Musalia lying on visa cancellation claims, says ODM Secretary General Sifuna

ODM Secretary-General Edwin Sifuna addresses the press at ODM house on the National Prayer Day. Sifuna has bashed ANC leader Musalia Mudavadi over his claims that Handshake was inspired by visa cancellation threats from Western countries. [George Njunge/Standard]

ODM Party Secretary-General Edwin Sifuna has rubbished claims by ANC Party leader Musalia Mudavadi that Handshake between President Uhuru Kenyatta and ODM leader Raila Odinga was conceived after foreign blackmails.

While addressing Kenyans in the diaspora, in a meeting at Muungano SDA Church in New Jersey in the USA; Musalia lifted the lead with new claims castigating the genesis of Uhuru-Raila truce.

He claimed that Uhuru and Raila only committed to a ceasefire after they were threatened with Visa cancellation from Western countries.

“The secret is that slowly Visas were being cancelled. And when Visas are cancelled, they don’t just cancel yours alone. They cancel yours, that of your wife, children and relatives,” he said.  

 He swore that his claims were truthful and went on to say: “I want you to go home knowing that I, Musalia, do not believe in cheating you. I believe in telling you the truth. So what gave birth to handshake is personal survival rather than patriotism.”

He, however, was not categorical on the countries that threatened President Uhuru and former PM Odinga to make up.

But hours after that, Mr Sifuna on Thursday blasted him for what he termed as propagating lies to seek rather elusive relevance.

Sifuna gave another twist by asserting that pressure from the diplomatic circles was to try and stop Mr Odinga’s mock-swearing-in at Uhuru Park and had nothing to do with the Handshake.

“Mudavadi is lying. The pressure from the diplomatic corps was applied to try and stop the swearing-in of the People's President. It is, in fact, the reason "internationally renowned" diplomats/former foreign ministers failed to show up at Uhuru Park. They bowed to foreign pressure.”

The Orange Democratic Movement party also issued a statement bashing the ANC party boss for giving conflicting statements.

The ODM party said that Musalia had earlier claimed that he and Ford Kenya leader Moses Wetang’ula and Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka only learnt of Handshake through the media. And that the new narrative only shows his flip-flopping tongue.

The Orange party has attacked Musalia for back-tracking on the 2018 swearing-in just three days he after pledged his support for the exercise in a rally in Homa Bay County.

A statement from the party partly reads: “At the last minute, he is known to have switched off his phone, possibly to have it "woken up" by a Nigerian line later, and disappeared from his colleagues.”

“In subsequent years, Mr Mudavadi has perfected the philosophy of the so-called safe hands, waiting like the proverbial hyena who waited for a man's hands to fall,” it adds.

Comeback?

Hours later, ANC Party issued a quick response affirming the party’s position saying that it stands with Mr Mudavadi’s statements.

The statement signed by the Secretary-General Barrack Muluka states that ANC will not be drawn into verbal fights with ODM.

“We instead stand firmly with our Party Leader, Hon. Musalia Mudavadi, EGH. We reaffirm the veracity of his words on the so-called “swearing-in” of Raila Odinga and the handshake,” reads the statement from ANC.

It has further stated that Odinga's behaviour prior to the Handshake were laden with uncertainties, to the point that one can question whether he had the interest of the country.

The statement further reads: “It is not lost upon Kenyans that a gentleman who “boldly” swore himself in as “President,” in the style of Napoleon Bonaparte and Jean-Bedel Bokassa, moved swiftly and mysteriously to surrender in Harambee House and to suddenly cast himself in the role of a votary of peace.”

“ The world will want to ask; what moment of epiphany did he suddenly encounter? When did he see the light on his dark road to Damascus?”