While growing up, it was common place for the older boys to use the younger ones to get to their beautiful sisters for those who were hunting for estate girlfriends. So it was normal for a small boy to be showered with little gifts like sweets in order for them to take letters to their sisters from the prospective boyfriends.
This would go on and on until the sister says ‘yes’. Then the goodies to the young man would be cut off gradually as the sister graduates from the hunted to a catch. Events over the weekend at the Bomas of Kenya and the preceding activities involving operatives around the Amani National Congress (ANC) and the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) are classical examples of this short illustration.
On Sunday, Kenyans were treated to the official engagement ceremony between Deputy President William Ruto led UDA and Musalia Mudavadi’s ANC at the Bomas of Kenya. Mudavadi starring as the hot estate beauty, Kakamega Senator Cleophas Malala as her younger brother who is happy to serve as the conduit with small goodies in between and of course, the suitor is William Ruto.
It is not easy to analyse the events pre and during the ANC National Delegates Conference without talking about the role of the youthful Kakamega senator, who hopes to succeed governor Wycliffe Oparanya as the CEO of Kakamega County. His role was to pass those little notes, check if it was safe for the two to meet and alert them in case someone was about to catch them. A role he did well, looking at how both UDA and ANC were happy.
Though the Sunday event was billed as an earthquake, it may not have had the intended catastrophic results because there were already signs as to what would be the cause of the earthquake and from what geopolitical direction it would emerge from. So many people knew it would happen and were ready, only waiting to see the extent of damage.
A few hours before the meeting kicked off, Malala while responding to questions from the media did let the cat out of the bag when asked about the people who had been invited to witness the NDC.
“We have only invited our friends, not our competitors. So the people that you will see here today are actually our friends,” he said.
Indeed, soon after, those friends started streaming in, some in very telling attire. One Didimus Barasa, he of Kimilili briskly made his way into the venue in a two colored shirt depicting the party symbols of both UDA and ANC. One side was branded UDA and the other branded ANC. The friends Malala was alluding to were confirming their presence in style.
Others like Nominated Senator Millicent Omanga took to her social media handles in her usual excitement and announced that she would be part and parcel of the earthquake. She confirmed this by the level of human tectonic disruptions she caused when she violently made her way into the auditorium where most of her UDA colleagues had been ushered.
Soon, more than half of the elected leaders at Bomas were UDA Members of Parliament and Senators, outnumbering their host colleagues from ANC by a huge margin. That was the confirmation that the meeting was a UDA/ANC affair.
A quick glance at a few events and pronouncements several days before the NDC, would reveal what was coming ahead on Sunday. The Azimio Bukhungu stadium meeting championed by Kakamega Governor Oparanya and COTU Secretary General Francis Atwoli on January 1, and the parallel meeting hosted by Malala in Mumias provided a sneak preview of this Ruto, Mudavadi political marriage.
True to their demeanor, UDA allied politicians trooped to Mumias in solidarity with Malala who had been on a roll, not missing any available media airtime, to attack Raila Odinga and his Azimio call. And just like yesterday, soon after the UDA walked into the Mumias stadium, their party leader made his way.
In all this, Kakamega senator Cleophas Malala played his role perfectly. He succeeded in making it possible for Mudavadi and Ruto to get into this union, despite some of the very harsh and unkind words that both individuals and their camps have traded against each other. So what are the peremendes that Ruto has been giving Malala to help him woo Mudavadi?
Time will give us the answer to that question, but quick on the cards could be the ticket to fly the flag of whatever outfit this political marriage will into, during the contest for the next governor of Kakamega county.