A day after Western MPs threatened to decamp from Jubilee Party and join NASA if Eugene Wamalwa was not retained in the cabinet; Senate speaker Kenneth Lusaka has defended himself over the former Water CS’s status.
Lusaka has rubbished claims that he was the reason why Wamalwa was not retained in the cabinet by president Kenyatta.
Speaking to a local daily, Lusak said he had no prior information on the appointments and was simply following proceedings like any other Kenyans.
“The crux of the matter is that I have never used my proximity to power to fight anyone for any reasons whatsoever. I have instead used it to build the capacities of our people to harness the resources of our community,” he said.
Analysts have said Lusaka’s ascend to the Speaker’s Senate seat was the reason Wamalwa was dropped since the two leaders hail from the same area.
Wamalwa was seen as Jubilee’s point man in the Western region until the ascent of Lusaka to the current seat.
He campaigned for the re-election of President Kenyatta and his Deputy William Ruto, but lost his gubernatorial seat in a region widely regarded as an opposition stronghold.
President Kenyatta named his first batch of the cabinet last week on Friday, and Wamalwa’s absence from the retained Cabinet secretaries was a notable exclusion.
He has been fighting Jubilee wars in the region, helping them make inroads in the area.