Ford Kenya party leader Moses Wetangula on Saturday caused a stir at the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) rally in Bukhungu Stadium Kakamega after he turned down an invitation to address the crowd.
Master of Ceremony Cleophas Malala who was the host senator called onto his Bungoma counterpart to take to the podium but Wetangula refused to heed to the call.
“Kwa vigelegele, shangwe na nderemo, ningependa kumwalika ndugu yetu mkubwa hapa Western Moses Masika Wetangula. Wetangula tafadhali….,” Malala called on wetangula.
Malala was forced to swallow a humble pie as Wetangula refused to address the crowd, in what looked like protesting an invitation to speak ahead of governors he considers junior to him politically.
“Unajua mgeni akikija kwako, wewe ndio unakmkaribisha. Na hapa tuna wageni kutoka pembe mablimbali. Ndio maana namkaribisha Wetangula..,” Malala’s plea fell on deaf ears.
Wetngaula however took to the podium moments later to address the crowd after a few speaks had done so, and his message was clear, unity for the Mulembe nation.
“Waluhya….. They have for long disrespected us. Let’s us stand together, nobody will divide us,” Wetangula told a charged crowd before ANC;’s Musalia Mudavadi took to the stage.
The duo had pledged to conduct parallel rallies in Mumias despite police bans, but the duo also graced the Bukhungu Stadium, much to the surprise of the anti-BBI brigade.
The Kakamega BBI rally has been met with opposition from a faction of the ruling class, the Tangatanga wing of Jubilee terming it a political rally that is meant to be used by ODM to create an alliance for 2022 polls.