By James Wafula in Nairobi.
The usually composed ANC leader and One Kenya Alliance co-principal Musalia Mudavadi is a man who rarely loses his cool in public.
Speaking in slow, modest tones, Mudavadi “Macharia” is always the voice of moderation and sobriety.
But he appeared to lose his temper at President Uhuru Kenyatta’s latest campaign for former Prime Minister Raila Odinga.
Kenyatta, 61, was speaking at a National Youth Service pass-out parade in Gilgil where he told “young men” to stop running too fast because 2022 is a “marathon”!
He claimed “older runners” (read Odinga) would overtake the younger runners likely to run out of steam before the end of the race.
Odinga at 77 is the oldest presidential aspirant in the 2022 race and possibly the oldest in East and central Africa.
Uhuru was clearly taunting Raila’s main challenger Deputy President William Ruto, 56. Mudavadi is 61, Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka, 71, Gideon Moi (KANU) 60 and Ford Kenya’s Moses Wetangula 63.
Mudavadi told off the president for constantly rooting for Odinga saying Kenyans must be left alone to elect their fifth president.
The ANC leader who was Odinga’s running-mate in 2017 has vowed to go all the way to the ballot in 2022.
This is despite pressure from state house that OKA backs Odinga for “one term” with KANU’s Gideon Moi widely perceived to have already boarded the Raila train.
At one time an angry Mudavadi asked the President to stop the “midnight” phone calls pushing for OKA to back Raila.
Mudavadi’s reaction lately is the strongest sign yet that he is not ready to board the Odinga steamship again.
The former NASA 2017 kingpins accused Odinga of betrayal at the 2018 January 31 “illegal swearing in” and later March 9 2018 handshake truce with Kenyatta.
But OKA remains stalled over its presidential flag-bearer and many are now waiting to see what happens as the deadline of December 26 draws near■
