LPK party leader Ababu Namwamba endorsing President Uhuru Kenyatta after being cleared to run for the presidency by the IEBC on May 29, 2017. [Photo/The Star]
Budalang’i MP Ababu Namwamba could be a major beneficiary if President Uhuru Kenyatta is reelected on August 8.
According to Prof Herman Manyora, a language and communication lecturer at the University of Nairobi, Ababu’s gamble to back Jubilee could pay off in the event President Kenyatta defeats NASA presidential candidate Raila Odinga.
Manyora said the youthful lawmaker who ditched ODM to form his own party and endorse Uhuru’s re-election is unlikely to defend his seat successfully since the opposition enjoys overwhelming support in his Western Kenya region.
“Ababu will most likely be a Cabinet Secretary by every indication if the Jubilee duo wins. He knows he will not be elected but is willing to lose and come out on top with some Cabinet position or as chair of a parastatal,” Manyora said on NTV.
The hostility that the Labour Party of Kenya boss faces on the ground was evident after he was booed off the stage by his constituents during a tour with President Uhuru Kenyatta in Busia County on Tuesday last week.
Early last month, Ababu slammed the opposition after endorsing Uhuru for re-election in the August polls.
"We have made a conscious decision, we are not fools, we are very well educated to make our own decisions, We will travel this journey with His Excellency President Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta," he said.
Ababu alongside Water CS Eugene Wamalwa and Bungoma Governor Kenneth Lusaka are the leading Jubilee point men in Western Kenya, a perceived opposition zone.