Kivutha Kibwana: Kalonzo is overrated

Muungano Party leader and Makueni Governor Kivutha Kibwana has said Wiper boss Kalonzo Musyoka shot himself in the foot when he and his former political allies rushed to dissolve Nasa coalition.

Prof Kibwana, who was Mr Musyoka’s witness during the inking of a secret deal between ODM boss Raila Odinga and former vice-president Musalia Mudavadi said in an interview on NTV on Wednesday evening the pact became null and void the moment Nasa died.

“He cannot use what they agreed on in terms of Nasa because there is no Nasa. Raila was not responsible for breaking Nasa, he actually wished that Nasa would have become one political party,” said Prof Kibwana, who has joined Azimio la Umoja.

“All political parties in the coalition would collapse themselves into one party but the moment there was no Nasa, then Nasa could not have gone on.”

Mr Musyoka on Tuesday said the ODM leader should honour their 2017 agreement to back him for President in 2022.

He said Mr Odinga can abide by the terms of what he called a “binding legal agreement” or be defiant.

"As we engage in fresh talks, this document forms the basis for such negotiations," Mr Musyoka said.

Because Mr Odinga ascended to power in 2017 and Nasa no longer exists, Mr Musyoka cannot use their secret poll arrangement to negotiate, Governor Kibwana said.

Even if Nasa had formed the government, he said, the Wiper party leader would not automatically be the coalition’s presidential candidate in the August General Election. He said the “mother agreement” held that any of the three former Nasa principals were eligible to seek the country’s top seat.

“When you look at what they agreed on in terms of Raila serving one term and after he serves one term, he would support Kalonzo, of course, he did not serve, they did not win,” he said.

“He (Mr Odinga) did not serve any one term under Nasa so that he could support not only Kalonzo because, fortunately, there was a prior agreement between the four Nasa principals then where it was saying Raila would serve for one term and any of the other three would be eligible (to run for president).”

He defended Mr Odinga, saying the ODM chief did not breach the agreement as he did not participate in the dissolution of Nasa and so Mr Musyoka should blame himself.

In August last year, Registrar of Political Parties Ann Nderitu allowed the dissolution of Nasa following requests from Mr Mudavadi’s Amani National Congress, Wiper, Ford Kenya of Mr Moses Wetang’ula and Isaac Ruto’s Chama Cha Mashinani (CCM).

“It is not Raila who breached the Nasa coalition, it was the other three principals who did so,” Governor Kibwana said.

He added that since Azimio has attracted other parties that were not part of Nasa in 2017, it would not be practical for Mr Musyoka to use a prior agreement to negotiate with them, noting that if the Wiper boss is genuine, he should not issue threats.

“Of course, now there is Azimio, there are other parties who have come into this coalition, so to say that they should be excluded because there was a prior agreement in Nasa (when) Nasa is dead, that will not make political sense,” he said.

“What Kalonzo is using is something that is non-existent and again, it is important to ask himself to what extent, even if he was endorsed by all of them, he has popularised himself enough that he is a safe bet, because politics are so pragmatic and you cannot be endorsed if the polls indicate you are trailing all the time,” he added.

While saying that Azimio needs everyone on board, the Makueni governor downplayed Mr Musyoka’s political prospects in Ukambani, saying his popularity has been “overrated” for years.

"I think Kalonzo’s strength is overrated, increasingly from 2007 to the (now). The three governors have been going around in Ukambani. Currently Raila leads in terms of support,” Prof Kibwana said.

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