![Atwoli hits at Khalwale, Wetang'ula, calls for respect during Rally: A file photo of Kakamega Senator Boni Khalwale and Bungoma Senator Moses Wetang'ula. /JOHN NALIANYA](https://diasporamessenger.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/1343443_0.jpg)
Cotu boss Francis Atwoli has lashed out at Senators Moses Wetang’ula and Boni Khalwale for failing to attend his rally.
Atwoli is set to unveil Luhya spokesman at Bukhungu stadium, Kakamega county on Saturday.
“Nilikuwa nataka Wetang’ula akuwe hapa na Khalwale. Wamenidharau sana … kama sio mimi kumlipia Khalwale advocate katika petition yake hangekuwa senator,” Atwoli said.
(I wanted Wetang’ula and Khalwale to be here. They have disrespected me. If it were not me who paid for Khalwale’s court petition he could have not been the Senator.)
“… waniheshimu yes! yes! … heshimu maoni ya walio wengi.” (Respect me! Respect the decision of majority.)
Dressed in a white Kanzu, grey coat and a white cap, Atwoli said he is not a small person in Kenya and should not be ignored at all costs.
“… mimi sio mtu mdogo hapa kenya, mimi ni kiongozi wa Kenya. Na ni vibaya saana kama kuna mtu anasema Atwoli anatumiwa na watu … Wote wamepitia hii mkono yangu,” he said.
(I am not a small person in Kenya, I am a Kenyan leader. And it is bad that somebody is saying that i am being used by other people. all of them have passed through my hands.)
Atwoli asked the absentee leaders why they did not show up and cautioned politicians against defying the chosen leader, saying those in opposition to the same will face the wrath of the community.
“Mbona hawakukuja, wajue hata kama jina yao iko kwa hii envolope. Hata Oparanya ako hapa na hajui kama jina lake iko ama haiko,” he said.
(Why didn’t they come maybe there names were in this envelope. Even Oparanya is here and he does not know whether his name is here or not)
Addressing the charged crowd, Atwoli said Luhya community do not want anymore brokers in the land.
He thanked Amani leader Musalia Mudavadi and Kakamega Governor Wycliffe Oparanya for attending the event.
Nine other MPs from the region including Alfred Agoi (Sabatia), Yusuf Chanzu (Vihiga), Raphael Otalo (Lurambi) and Andola Benjamin (Khwisero) were also in attendance.
The stadium was already full to the brim by 8am as community members and leaders from five counties in the Western region graced the event.
For the better part of the morning, the crowd of 5,000 participants were entertained with music and a bull fight.
Atwoli, Mudavadi, Oparanya and Lugari MP Ayub Suvaluarrived shortly before 1pm to grace the occasion.
The event follows a survey conducted by the University of Nairobi Economic Department to identify the strongest and most popular leader in the region sponsored by Cotu Secretary General Francis Atwoli..
The Bukhungu declaration will shape the political landscape against ODM and Jubilee believed to make inroads within the region through a divide and rule scheme.
The spokesperson will start campaigns to solidify the region ahead of the August 8 polls.
Source-the-star.co.ke