either, following the excitement with which his latest move has been received in President Uhuru Kenyatta’s side of the coalition. In fact Mbita MP Millie Odhiambo has openly wondered why his ODM colleague ‘has suddenly become a celebrity’ among TNA and URP-allied parliamentary rivals.

Alternatively, says Anangwe, the MP simply wants his party boss to be honest by doing first things first, in which case he should resolve the issue of the botched ODM polls before thinking of another poll.

Noting that Raila opted to gloss over Orange polls issue upon his return from a two-month sojourn in the US, and prioritised the cause for dialogue and referendum, Anangwe observes that Ababu may be genuinely feeling frustrated.

“You may call him politically selfish, but having gone through a rigorous and expensive campaign where he was the outright favourite for the Secretary General’s seat, Ababu has a point here. And this is a path many ambitious politicians within ODM, including Deputy President William Ruto, have walked,” says Anangwe, who teaches at University of Dodoma, Tanzania.

Although he shines at the national platform, Ababu does not sit pretty in his Budalang’i parliamentary seat. Budalang’i, Busia County, shares a border with Raila’s home constituency of Bondo on the shores of Lake Victoria, meaning there are a considerable number of members of the Luo community.

 

Ababu’s perpetual challenger and former area MP, Raphael Wanjala, has repeatedly claimed he has twice lost out to the ODM MP owing to an influx of voters from Bondo. Similarly, there are pockets of fishing communities from Bondo and Alego-Usonga constituencies who reside and vote in Budalang’i

“From historical records, there is a substantial population of the Luo in Budalang’i and indeed the rest of Busia County. Similarly most of the Luhya clans in the region have Luo roots, and coupled with intermarriages, the political DNA of the people of Budalang'i is similar. This means Raila may still be a strong factor in Budalang’i politics,” observes Anangwe.

If he has to break away from Raila, Anangwe observes that Ababu must work extremely hard including using lots of money. According to Anangwe, this is still possible depending on other factors at play

A close ally of the former PM divulged to The Standard On Sunday that Raila was deeply saddened by the latest developments. Noting that he has nurtured Ababu’s political career, sometimes at the expense of losing political support of other players, our contact singles out several favours including fronting for Ababu’s appointment as ODM Parliamentary Group spokesperson, when he was just first-term MP.

“Besides the various slots in House committees, Raila also appointed him to the Cabinet, against political logic, at a time when Busia County already had another minister (Funyula MP, Dr Paul Otuoma). In the process he denied the larger Bungoma and Vihiga (after Musalia relinquished his ministerial post) counties in his western stronghold ‘the flag’, a matter that led to protests and even defections of some like, then Webuye MP, Alfred Sambu,” says the source.

According to the source, and indeed a host of MPs within ODM, there is no denying that the indefatigable Ababu is as a major political asset – thanks to his oratory skills, fighting spirit within and outside Parliament and spirited defence for Raila and the Opposition.

His only scar is his apparent political dalliance with the DP – who is allegedly funding his political activities. Asked about his closeness to Ruto, Ababu reacted: “All of us, who have been in ODM since its founding have a shared history with the DP. My relationship with him today is that he is in Government and I am in Opposition. I will do everything possible to turn tables on him.”

His presumed weaknesses notwithstanding, one cannot underestimate Namwamba’s ability to light up a fire in ODM and CORD. This explains why Raila is at a loss and why he won’t sever links with the eloquent legislator, just yet.