KILONZI: Mudavadi’s experience a boon to Ruto’s delivery, next government
By Benson Kilonzi.
Those who have closely followed Kenya’s politics since the advent of multi-partyism over three decades ago, will tell you that the Kenya Kwanza Administration is already in the process of forming the 2027 and 2032 Governments.
They will also tell you that Prime Cabinet Secretary and Cabinet Secretary for Foreign and Diaspora Affairs Musalia Mudavadi is deeply immersed in those pivotal arrangements.
President William Ruto’s tour this week of the former Nyanza Province whose political landscape is dictated at the whims of Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) leader and former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, the rapturous reception accorded to the President’s vigorous endorsement of and pledge to campaign for Raila’s bid for the position of Africa Union Commission (AUC) chairmanship and the highly visible central role of Mudavadi in all those activities has everything to do with Ruto’s re-election in 2027 and his succession in 2032, especially after the populous Kikuyu community from Central Kenya who gave Ruto a resounding support in the 2022 abandoned him only one-and-a-half years into his Presidency.
That is how quietly Musalia Mudavadi steps into the circle of action.
On September 27, 2022, President Ruto unveiled to Kenyans his 22-member Cabinet that was vetted and approved by the National Assembly, amid expression of discontent from many quarters.
Nearly two years down the lane, that Cabinet – save for one member who was spared and tasked to run the entire Government – was dissolved and a fresh one was nominated, vetted, approved and appointed.
The new Cabinet has eight new faces, with six of them from the Opposition Orange Democratic Movement (ODM).
Kenyans are waiting with bated breath to see how the recently-constituted Cabinet will perform compared to its lethargy-filled predecessor.
Those who have worked and associated with him for the past three decades say they were not surprised when Mudavadi was not placed on the chopping board like the rest of his colleagues when President Ruto sent his entire Cabinet home.
If anything, what was shocking were the strange calls from certain quarters, especially from Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua’s Mathira backyard, for his removal after the sacking of his ministerial colleagues.
Mudavadi is a tried, tested and reliable bureaucrat with an exemplary record in Public Service, having worked in the regimes of late Presidents Daniel arap Moi and Mwai Kibaki and now under incumbent Ruto.
Mudavadi joined the Cabinet in 1989 at the tender age of 29 years after the demise of his father, Moses Budamba Mudavadi, a stalwart of mammoth influence in his heydays.
Since then, Mudavadi has not disappointed for the 35 years more than three decades he has been in public space. He has served as a Minister in the dockets of Supplies and Marketing, Agriculture , Transport, Finance, Local Government and now Foreign Affairs.
That is in addition to also having served as Vice-President under Moi as well as Deputy Prime Minister under Kibaki.
Like former President, Kibaki, Mudavadi is a firm reformist who does not chest-thump or publicly shout about his achievements.
Indeed, as Finance Minister, Mudavadi successfully negotiated for the resumption of economic aid to Kenya which had been suspended by the country’s development partners citing gross violation of human rights.
It is also to his credit that the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) was created when he was in charge of the Treasury.
As Minister for Transport, Mudavadi liberalised the communications sector, a move that paved way for the creation of some of the country’s major economic players today.
When he was Local Government Minister, Mudavadi successfully mid-wifed the transition to a devolved system of Government that we have today.
Ruto’s reconstructed Cabinet is a steady blend of both young and veteran politicians and professionals whose combination should enable the Head of State to deliver on his election manifesto.
At the age of 58 years, Ruto stands in the middle of a Cabinet that is on one hand very experienced and older than him while on the other a youthful, energetic and highly educated one. That in itself should drive him to have a feel of the nation from all directions of the compass.
Cabinet appointees like Mudavadi, Alice Wahome, Justin Muturi and Wycliffe Oparanya, in addition to Legislature leadership of Moses Wetang’ula and Amason Kingi as Speakers of the National Assembly and Senate respectively – as well as their deputies – points to Ruto’s desire to firmly steer the nation to greater heights minus any room for experimentation.
Harnessing the talents of young leaders like Prof. Kithure Kindiki, Hassan Ali Joho, Kipchumba Murkomen, Dr Deborah Mlongo, John Mbadi, Dr. Alfred Mutua and Eric Muriithi Mugaa is an indication of the President’s determination to prepare the younger generation for national challenges.
Mudavadi’s presence in the Cabinet is particularly of great essence as he brings to the table vast experience and a sense of calmness in the manner of executing pertinent State responsibilities. His mien and demeanour are very re-assuring.
It is no wonder then that Mudavadi has emerged as President William Ruto’s most trusted lieutenant to the extent that the Head of State can task him with managing 22 ministries in an acting capacity for the entire three weeks the Cabinet stood dissolved.
That President Ruto settled on Mudavadi as his preferred choice for position of Prime Cabinet Secretary and Cabinet Secretary for Foreign and Diaspora Affairs speaks volumes about the former long-serving Member of Parliament for Sabatia in Vihiga County.
Ruto has identified him as the first-among-equals in a multi-talented Cabinet. The choice of Mudavadi is a very re-assuring one to the entire nation.
For the many years he has served in government, Mudavadi has demonstrated a sense of calmness, loyalty, adherence to the the rule of law, tremendous respect for his colleagues, both younger and older and an unswerving sense of nationalism.
In all those dockets, he has executed his responsibilities with great dedication and unwavering commitment to service delivery. In picking Mudavadi for that portfolio, President Ruto identified the right man for the right job. It is very unlikely that he will disappoint.
Mudavadi should therefore provide some form of insurance on the performance of Ruto’s government to service delivery, national cohesion, reform agenda and the country’s development.
The teaming up of Ruto and Raila to form the Broad-Based Government is very significant in Kenya’s future political dispensation.
Of greater importance in that development is the presence and crucial role of Mudavadi.
It is no secret that Mudavadi is Ruto’s super ambassador in the Kenyan bid to perch Raila at the African Union Commission as it’s chairperson.
READ ALSO: Musalia Mudavadi urges the EAC to support Raila’s AUC candidature
Mudavadi was Raila’s running-mate in 2007 election whose results were rigged in favour of Tthe then incumbent Mwai Kibaki.
The only other person of influence in that formation was William Ruto, who is now the Fifth President of the Republic of Kenya.
Raila Odinga will soon be heading to the African Union through efforts of Ruto and Mudavadi.
Ruto is already President. That leaves Mudavadi as the remaining pillar from the 2007 Pentagon formation to shepherd the Ruto administration and it’s interests to and beyond 2032, including he himself.
