Opinion: Is Eugene Wamalwa Jubilee’s Best Bet For Nairobi

By Nicholas Olambo
‘Wamalwa comes across as a sober leader of great character’ reads a section of an article by Chebweche Mabuto in standard newspaper. He/she goes ahead to purport that the CS did not contest the Saboti parliamentary seat in 2013 because he had his eyes on bigger things, he may gun for president one day and Nairobi’s top job sets a perfect stage for him’…… I don’t agree.
Wamalwa may have some big dreams but he lacks the needed courage and aggression to champion his own course. He chose not vie for the Saboti parliamentary seat because he had set his on the presidency when he knew it was not the ripe moment for him, brilliant politicians saw this and duped him into pre-poll pacts shelving his ‘presidential ambitions’ for a speaker job that never came to pass. Wamalwa was an Mp material in 2013, aspiring for presidency was a bite he could not and will not chew.

He may be sober, calm but he is not a go getter. He is an individual who sits back and waits for big wigs’ directive. He has no guts to gun for the Nairobi top job, he makes a good candidate to play a vote spoiler role to block the incumbent and an easy to manipulate governor by the executive. Thanks to the good Lord, he will not make it. You can’t become a Nairobi governor on borrowed ambitions, Wamalwa’s ambitions are not self driven presenting him as an individual who serve the interest of other quarters and not the interest of the great people of Nairobi.

He may be sober, calm but he is not a go getter. He is an individual who sits back and waits for big wigs’ directive. He has no guts to gun for the Nairobi top job, he makes a good candidate to play a vote spoiler role to block the incumbent and an easy to manipulate governor by the executive. Thanks to the good Lord, he will not make it. You can’t become a Nairobi governor on borrowed ambitions, Wamalwa’s ambitions are not self driven presenting him as an individual who serve the interest of other quarters and not the interest of the great people of Nairobi.

Much as Nairobi top job sets a better stage for one to begin their journey to presidency Wamalwa ought to have started from somewhere, bottom, you can’t begin climbing the tree from the top. The individual pushing for his candidacy is plotting to have his tribe’s vote in 2022 should the current deal go sour. Luhya Nation is considerably large enough to craft another ‘tyranny of numbers’ hypothesis with the Rift.

Different places and situations must be faced with well calculated strategies that can handle them. Nairobi for instance is different from Trans Nzoia, Nairobi does not need a near violent type of leader but tough one who will not bend to the demands of the executive and city hall cartels. And whether you like it or not, you need deeper pockets to win this important seat that is a better stage to launch presidential ambitions. The financially limping water CS had to wait to be pushed and even after that pushing he still remains a weak candidate in fast shaping battle to unseat Dr. Evans Kidero from the lucrative seat.