Kalonzo out to carve political path, inherit Azimio leadership
Wiper Party Leader Kalonzo Musyoka during the National Dialogue Committee talks at Bomas of Kenya, Nairobi on September 1, 2023.
What you need to know:
- Mr Musyoka has vouched for a united Eastern region to be able to defeat President William Ruto in the next elections.
- He has vowed to give Dr Ruto and his ilk a run for their money during the elections.
Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka is engaged in an extensive campaign to wrest the Mt Kenya East region from the Kenya Kwanza armpit ahead of the 2027 presidential race.
The Azimio top gun camped in Meru and Tharaka-Nithi counties last month and is expected back in Embu today. He will be accompanied by former Cabinet ministers Peter Munya and Eugene Wamalwa as well as Kanu boss Gideon Moi.
"We will be in Embu on Sunday following an invitation by a local church. We will later address our people," Kitui Senator Enock Wambua, a close ally of Mr Musyoka said.
A key defender of Mr Musyoka, Mr Wambua has been leading the Wiper brigade pushing for the former VP to replace Mr Odinga as the opposition leader and Azimio's 2027 automatic presidential flag-bearer.
Mr Musyoka who is out to carve his own political path and inherit Azimio chief Mr Odinga's near fanatical support in the country if the ODM leader bags the African Union Commission chairmanship post is targeting the huge vote basket in the region to catapult him to the presidency.
ODM leader Raila Odinga (left) and Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka.
According to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission, Meru had 772,139 registered voters in the 2022 polls, Embu (334,302) and Tharaka-Nithi (231,932).
Raila’s running mate.
Moi University lecturer-cum- political commentator Nyaga Kindiki says Mr Musyoka, who has been Mr Odinga's running mate in two failed presidential attempts, and emerged third when he vied for the top seat during the 2007 poll, has an uphill task in trying to penetrate Upper Eastern counties.
This, Prof Nyaga opined, is because the region has always identified with the defunct Gikuyu Embu Meru Association (Gema), now referred to as Mt Kenya in national politics.
"The region has a history of belonging to Gema or what is now referred to as Mt Kenya and votes in one basket with their Kikuyu cousins," Prof Nyaga said.
Mr Musyoka’s chances of carving out a slice of Upper Eastern votes is further threatened by his Azimio colleagues axis of Martha Karua and Jeremiah Kioni, who have formed a group dubbed “Kamwene” to push for the interests of the region in an effort to dethrone President Willam Ruto from power.
"The Mt Kenya region is likely to back President Ruto’s re-election in 2027 even if it strategises to get back the presidency in 2032," Prof Nyaga, a brother to Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki, said.
The don added: "I doubt if Kalonzo would make any impact in Upper Eastern. He should have focused on consolidating his support in Lower Eastern, then shadow Mr Odinga and go to Western, Nyanza and Coast to step into the shoes of the ODM leader."
Prof Nyaga said Mr Musyoka stood to reap big if Mr Odinga succeeds in joining the AU and quits local politics, and that the former VP should target the ODM boss’ strongholds instead of “wasting” time in Upper Eastern.
Although Mr Musyoka is known nationally, having been a VP, his major undoing has been changing political goalposts.
Wiper party leader Kalonzo Musyoka during an interview at his home in Nairobi on December 30, 2023.
In the last General Election, Mr Musyoka had vowed not to rally behind Mr Odinga again, and that he was to be on the ballot, only for him to change his stand and back the Azimio chief.
"Kalonzo has not been focused. If he is banking on Upper Eastern, he will lose again as those people are solidifying their power to succeed Ruto when he retires," Prof Nyaga said.
The professor of International Education and Policy is of the view that if Mr Odinga gets the AU job, he will leave a big gap in Kenyan politics which requires an experienced personality with national persuasion to fill.
Azimio la Umoja leaders (from left) Wiper Party leader Kalonzo Musyoka, ODM Party leader Raila Odinga and Narc Kenya leader Martha Karua when they held prayers at Jevanjee Gardens, Nairobi on February 22,2023.
His ascendancy to the continental post is further expected to split his Nyanza base, as the opportunity will be seen as a reward to Mr Raila by the Ruto administration. This could win the Kenya Kwanza brigade some support in the area.
"Mr Odinga will be working in government if he gets the AU slot. To discharge his duties he will need government support. Although he says he will be going nowhere (he will not leave politics) he will be going somewhere, and that is to the AU," Prof Nyaga said.
Mr Musyoka has teamed up with Mr Wamalwa as his possible running mate in 2027 as he works to be the Azimio leader despite protests in ODM which still wants to continue having an upper hand in the outfit due to its huge following and numerical strength in the House.
In the Sunday tour, the former Mwingi North MP will be flanked by Mr Wamalwa and Mr Munya who are Democratic Action Party of Kenya and Party of National Unity (PNU) leaders respectively.
Tharaka Nithi which is struggling to recover from years of underdevelopment has three constituencies and is the home county of Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki.
Embu, on the other hand, is Attorney General Justin Muturi's base and is rich in agricultural production. Embu has four constituencies.
Meru, which thrives in tea, coffee, French beans and miraa production is Mr Munya and former CS Kiraitu Murungi political turf. It has nine constituencies.
Mr Musyoka has maintained that Azimio La Umoja affiliate parties were united, and expressed confidence that the Coalition will take over power in 2027.
Mr Musyoka said all the parties had resolved to work together to liberate the country and Kenyans from suffering.
The main Azimio coalition parties are Wiper, Orange Democratic Movement (ODM), Jubilee, Democratic Action Party (DAP-K) Party of National Unity (PNU) and Kanu.
There have been signs of cracks in Azimio stemming from Mr Odinga’s signals that he would make a sixth stab at the presidency in 2027 with his supporters urging him to soldier on.
This sparked discontent among Mr Musyoka’s camp which has told Mr Odinga to support the Wiper leader who has backed him three times – 2013, 2017 and 2022. Speaking in Kitui recently, Mr Odinga however said he had no problem supporting Mr Musyoka for the top seat.
There have however been fresh political developments after Mr Odinga announced vying for AU Commission chairmanship although it is unclear if he will return to vie for the presidency if he bags the lucrative continental seat.
Seen as the battleground in the next polls, Mt Kenya East region has over more than two million voters which Musyoka will be scrambling for with his political opponents.
Mr Musyoka is offering sweetheart deals to the region in the hope of flipping it in his favour.
In his recent tours, Musyoka promised to revive the economy and redeem the residents from oppression.
He pledged to deliver the presidency to the region if backed by all residents.
"I'm your son, this time the next President should come from this region, with your support I will sail through," he said recently.
Musyoka has already declared that his ambition to become the next President of Kenya is unstoppable.
He is reaching out to the region to help him capture the country's top seat so that he can revive the economy to end the suffering of Kenyans, the majority of whom are living below the poverty line.
His tour of the region comes a few days after the Azimio la Moja One Kenya Coalition Leader Odinga said he has no problem endorsing Musyoka as the coalition presidential flag bearer.
Mr Odinga acknowledged that Mr Musyoka had contributed largely to his quest for power and he deserved the ticket but called for patience.
He said he was not a thankless leader to forget that Mr Musyoka had backed his presidential bid in three consecutive elections.
Mr Musyoka has vouched for a united Eastern region to be able to defeat President William Ruto in the next elections.
He has vowed to give Dr Ruto and his ilk a run for their money during the elections.
Mr Musyoka accused the Kenya Kwanza government of failing the hustlers and told Kenyans to reject it.
Mr Musyoka says he has no ill motive against those in power but the truth of the matter is that they have let Kenyans down and they should be sent packing.
He has lamented that the government has oppressed Kenyans by imposing high taxation upon them.
"The Kenya Kwanza government promised Kenyans heaven but ended up exploiting them," he said at one point adding that everyone was suffering under the leadership of President Ruto.
Mr Musyoka observed that even those in government employment were being heavily taxed to fund affordable housing projects.
"Even the police are being taxed, they are getting peanuts and they can't meet their financial obligations," he said.
Mr Musyoka pledged to free Kenyans from the chains of oppression.
"Let us say enough is enough. I'm ready to take over power and redeem the Kenyans majority who are struggling to survive," said Mr Musyoka.
He appealed to the residents to join the Wiper party to make it stronger to be able to clinch the presidency.
"We should have a strong political movement which will be able to dislodge Kenya Kwanza from power democratically," he stated.
Mr Musyoka has explained that a strong political movement was required to guard votes from being stolen during the polls.
"If votes were not stolen in the last polls we would be governing Kenya. Let us be united and make sure it does not happen again," he said.
Mr Musyoka insists that the country requires a truthful, honest and hardworking person like him to put money in people's pockets to get rid of poverty.
The Wiper leader has been enjoying support from the region, especially in the lower Embu and almost the entire Ukambani area but now faces competition from Dr Ruto.
Dr Ruto is making inroads in the region. In the last polls, he garnered a lot of votes from the area which helped him take over the country's leadership.
His Embu point political point man says the chances of Musyoka becoming the next Head of State are very high.
The Makima MCA stressed that the country requires a moderate personality like Musyoka, exuding confidence that Kenyans will vote for him.
"Ruto will be a one-term President and the next Head of State will be Musyoka, Musyoka is the best option because Kenyans don't need an extremist.
He observed that all the Governors from Ukambani are behind Musyoka and they will join other leaders in the region to drum up support for the veteran politician.
He said local leaders will take over Musyoka campaigns to make sure he wins.
"Musyoka is our leader and our work will be to campaign for him, as leaders from the region we have a winning strategy for Musyoka which we shall not disclose at the moment," said Mr Nzangi.
Embu opinion leader Kanyi Maina warns Kenya Kwanza against underrating Musyoka.
In the absence of Odinga, the Wiper leader is currently the most experienced politician in the country. He has been an MP for many years and a vice President and he has all the qualities of a good leader.
Mr Maina, a member of Kenya National Chambers of Commerce and Industry (KNCCI) observed that in a fair political game free of bribery and violence, Mr Musyoka can easily win the presidency.
"Musyoka is diplomatic, he is not troublesome and he can make a very good President," said Mr Maina.
Mr Musyoka stands a better chance of winning because he has the backing of Odinga and Wamalwa.
"If Nyanza and Western regions, the home turfs for Odinga and Wamalwa respectfully throw their weight behind Musyoka, then the Wiper leader will be home and dry," said Mr Maina.
