Papa wa Roma: Moses Wetangula’s rise to third most powerful man in Kenya

Ford Kenya party leader Moses Wetangula was on Thursday sworn in as National Assembly Speaker just a day after announcing his resignation as Bungoma County Senator.

Wetangula, whose political allegiances are inclined towards President-elect William Ruto's Kenya Kwanza alliance, clinched the much coveted seat after amassing 215 votes against 130 garnered by his competitor Kenneth Marende, who bowed out before the second round of voting.

This now makes Papa wa Roma, as Wetangula is popularly referred to, the eighth National Assembly Speaker in Kenya's history.

But just who is Moses Masika Wetangula and what has his journey been?

Born on September 13, 1956, the UoN Bachelors of Law degree holder first tried his hand at politics in 1992 when he was nominated as a Member of Parliament by then ruling party KANU.

He held the position for five years before vying for Sirisia constituency's MP seat in 2002, a position which he won and went on to hold until 2013.

From June 17, 2003 until January 10, 2008, Wetangula served as the Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs under then president the late Mwai Kibaki.

Between January 2008 and March 2010, he was promoted to Minister for Foreign Affairs by Kibaki, succeeding Raphael Tuju.

Wetangula's stint as Foreign Affairs Minister was later extended by Kibaki on August 2011 to March 2012. Following a cabinet reshuffling by Kibaki in the same month, he was moved to the Trade ministry docket.

He held the position for approximately a year before deciding to contest for Bungoma County's Senate seat at the 2013 General Election. He likewise joined Ford Kenya in the same year.

After the polls, Wetangula served as Bungoma's Senator, the Leader of Minority in the Senate and member of the now defunct Coalition for Reforms and Democracy (CORD) for the next four years.

 In 2017, the family man was named as one of the principals of the National Super Alliance (NASA), alongside Raila Odinga, Kalonzo Musyoka, and Musalia Mudavadi.

In the lead up to the 2022 polls, Wetangula joined hands with Kalonzo and Mudavadi to form the One Kenya Alliance (OKA), which he and Mudavadi later ditched to join Ruto in Kenya Kwanza.

In the new coalition’s agreement, Wetangula would be nominated as the alliance’s candidate for Speaker of the National Assembly, while Mudavadi would go for the Chief Minister post; if Kenya Kwanza won the polls.