Thursday, June 7, 2012

Wamalwa’s intrigues in State House race


Wamalwa’s intrigues in State House race

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Justice Minister Eugene Wamalwa.

By PETER NG’ETICH png’etich@ke.nationmedia.com AND BERNARD NAMUNANE bnamunane@ke.nationmedia.com
Posted  Wednesday, June 6  2012 at  22:30
Justice minister Eugene Wamalwa moves to calm the jitters in the G7 Alliance ruling out a political deal between him and the ODM leader.
The Alliance is a group of presidential aspirants opposed to Prime Minister Raila Odinga’s presidential quest.
Mr Wamalwa maintained that he intended to pursue his own presidential ambitions and that he would not settle for anything less than the presidency in the election.
“I am not in talks with Mr Odinga. I am firmly in the race for the presidency and I know that my chances for it are very high,” he said on Wednesday.
The Saboti MP sent shock waves during a visit to his former school in Oyugis, Homa Bay County, on Sunday when he declared that he would not work with G7, if its only goal was to lock out the PM from State House.
Sources said Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta has reprimanded some of his allies, whose actions had shown that he favoured a closer working relationship with his counterpart Musalia Mudavadi of the United Democratic Forum.
A warming of relations between Mr Kenyatta and Mr Mudavadi could work to Mr Wamalwa’s disadvantage in the presidential contest since they come from the same region.
On Wednesday, Mr Wamalwa sought to clear the air, saying, his remarks had been misunderstood to mean that he was about to form an alliance with the PM.
“My agenda is not Mr Odinga, but fighting ills of poverty and simple sickness bedevilling our Kenyans.”
Speaking at Safari Park Hotel during a seminar for architects and quantity surveyors, Mr Wamalwa said he could not settle for anything less than the presidency.
The minister said the G7 Alliance was intact and that any of their members were free to talk among themselves to ensure that it gains more popularity.
“I am in New Ford-Kenya and I have been having meetings with Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka, Deputy PM Uhuru Kenyatta and MP William Ruto,” he said.
Raised eyebrows
He added: “Though there will be alignments before the coming polls, why should there be any speculation if I have a meeting with Mr Kalonzo?”
He was referring to a lunch meeting he had with Mr Musyoka on Tuesday at a restaurant on Green House, Ngong Road, which raised eyebrows, suggesting, the two leaders were disgruntled with the state of affairs in their amorphous alliance, and were crafting a relationship.
Mr Musyoka has been on the fringes of the G7 Alliance since the Machakos rally late last year during which his colleagues in the group claimed he was ready to take advantage of the ICC cases facing Mr Kenyatta and Eldoret North MP William Ruto in his bid for the presidency.
Mr Wamalwa has his own uncertainties. He is in New Ford-K, the party whose ticket he presumably would wish to run on.
But the party appears to have thrown its weight behind Mr Mudavadi and some of its members, such as outspoken Ikolomani MP Boni Khalwale, have invited Mr Wamalwa to take a hike.
Defence assistant minister David Musila, one of Mr Musyoka’s key allies and who attended the Tuesday lunch, said:
“We passed a resolution that the Vice-President will not join any G7 Alliance rallies unless they are structured. That is why he has not been attending G7 Alliance meeting after the Machakos debacle.”
He also threw open the door to other parties, saying, they would readily work out a relationship with like-minded parties.
The G7 Alliance groups Mr Musyoka, Mr Kenyatta, Mr Ruto and Mr Wamalwa and faces the Herculean task of agreeing on one presidential candidate to face Mr Odinga in the General Election.
However, each of the members has his own party and campaign team and all are busy campaigning for themselves.
On Wednesday, G7 sources said Mr Kenyatta and Mr Ruto were concerned about Mr Wamalwa’s remarks and had moved swiftly to contain his growing discomfort. Mr Kenyatta and Mr Ruto, however, seem to be trying to find a way of working closely with both Mr Mudavadi and Mr Wamalwa.

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