Former Sports Cabinet Secretary Rashid Echesa has now claimed that Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) leader Raila Odinga has once again shortchanged his Amani National Congress (ANC) counterpart Musalia Mudavadi.
Speaking on Thursday, Echesa who recently joined Mudavadi's 2022 push for the presidency argued that Raila has snubbed Mudavadi and his Western Kenya region since the 2017 elections, adding that he appears indifferent about the region's woes.
Echesa opined that despite the region backing him in his 2017 presidential bid, Raila is using his close relationship with President Uhuru Kenyatta to only reward his Luo Nyanza bedrock, forgetting Western Kenya which is also in need.
He argued that Raila seems to have made it a habit to shortchange Mudavadi, observing that this is the second time he is doing it in ten years, after Mudavadi's and the region backed him in 2007.
Echesa termed the alleged betrayal by Raila as the reason behind Mudavadi's presidential bid in the 2013 elections, saying that Raila did not honour their deal before the 2007 polls where he lost to retired President Mwai Kibaki.
"Mudavadi ran in 2013 because he felt that Raila had shortchanged him on development. In 2017, he supported Raila again but after joining Uhuru in their own arrangements, projects are only trickling in Nyanza," he said.
He argued that Mudavadi supported Raila in 2017 because the blame that was heaped on him by people who thought that his 2013 candidature denied Raila the presidency.
"He was blamed when Raila lost in 2013, so he backed Raila in 2017 to avoid further blame," he added.
The former CS further hit out at Raila for excluding Mudavadi in his March 9, 2018 truce with Uhuru.