Mudavadi: Winning presidency not a walk in the park

Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi has told those who think they can easily beat President William Ruto that they will be surprised by the realities on the ground.

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Mudavadi said it takes more to become president than the sloganeering often used in politics during campaigns.

Speaking in Butula Constituency, Busia County on Sunday, where he met UDA grassroots leaders from the county, Mudavadi told the opposition that winning the presidency is not a walk in the park.

“People are busy dancing on top of podiums and engaging in sloganeering thinking that reflects winning the presidency. It takes more; it calls for well-crafted policies, an agenda and benchmarking on one’s track record to convince the voters to elect you,” Mudavadi said.

“The team that is busy moving from one county to another – today they are seen dancing in Busia, tomorrow they are busy in Kakamega, the following day you meet them in Trans Nzoia and then Vihiga and Bungoma, thinking they have won the presidency. I want to tell them they are only practising to keep fit. They are much further away from the realities of winning the Presidency,” he added.

The Prime CS noted that President Ruto has done a lot for the country and that his re-election is guaranteed by his popularity, which is pegged on progressive policies, a development track record and the unity of the nation.

He cautioned against those trying to divide the country on the basis of ethnic pronouncements and propaganda to deceive Kenyans that Ruto’s administration has not kept its promises.

He lashed out at the opposition wing in the Western Kenya region, which is boasting of moving around five counties in the region as an indicator that it has a grip on the presidency.

“Constitutionally under the provisions of article 138 a candidate shall be declared elected as President if the candidate receives more than half of all the votes cast in the election and at least twenty-five per cent of the votes cast in each of more than half of the counties which is 24 counties of the 47 counties.” Mudavadi explained.

He said the unity between UDA and ODM under the Broad-Based Government arrangement is the winning formula for the 2027 presidential election. He revealed that the President will chair a joint UDA-ODM parliamentary meeting in Naivasha on Monday to craft a new roadmap for the future of the nation before and after the 2027 General Election.

“We are convening as broad-based leadership both in the executive and in the two houses of parliament. Our governors will also be part of this crucial meeting to be chaired by President Ruto. Our main agenda among others is to harmonise our manifestos, which borrowed a lot from each other pre-2022 elections. We want to plan ahead and focus on the future of our nation.” Mudavadi added.

“When Kenya Kwanza won, we didn’t push the opposition then led by ODM as the majority party away. We embraced them and brought them onboard under the leadership of the late Rt Hon. Raila Odinga to form a united front under broad-based. We were not selfish with the leadership of our nation. We wanted unity of purpose.” Mudavadi explained.

Mudavadi challenged the opposition to reflect on the numbers that the leading presidential candidates, William Ruto and Raila Odinga, garnered in the 2022 General Election and think of the results the unity between UDA and ODM will produce in the August 2027 polls.

He said the next General Election will shock many by the margin by which President Ruto will win.

“Take Ruto’s 7,176,141 (50.49 per cent) votes and Odinga’s 6,942,930 votes (48.85 per cent), then look at the current broad-based arrangement. Even if you take away 3 million votes from that total, and give the numbers to the opposition, will this change anything?” Mudavadi remarked.

The Prime CS emphasised that President William Ruto will secure a fair, transparent and petition-free victory in the 2027 General Election through the democratic will of the people.

Calling on Kenyans to turn out in large numbers in August 2027 and vote for Ruto’s second term, he challenged the youth in Busia to register as voters to boost Ruto’s numbers.

“When we talk of two-term, let us also emphasis on a petition free win for President Ruto. Raundi hii ni two term bila petition, two term bila petition" Mudavadi emphasised.

He said those who want to reverse the policies that have been laid by the Kenya Kwanza administration and are being supported by the Broad-Based Government do not mean well for the country.

“When you say you will reverse the policies that have led to the employment of an additional more than 76,000 teachers, the progress within the affordable housing programme, the gains in the health sector, the construction of roads and markets among other gains, what is your agenda for the future of this country? People want to come to Busia and tell you that they want to reverse the construction of Dykes at Budalangi and the removal of inter-boarder trade barriers between Kenya and Uganda. Are they meaning well for the people of Busia and Kenya?” Mudavadi regretted.

The Prime CS said the dualling of the Rironi-Mau Summit Road is targeted to reach Malaba, as is the extension of the Standard Gauge Railway from Naivasha through Narok and Kisumu, which is targeting to link Kenya to Uganda through Malaba.

Mudavadi said these are some of the flagship projects that will open up the Western Kenya counties, including Busia. He told the people of Busia to reflect on such projects and give Ruto a second term.

“We want to correct the mistakes that have been there during the previous regimes. Our people have been taking between 7 and 8 hours from Nairobi to Western Kenya counties. Now we want to change that. We want our traders and farmers to get their products for export at the port of Mombasa faster through the SGR," Mudavadi said.

"For over 63 years we have had policies that have affected our cross-border trade and we want to change. Our people in the border counties, including Busia must benefit from these arrangements, and we need to always remember that Uganda is our biggest trading partner within the East African Region.”

Mudavadi was accompanied by Busia Governor Paul Otuoma, Bungoma Governor Ken Lusaka, Kakamega Deputy Governor Ayub Savula, and MPs Mary Emase, John Waluke, Fred Ikana, David Ndakwa and Dan Wanyama.

Others were former MPs Sakwa Bunyasi and Alfred Agoi, Petronillah Were, the Deputy Head of Mission at the Kenyan Embassy in Addis Ababa, and Kelvin Lunani, UDA’s National Vice-Chair.