After rescuing Kibaki twice, Musila leads attack forces

As darkness engulfed that bloody Sunday, August 1, 1982, a shaken Vice-President Mwai Kibaki was discreetly whisked to the Central Provincial Commissioner's official residence in Nyeri. A coup attempt on President Moi's government had failed and high-ranking political figures were "taking cover" – just in case.

"That day, I hid him twice at different secret locations within Nyeri town. When night finally came, my security detail drove him to my house where he had dinner and spent the night," recalls Mwingi South MP David Musila, then area PC. 

Then mobile telephony was unavailable in the country and the following morning the PC organised a telephone conversation between Mr Kibaki and his boss, President Moi. Two decades later, Mr Musila was the man again to rescue Mr Kibaki as he lay injured following a road accident at the junction to Machakos town on Mombasa Road. 

The two were returning from a campaign tour of Mwingi and Kitui districts, when Mr Kibaki's Range Rover plunged into a ditch at the junction. Dashing straight to the scene, Mr Musila felt the sharp prick of thorns through his socks and into his soles. 

"It was only then that I remembered I had left my shoes in the car. It had been a tiring weekend of campaigns and I had opted to take off my shoes and relax at the back seat," says the Mwingi South MP. 

One thing, though, angered the former provincial administrator. Mr Kibaki's bodyguard was "senselessly unreasonable" as he tried to restrain him (Mr Musila) and other rescuers. The man even drew a gun declaring that Mr Kibaki be left alone until the police arrived at the scene. 

"His action conjured up memories of my days as PC and I quickly put my commanding language to use. The man (Mr Kibaki) was in agony and I told the bodyguard to keep off as I was taking charge of the operation," he recalls. 

Eventually the tough-talking Musila had his way. Although he describes those 70 or so kilometres to Nairobi Hospital as "the longest I have ever covered in my life", he is glad to have rescued the man to become President, yet again. 

Despite this fate, which ties the lives of the two politicians, Mr Musila and the President are now treading parallel political paths. Nonetheless, the LDP chairman is not disturbed by his friend's apparent desertion. 

Says he: "Politics aside, we still have great respect for each other and this is just how it ought to be – without politics getting into our private relationship."

His composure notwithstanding, Mr Musila is a principled individual, who combines diplomacy and reasonable command to get things moving. Indeed, these are some of the qualities that have endeared him to many as the boss of a "difficult party" full of political firebrands.

Among the influential politicians under his watch at the LDP are former ministers Raila Odinga and Kalonzo Musyoka, who are in a cut-throat competition for the party's nomination for the Presidency next year. Others are former Vice-President Musalia Mudavadi and Mvita MP Najib Balala. 

With the political heat intensifying each day ahead of next month's LDP national elections, and the Orange Democratic Movement taking shape, Mr Musila is easily the man on the spot. The LDP boss wears another hat, as Deputy Speaker, and has all along cautiously walked this tight rope.

"We are entering a critical final lap of our calendar and I do not want to underestimate the forthcoming event (party national elections and nomination of presidential candidate) as it could make or break the party," he warns.

However, the 1943-born administrator-turned-politician promises to use all his diplomatic skills to ensure LDP and ODM remain as one. 

Noting that Mr Odinga and Mr Musyoka are great friends with whom he suffered, been betrayed and succeeded in some instances, Mr Musila is optimistic that LDP and ODM allied legislators will realise the consequences of not sticking together. 

A sociable individual, Mr Musila has rubbed shoulders with a host of high-ranking politicians from all sides of the political divide, which enhances his negotiation skills and acceptability among peers. Other than the President, Mr Musila enjoys a cordial relationship with Vice-President Moody Awori whom he describes as a close family friend. 

The two worked closely in the late 1980s in the ministry of Tourism where the Funyula MP served as assistant minister and Mr Musila director of tourism. Mr Musila further regards the VP as an in-law of sorts: Mr Awori's wife, Rose, comes from Kitui District. 

But it is the Ford People leader, Mr Simeon Nyachae – now an influential minister in President Kibaki's government – with whom the Mwingi South MP shares the longest and closest ties. 

"Nyachae is actually my mentor. He not only introduced me to the civil service but also nurtured my career all through while I worked under him, including serving as his personal assistant," says Mr Musila. 

Although the Roads minister is now one of the President's footsoldiers , Mr Musila says they enjoy a mutual relationship. The former PC made a host of other friends – most of whom are now political figures – while in the civil service between 1968 and 1990. 

Indeed this is the asset that Mr Musila brings to the table and one that he occasionally uses to patch up differences and initiate dialogue with other political entities. With some viewing senior politicians in the party as either too rigid or laid-back, Mr Musila is LDP's voice of reason. When cracks started emerging within the Narc coalition in 2003, for instance, he made frantic efforts to arrest the situation by, among other things, seeking an audience with the President. 

"I made efforts to initiate dialogue and was even granted appointments with the President but I think suspicion was high among some of his lieutenants who threw the spanner into the works," he laments. 

Away from the LDP, Mr Musila has the equally daunting task of presiding over debate in the House, as Deputy Speaker. On assumption of LDP chairman's slot, following the demise of Kisumu Town West MP Joab Omino, a group led by Subukia MP Koigi wa Wamwere stepped up campaigns to have Mr Musila removed. 

Mr Wamwere argued that as chairman of a political party, Mr Musila could not discharge the duty fairly.

Curiously, though, the LDP boss got overwhelming support from MPs from both sides of the House. 

"When I am on that seat (Speaker's), I momentarily forget that I am the MP for Mwingi South or the chairman of LDP and serve fairly. In fact, members of my party often complain that I am harsher to them than the others," he says. Even at LDP, Mr Musila maintains the same firmness and level-headedness. As chairman, he observes, one has to handle the issues at hand without bias or creating further conflict.

"Given that Kalonzo hails from my Mwingi home district, for instance, most people would expect that I would automatically favour his candidature for presidency. I can only do so if he wins the party ticket. I lead a party and not a faction," he says.

The son of a former assistant chief, the late Musila Muli, the LDP boss seems to have had his career path clear from the start. Add to this his teaching background and you have the leader who has seen LDP through very volatile political times. 

"I partly owe my leadership qualities to my father who was an honest and popular administrator," says the politician. The MP cites an instance where Local Government minister Musikari Kombo, then heading the Parliamentary Investment Committee, lauded him for missing out on the infamous "List of Shame".

"I recall him wondering how I missed out on the list yet a host of former PCs had been implicated over a number of illegal deals. As PC, I never actually touched a single inch of anybody's land," he says. 

Before his appointment as PC in 1979 at 37, Mr Musila served as District Officer in several stations, including Naivasha, Molo and Nakuru and later as the District Commissioner for Nyeri, Tana River, Kirinyaga. He was Mr Nyachae's deputy as PC in 1979 before taking over. He first joined Parliament as a Kanu MP in 1997. 

Mr Musila's rise to the top has been phenomenal. From a humble primary school teacher, having trained as a P3 in 1960, he undertook private studies leading to admission at the Bishop College in Texas, USA where he graduated in 1968 with a BA in Government and Economics. Mr Musila returned home and married Beatrice two years later. The couple have four children aged between 37 and 27. 

He is not new to political machinations. The man was hounded out of office as PC by retired President Moi believably because of his close association with VP Kibaki. 

Mr Musila was in 1985 transferred to North Eastern Province – a move he rejected – at a time when Mr Kibaki's perceived allies were being thrown out of Government. He got the boot three years before Mr Kibaki himself was dropped as VP. 

"There is a lot to learn from history. My sole consolation at the moment is that I enjoy the confidence of my MPs and we are doubtlessly making crucial steps," he says.