ANC Party leader Musalia Mudavadi has linked ODM's Raila Odinga to the scheme to remove Ford Kenya boss Moses Wetang'ula.
Mudavadi said in a statement that Wetangula's removal was preceded by meetings between some Ford Kenya members, Raila and Cotu secretary general Francis Atwoli.
The agenda of the secret meetings, he said, was to strip Wetang'ula of Ford Kenya top job.
The decision to remove Wetang'ula was arrived at Sunday after the party’s special National Executivetive Council meeting at Nairobi's Radisson Blu Hotel.
The party’s NEC accused Wetangula of gross misconduct and failing to champion unity in the party. He was replaced by Kanduyi MP Wafula Wamunyinyi.
But minutes after his removal, Wetangula called a media briefing at the party headquarters to condemn what he described as a coup in Ford Kenya.
In his statement, Mudavadi said the coup was externally sponsored mischief and that a Nasa party leader had sponsored the meetings to install a puppet he can manipulate.
“I am aware that this mischief has been in the making for some time now. It is calculated to invade and destabilise all independent-minded political parties.
“ The mischief has been escalated at a number of meetings led by the leader of a NASA member party, whose objective is to destroy and dominate everyone politically,” Mudavadi said in an apparent reference to Raila.
He said Raila was aided by Atwoli in the nefarious plot.
“This ugly ploy reminds us of the Watergate scandal of June 1972, when the leader of a political party in the United States invaded another party in the manner that we are now witnessing in Kenya,” he said.
In his press conference, Wetang'ula said the coup in Ford Kenya could be traced to the Friday’s Luhya meeting at Atwoli’s Kajiado home.
“It is no coincidence that you saw Eseli [Tongaren MP Eseli Simiyu], Wamunyinyi [Kanduyi MP Wafula Wamunyinyi] and Bungoma Governor Wycliffe Wangamati in Kajiado. It does not need rocket science to trace it back there,” Wetang’ula said.
But ODM chairman John Mbadi dismissed Mudavadi's claims that his party has played a role in the squabbles that have rocked Ford Kenya.
“Ford Kenya leadership is fighting their shadows. Mudavadi does not know where he wants to be and is completely confused in my view,” he said.
Mbadi said ODM was busy running its affairs and cannot get involved in “nursery school politics”.
“If anything, we might only be interested in the Jubilee Party. How do you expect a giant party like ODM to be interested in developments in Ford Kenya? Wetang’ula has a problem running his party. Ford Kenya is a confused party,” he said.
Mbadi said Ford Kenya and ANC exist only on paper and have no grassroots support.
Atwoli distanced himself from the squabbles in Ford Kenya. He said there is no way he can support Luhya unity while dividing parties.
“I am above party politics. Musalia is my friend. If it was not for Cotu secretary general, Francis Atwoli, Musalia would not be the Luhya spokesperson.
“I am not responsible for what is happening in Ford Kenya and I will not be responsible for what will happen in ANC,” Atwoli said.
Eseli, the Ford Kenya secretary general said claims that he was used by outsiders to oust his party boss are the "kicks of a dying horse".
A faction of Ford Kenya members led by Simiyu and Wangamati convened the special NEC meeting that kicked Wetang'ula out.
They accused him of gross misconduct and inability to unite members of the party and installed Wamunyinyi as interim party leader pending elections.
They said they had the backing of 60 per cent of the full NEC members and that their meeting was in line with Section 24 (b) of Ford Kenya Constitution.
Wetang’ula was also accused of failing to reconcile warring members to eliminate friction in the party and failure to provide inspiring leadership.
But Wetang’ula dismissed the coup as unlawful and archaic and suspended Eseli and replaced him as secretary general with Kiminini MP Chris Wamalwa.
“A grouping calling themselves NEC members of this party airlifted people who are not officials of this party; booked and detained them forcefully overnight and made decisions affecting this party. We shall discipline these truant and errant members,” Wetang'ula said at the party headquarters.
Coups are archaic to good order and activities of cowards, he said.
“Anybody who wants to run for a seat in Ford Kenya file your papers and let’s meet at Bomas. I have no doubt delegates will still give me a chance to run this party,” he added.
He also suspended Wamunyinyi as the party’s secretary for Livestock and replaced him with West Mugirango MP Vincent Kemosi.
Speaking to Star on phone, Eseli laughed off the changes announced by Wetang’ula. He said Wetang'ula has no powers to either discipline or appoint anyone to any position.
“They don’t have the capacity to do that, those are kicks of a dying horse. He didn’t have NEC with him, it is only NEC that can discipline, suspend or expel anybody and we were with NEC,” Eseli said.
Eseli said Wetan'ula had hoped to get NEC members to back him at the presser but they did not.
The lawmaker’s faction also removed Wetang’ula’s ally Chris Mandumandu as Ford Kenya organising secretary.
Earlier, there was drama at the venue of the special meeting after Kwanza MP Ferdinand Wanyonyi was ejected from the premises.
“I am an MP and Ford Kenya chairman in Trans Nzoia. I came because I was told this is a Ford Kenya meeting. I came to see what was happening and they told me to move out, they even pushed me out," he said.
The lawmaker said he would not accept any attempt to take over the party "through the backdoor".
(edited by o. owino)