Saturday, November 10, 2012

Is Kalonzo joining Raila?


Wiper’s Mutula to host ODM amid alliance talk

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Vice President Kalonzo musyoka has a word with Prime Minister Raila Odinga at a past function. Photo/FILE
Vice President Kalonzo musyoka has a word with Prime Minister Raila Odinga at a past function. Photo/FILE  NATION MEDIA GROUP
By JULIUS SIGEI jsigei @ke.nationmedia.com and BOB ODALO bodalo@ke.nationmedia.com
Posted  Saturday, November 10  2012 at  00:30
IN SUMMARY
  • Vice-President quits G7 after Thursday snub
  • Mbooni MP describes Odinga in glowing terms and endorses PM’s possible coalition with Kalonzo
  • ODM ministers prepare for talks with former ally
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Prime Minister Raila Odinga’s campaign strategists were on Friday increasingly confident that they could strike a pre-election coalition deal with Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka.
This followed a decision by Mr Musyoka’s Wiper Democratic Party to pull out of the G7 Alliance.
“Kenyans know that we are no longer part of the G7 Alliance. In any case,  G7 Alliance was not a formal group. I don’t know who the seven leaders are. We were not formal members of the G 7 Alliance,” said Mr David Musila, the party’s chairman.
Although Mr Musyoka’s  allies maintained that he would pursue a path to the presidency independent of ODM and G7, Youth and Sports minister Ababu Namwamba said ODM was ready to work with him.
“There is nothing like Third Force. This thing will be like the American election and you are either here or there,” said Mr Namwamba.
Mr Namwamba said during the recent Kang’undo meeting, where Mr Odinga was hosted by area MP Johnstone Muthama, the local people tasked Mr Muthama to pursue engagement with the PM.
Today, Wiper’s secretary-general Mutula Kilonzo will host ODM ministers James Orengo and Otieno Kajwang’ as well as Bondo MP Oburu Oginga at the launch of his (Mr Kilonzo’s) bid for the Makueni senatorial seat.
On Thursday, the G7 group held a meeting at Mr Uhuru Kenyatta’s residence on State House Road, where they reportedly shared out key posts and left out the VP in the pre-election pact.
The VP, who had earlier in the day attended a Cabinet meeting, skipped the G7 meeting, choosing instead to attend to other engagements at the Laico Regency Hotel in Nairobi.
Mr Musyoka’s close allies perceive the discussions at the meeting as amounting to efforts to sideline him in the alliance.
“It is obvious that there has been a conspiracy to isolate us and the Vice-President in favour of (Charity) Ngilu and Kiema Kilonzo. What Uhuru and (William) Ruto do not understand is that these two have no political clout in Ukambani and will be shortly wiped out by the people,” said Machakos MP Victor Munyaka.
On Friday, Mr Kilonzo, also the Mbooni MP,  dismissed the G7 as “headed nowhere as it had no wiper to drive in the rains that are the coming elections.”
He talked about Mr Odinga in glowing terms, describing him as the longest-serving political detainee.
“He (Mr Odinga) endured longer time than founding President Jomo Kenyatta. What is wrong in the VP and the PM working together? If the two find a point of convergence to form a stable government, why not?” he asked. But Mr Kilonzo could not disclose or deny talk of a possible coalition involving the two parties.
Public Service minister Dalmas Otieno said ODM would continue seeking alliances with other parties, including Mr Musyoka’s Wiper, but said the party would no longer release information to the media until clear deals are cut.
Presidential bid
“We talking to everybody including Wiper but we are shocked at the manner the media is embarrassing us by leaking information regarding these negotiations,” said Mr Otieno.
The G7 meeting reportedly endorsed Mr Kenyatta’s presidential bid with Mr Ruto of URP as his running mate.
Mr Eugene Wamalwa  of New Ford Kenya is to be the Majority Leader in Parliament while Mrs Charity Ngilu (Narc) and Mr Chirau Ali Makwere have been promised other key posts.
Mr Kilonzo, the Wiper secretary general, said the party’s national executive council meeting held this week was told that the G7 alliance had offered the VP the slot of Majority Leader in Parliament.
It is this offer, which was seen as belittling the VP, that ignited his anger, according to insiders.
Wiper MPs have also been rattled by the G7’s decision to work with Mr Musyoka’s critics in the region.
Reacting to the post offered to Mr Musyoka, Mr Musila said: “It cannot work and it is not acceptable. They can donate it to other leaders and go ahead with their coalition.”
Wiper MPs have in recent weeks complained in public that Mr Muyoka was shortchanged by President Kibaki despite the pivotal role he played in shoring up the President’s unstable government after the disputed presidential election in 2007.
At the same time, the minister for Environment, Chirau Ali Mwakwere, and assistant minister Kazungu Kambi yesterday threatened to quit the G7 Alliance after Mvita MP Najib Balala was given a key role in the group.
Mr Mwakwere and Mr Kambi, both allied to the URP, said in Nairobi and Mombasa that there was no room for the MP in the party.
“We as Mijikenda leaders cannot and will not accept Mr Balala to be the Coast leader in G7. It cannot happen. We will not play second fiddle, not anymore,” Mr Kambi told the Press in Mombasa.
Mr Mwakwere said Kaya elders had warned him against working with Mr Balala in any coalition.
“I totally agree with Mr Kambi. We were ordered by Kaya elders and Coastals that we must not accept Balala in G7 or any political alliance,” he said.
Additional reporting by Francis Mureithi

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