Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka on Friday predicted a post-election falling-out between President Uhuru Kenyatta and Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) leader Raila Odinga on account of the latter betraying the Jubilee Party leader.
Likening the duo’s camaraderie to that of Democratic Republic of Congo President Felix Tshisekedi and his predecessor Joseph Kabila during the 2019 transition period, Mr Musyoka said a betrayal by Mr Odinga was not remote.
He called for more talks ahead of the August polls to minimise chances of betrayal if Azimio la Umoja wins the presidential contest.
“Unless it is the calibre of Kalonzo, who is God-fearing, anyone else armed with the instruments of power as Kenya’s fifth president may change such that Uhuru would be required to book an appointment a month in advance to see the president,” he said, exuding confidence, however, that further Azimio-OKA talks will prevent such an eventuality.
The former vice president spoke on Musyi FM, a vernacular radio station, as he continued to blow hot and cold on the coalition deal signed last Saturday at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC). But his utterances since the signing ceremony have irked some of his coalition partners, who accused him of “taking us back.”
“Either he was lying when he said he is selfless or he is lying when he suggests he did not see the agreement. It cannot be both,” said an official of one of the main Azimio parties.
It has also emerged that ODM leaders have been asked not to respond to Mr Musyoka. Some of them we called excused themselves, saying only Mr Odinga can respond to his co-principal.
A member of the technical team that drafted the Azimio deal also remarked that “it is very disheartening hearing Kalonzo Musyoka going out there and making all manner of claims about this coalition”, yet his lawyers were present.
When contacted, Jubilee vice chairman David Murathe said he would not comment until he got some clarity.
“I need to check with him to confirm if that is his position, but the reason we passed the amendments to the Political Parties Act was to guarantee some of the things we agreed on.”
Drawing lessons from the diplomatic mission he accomplished in the DRC, Mr Musyoka termed his decision to endorse Mr Odinga as the most difficult he had made in his life.
He shed light on his misgivings and explained why he seemed unsettled in the grand coalition of 25 parties, which Mr Odinga is riding on in his quest for the presidency.
“When I reconciled President Joseph Kabila and President Felix Tshisekedi of the DRC and they formed a coalition like the Azimio-OKA grand coalition, they approached me a year later, saying they wanted to end historical injustices that had dogged their extended families. They told me: ‘You see, President Laurent Kabila, who is the father of President Kabila, had caused Tshisekedi Etienne, the father of President Tshisekedi, to run into exile in Brussels where he died and we want to reconcile our families’.
“Does that sound familiar in Kenya? We witnessed them sign a deal but a year down the line fell apart. President Tshisekedi embarked on poaching some of President Kabila’s MPs to stabilise his government,” he said.
Mr Musyoka, who endorsed Mr Odinga’s presidential bid last week after months of courting, said the coalition should be guided by the stalled constitutional amendments through the Building Bridges Initiative to pronounce itself clearly on what he stands to gain.
He revealed he is eyeing the deputy president post but added that he is ready for any other post in the Executive, provided Mr Odinga assures the Kamba community of a third of plum government positions.
Mr Musyoka hinted at bolting should Azimio undermine his significance, accusing Ukambani governors — Prof Kivutha Kibwana (Makueni), Dr Alfred Mutua (Machakos) and Ms Charity Ngilu (Kitui) — of sabotaging his bid to be Mr Odinga’s running mate.
Mr Musyoka said he, the President and Mr Odinga are the only key decision-makers in the team.
