Malava duo cite Mudavadi again in their office picks
The Co-operative University of Kenya Chancellor Dr Benard Chitunga and Higher Education Principal Secretary Dr. Beatrice Inyangala have once again cited the hand of Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi as the force behind their appointment to the top State dockets they currently hold.
Dr Chitunga and Dr Inyangala, both who hail from Malava constituency in Kakamega county, together with the Principal Secretary for Public Service and Human Capital Development Dr. Jane Kere Imbuya, came out openly on Boxing Day to reveal that it was actually Mudavadi who pushed for their being picked to the senior public positions they occupy today.
Speaking in turns on Friday during the 45th annual Maragoli Cultural Festival at Mbale town in Vihiga county, the trio stated that Mudavadi is the one who personally introduced them to President William Ruto and argued for their case before they were picked to the posts.
Last August, Dr Chitunga and Dr Inyangala made the same disclosure separately to a group of leaders from the 29 clans of the Kabras sub-tribe of the Luhyia in Malava who had paid Mudavadi a courtesy call at his Kenya Railways headquarters offices in Nairobi ahead of the by-election held on November 27 and which was eventually won by immediate former Kabras West Member of County Assembly (MCA) David Ndakwa.
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Dr Inyangala physically attended the function and addressed the elders in person while Dr Chitunga who works in China talked to the delegation via a mobile phone with a volume beamed on a mega loud speaker.
Dr Inyangala and Dr Chitunga are only two of the appointees from Malava in the Ruto administration.
Others include the chairman of the Embu University Council Prof. Philip Kutima, Joseph Ngaira Busiega, the Chief of Staff in Mudavadi’s office, Ms Immaculate Shamala, a board director at the Insurance Regulatory Authority, Simon Muyumba Indimuli, the Secretary of State Corporations Advisory Committee and Joshua Asembo Shitikho, Mudavadi’s personal assistant.
Recently, Ruto appointed his UDA loyalists – Leonard Shimaka, Simon Kangwana and Rhyan Injendi – to plum state jobs.
Save for Kutima who served for two terms as the first Deputy Governor of Kakamega county under current Cabinet Secretary for Co-operatives Wycliffe Ambetsa Oparanya, and Indimulu, the rest were publicly introduced at the cultural function last Friday.
Dr Inyangala unsuccessfully contested in the 2022 General-Election as the running-mate of former area senator Cleophas Malalah for the Kakamega governorship on the ticket of the Amani National Congress (ANC), then an affiliate of the Kenya Kwanza Alliance.
She told the elders that President Ruto did know her prior to her appointment and had it not been for Mudavadi she could not have landed the position she currently holds.
“I thank His Excellency , the Prime Cabinet Secretary, Hon. Musalia Mudavadi for holding my hand. President Ruto did not know me personally. It was Hon. Mudavadi who held my hand and got me appointed to this position I hold today. I would not be where I am today were it not for His Excellency the Prime Cabinet Secretary. He has stood with me all through,” Dr Inyangala told the over 100 elders present.
On his part, Dr. Chitunga, speaking from the Chinese capital, Beijing, thanked the people of Malava for standing with him when he lost his father two months ago and asked them to ensure that Malava experiences tranquility during the forthcoming by-election occasioned by the death of incumbent Member of Parliament Moses Malulu Injendi in February this year.
“I would like to thank His Excellency the Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi for giving me support. I am just a village boy. In fact, His Excellency President William Ruto did not know me. It was Hon. Mudavadi who took me to the President to introduce me to the Head of State and proposed me for the position I now hold as Chancellor of Co-operative University of Kenya. I am a young man whom the President has trusted with this enormous responsibility. I thank the Prime Cabinet Secretary for believing in me and standing with me on this journey. I promise to deliver to my best,” Chitunga stated.
The late Malulu was elected on the ticket of ANC, then headed by Mudavadi as it’s Party Leader.
Upon his appointment to the Cabinet in September 2022, Mudavadi relinquished his party position, to which he was succeeded by Lamu Governor Issa Timamy.
ANC has since folded and merged with Ruto’s UDA where Timamy is a co-Deputy Party Leader
Last Friday in Vihiga, both Dr Chitunga and Dr Inyangala as well as Imbunya heaped praise on Mudavadi, hailing him as a visionary, considerate and reflective leader who espouses tolerance, objectivity, respect and inclusiveness
