I’ll not deputise anyone, Kalonzo tells Ruto allies
With the 2022 General Election campaigns taking shape, Wiper party leader Kalonzo Musyoka has declared that he is “too experienced” to play second fiddle to any presidential candidate.
Kalonzo says after his service to the nation as President Mwai Kibaki’s principal assistant for five years and being former Prime Minister Raila Odinga’s running mate in 2013 and 2017 he can only be a presidential candidate in 2022.
He also indicated that as President Uhuru Kenyatta’s “errand boy” he is sure the Head of State will hand him power.
“When I said I would be Uhuru’s mtu wa mkono (errand boy) some people thought I didn’t know what I was doing.
What is the problem if Uhuru hands power to me in 2022 which will definitely happen,” he said at Malili, Makueni county at the weekend.
Kalonzo’s declaration is a big blow to Deputy President William Ruto allies in Ukambani who have intensified calls to convince the former VP to deputise the DP.
Political cold
Ruto troops led by abrasive former Machakos Senator Johnstone Muthama, MPs Nimrod Mbai (Kitui East), Victor Munyaka (Machakos Town), Fabian Muli (Kangundo) and Vincent Musyoka (Mwala) have been arguing that the DP enjoys a more national support compared to Kalonzo and that the latter should shift political base and deputise Ruto to end the Kamba community’s “political cold”.
“The Kamba community has been out of government for long and for us to be in government we should team up with Ruto whose journey to State House is unstoppable.
We don’t hate our Kalonzo and that is why we urge him to work with the DP, said Mbai.
Munyaka told Kalonzo to move fast before it’s too late to have an alliance with Ruto.
But the former Vice President has rejected the calls. “You want to mean with the experience I have, five years under Kibaki and 10 years with Raila, to again become a deputy to Ruto?
This is a big joke. I want to tell those who have lied to Ruto that I can deputise him they are wrong and should return his money,” said Kalonzo.
Muthama, who fell out with Kalonzo, recently vowed he would silence Wiper in Ukambani.
To this effect Muthama has been hosting political opinion leaders from Machakos, Makueni, Kitui and Taia Taveta counties in a calculated effort to fight Kalonzo at his political backyard.
Olive branch
Kalonzo also launched a campaign to popularise his party with an aim of giving it a national outlook ahead of 2022.
His initial activities was a weekend-long political events in Makueni and the Coast region.
The Wiper leader extended an olive branch to party rebels to come back home.
Kalonzo was indirectly reaching out to his estranged party soldiers, Makueni Governor Kivutha Kibwana and Muthama among others who are currently on a parallel political path.
Kibwana has set his eyes on the 2022 presidency while Muthama is campaigning for Ruto against Kalonzo’s wish.
Maendeleo Chap Chap party leader and Machakos Governor Alfred Mutua, who fell out with Kalonzo, las week launched his presidential bid ahead of 2022. Kalonzo told off opponents of the BBI, saying it will heal the nation.
