Budalangi MP Ababu Namwamba has downplayed former MP Raphael Wanjala's decision to join the Orange Democratic Movement party, terming the decision hollow even as he faces an acid test in his decade-long political career.
"We have every reason to welcome him and his team for value addition. He must be allowed to make friendly choices. He could either get on the queue and make our team stronger, or register his candidature to be allowed to lose at nominations since the writing is on the wall," Ababu was quoted by the Star as saying.
The lawmaker who bolted out of ODM last year amid a frosty relationship with various party ranks has exuded confidence in defending his seat easily in his new-found Labour Party of Kenya which he has embarked on marketing in a bid to make it a formidable political actor in the country.
Wanjala who has lost to Namwamba twice is among the six other candidates who will be battling out for the ODM party ticket with the Raila Odinga-led party keen to recapture the seat they have held for the past two terms.
In total, the seat has attracted 10 aspirants who are both keen to unseat Ababu who is now wading through murky political waters.