Bumula MP Mwambu Mabonga says divisions among top Luhya leaders will cost them dearly if they want to be in government.
"Other tribes are likely to look for us for a negotiation only if we are united. This issue of people fighting for their own stomachs and leaving others behind will always cost us," the MP said.
Mabonga said Luhya unity has been elusive for too long and it is time the people and leaders got serious about unity
He was speaking at his Mwiyenga village home in Bumula constituency while distributing masks and sanitiser to boda boda riders to combat spread of the coronavirus.
“Two weeks ago, many elected leaders met at Senator Moses Wetang’ula’s Karen home in Nairobi and we chatted about Luhya unity away from the graves of our heroes.
"This is the seriousness we need, a Luhya leader must be at the top of the presidency,” he said.
The lawmaker added, “The divisive politics we are witnessing today among the Luhya leaders is very damaging. There are external forces ensuring Luhyas are not together and not talking and reading from the same script."
The legislator reiterated that Luhyas have become substitutes in every government since Independence and it no longer can be accepted.
Mabonga called on Western region leaders, even if they hold different opinions, to shelve their ambitions and speak in one voice.
He deplored political differences that keep the community apart.
On one side there's Devolution CS Eugene Wamalwa, Cotu secretary general Francis Atwoli and Council of Governors chairman Wycliffe Oparanya. On the other there's ANC leader Musalia Mudavadi and his Ford Kenya counterpart Wetang’ula
Whatever divides the Luhya community is far more costly than what brings it together, the MP said.
“If they are really talking together of Luhya unity, let the two forces unite for us to be listened to by other tribes,” he said.
The lawmaker continued, “Those pro-Raila Odinga and those supporting Deputy President William Ruto mean that within the Luhya community we have not identified the Luhya candidate who can lead us."
Mabonga assured the Luhya community they will continue to meet to identify a candidate who will be mandated to negotiate with others.
He said the Luhya community doesn't want to be spare wheels for ODM, as the community has more votes than the Luos.
He cautioned Luhya leaders against walking alone and purporting to lead them and champion the community.
(Edited by V. Graham)