Wiper Party leader Kalonzo Musyoka has spoken out about the coalition arrangement with former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, one week after signing a contract to join the Azimio La Umoja political movement and support Raila Odinga’s presidential bid.
On Musyi FM on Friday, March 18, Kalonzo claimed that he wanted to be Raila’s running mate in the August 9 election, but that he was willing to give up his ambition if he was given a third of the government’s jobs.
Kalonzo, who served as Vice President in the Mwai Kibaki administration, has dropped out of the presidential race and endorsed Raila for the third time. The Ukambani leader made a deal with Raila and Kenya Kwanza’s Musalia Mudavadi in the 2013 and 2017 elections.
Raila committed to back his presidential bid in the 2022 elections in a deal that he made public last month.
Kalonzo now claims that the latest coalition deal is based on three foundations, the contents of which he, President Uhuru Kenyatta, and Raila know about.
According to him, the Azimio La Umoja deal united the One Kenya Alliance (OKA), Uhuru’s ruling Jubilee Party, and Raila’s Orange Democratic Movement together (ODM).
“Power-sharing talks are still ongoing. We want to make sure that the Kamba community is treated with respect.
“As OKA, we’ll be on the ballot because we’ve put together a coalition agreement based on the three-legged stool known as Azimio-One Kenya Alliance,” he explained.
The addition of Kalonzo and the OKA brigade to Azimio La Umoja’s running mates complicates the equation for the former Prime Minister, who enjoys strong support from the vote-rich Mount Kenya region.
Various leaders from the Mountain area, notably former Gatanga Member of Parliament Peter Kenneth and Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Peter Munya, were viewed as favorites to succeed Raila before the Raila-Kalonzo accord.
However, during a Citizen TV interview on Tuesday, March 15, Jubilee Vice Chairman David Murathe claimed that the Mount Kenya area would not be adamant about being awarded the job.
Murathe, like Kalonzo, claimed that depending on the votes Raila receives from the region, the Mount Kenya region would demand a fair share of government seats.
During the radio interview, Kalonzo also argued that his hardliner position did not cause the Azimio’s National Delegates Convention (NDC) to be postponed, claiming that Raila was late for the negotiations at State House.
“I arrived at State House at 0930 hours, and our meeting was postponed until Raila arrived at 1300 hours with Charity Ngilu. “We had a quick interaction with Uhuru before leaving for the NDC at KICC,” he said.
