Wiper top guns meet as Kalonzo denies calling for Mutula’s sack

By vitalis kimutai

The Wiper Democratic Movement (WDM) will on Monday hold a National Executive Council (NEC) meeting where the fallout in the G7 Alliance will be discussed.

This comes even as Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka denied writing a letter to have Justice and Constitutional Affairs Minister Mutula Kilonzo sacked from Cabinet.

Kalonzo, who is the WDM party leader, has fallen out with Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta and Eldoret North MP William Ruto who are key members of the union.

Party Vice-Chairman Assistant Minister David Musila announced that the party would discuss the edging out of Kalonzo.

"We will issue a comprehensive statement on the matter after the NEC and parliamentary group meeting," Musila told The Standard.

Musila said that Kalonzo had been a team player in the alliance and had not in any way sabotaged Uhuru and Ruto. The VP on Sunday denied handing a letter to Kibaki during a meeting they held on Friday at Harambee House.

"Whenever the VP wants to take any action, he consults with the President as he frequently does. He does not necessarily have to write," Mr Kaplich Barsito, the VP’s spokesman said in a brief statement to The Standard.

No such letter

Musila separately said that he had consulted the VP on the issue and Kalonzo had assured him that there was no such letter.

"I do not know the source of the information, but I can tell you for sure the letter was not written," Musila said.

The WDM meeting comes as Special Programmes Minister Esther Murugi, Saboti MP Eugene Wamalwa and former Speaker of the National Assembly, Mr Francis Kaparo called for unity in the G7 Alliance.

Wamalwa told The Standard on telephone on Sunday that the issues affecting the alliance would be sorted out. He said that he had organised a meeting bringing together all the alliance leaders where pressing matters would be ironed out.

"We are beginning to look bad as we are portrayed as undemocratic. We need an all inclusive team and there is no need to sideline others," Wamalwa said.

He continued: "All leaders with presidential ambitions are equal in G7, and we are working on a formula of picking one candidate who will face those in other parties in the next General Election."

Kaparo also expressed similar sentiments: "I do not believe in politics of exclusion. If we do not unite, we would not achieve our goals."

Murugi predicted the alliance would form the next government and said there was need for leaders to unite.

"I call for unity of all leaders on board and other like-minded leaders. I am in G7 and I believe it is in the alliance that Kenya will get a new president."

Advisory team

At the weekend, a presidential advisory team formed by the VP wound up a meeting in Naivasha, which Kalonzo briefly attended on Saturday to chart the way forward following the falling out.

The team was chaired by former PS Mutuma Kathurima and was attended by lawyers Donald Kipkorir and Koki Muli, Profs Wilfred Nyangena and Marangu Marete, and Rev Simon ole Masi.

MPs have been plotting a censure motion against Mutula over tax arrears amounting to more than Sh 300 million.

The Justice minister, who is the WDM Secretary-General, skipped a NEC meeting recently where his conduct was to be discussed for repeatedly contradicting the VP on the International Criminal Court process.

The Mbooni MP was quoted at the weekend stating that it was good that the G7 alliance had disintegrated as it would allow Kalonzo and WDM to consolidate support among voters ahead of the next General Election.

"The G7 Alliance is an illegal entity that is not recognised by the Political Parties Act. I am happy we in WDM can now find our path in moving towards forming the next government," Mutula said.

Kalonzo has been under pressure to tame Mutula who has come under attack over his utterances that Uhuru and Ruto do not qualify to contest the presidency as they do not meet the provisions of Chapter Six of the Constitution on leadership and integrity

The VP was also put in an awkward position following utterances made by Kangundo MP Johnstone Muthama to the effect that Kalonzo would be the biggest beneficiary should Uhuru and Ruto be barred from contesting the presidency.

Muthama however denied the claims, saying his utterances in Kikamba during a Machakos rally-cum-prayer session for the ICC suspects had been taken out of context.

During a meeting of 60 MPs at Sagret Hotel last Thursday, allies of Uhuru and Ruto sought to downplay the fall out in the alliance, saying the planned censure of Mutula was a non-issue.

"Who is Mutula? What is his track record? We wish to state that we do not share his opinion (on whether Uhuru and Ruto should contest the presidency) and he is not an issue to us at all," Turkana Central MP Ekwe Ethuro said.