VP meets Moi in bid to win Rift Valley bloc

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By KIPCHUMBA SOME ksome@ke.nationmedia.com and NOAH CHEPLOEN ncheploen@ke.nationmedia.com
Posted  Saturday, November 10  2012 at  18:59

IN SUMMARY

• He announced his departure last Friday and his party claimed that he was being sidelined in the loose alliance.
• Last Thursday, a group of the G7 leaders met at Mr Kenyatta’s residence in Nairobi and shared out key posts in a pre-election pact in which Mr Musyoka is reported to have been offered the post of Majority Leader in Parliament, and which the VP rejected.
• The G7 alliance has Mr Kenyatta as its presidential candidate and Mr Ruto as his running mate. Justice and Constitutional Affairs minister Eugene Wamalwa was reportedly given the post that Mr Musyoka rejected.

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Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka has stepped up efforts to craft an alternative alliance for next year’s General Election days after he severed links with the G7 group.

Mr Musyoka, who is seeking the presidency on the Wiper Democratic Movement party, reportedly held a meeting with Kanu chairman Gideon Moi last Friday evening, the same day he announced his withdrawal from G7.

A reliable source privy to the talks said Mr Musyoka is seeking the support of key Kalenjin politicians in his efforts to penetrate the Rift Valley bloc.

On Saturday, Mr Musyoka addressed rallies in Nakuru town, the headquarters of vote rich Rift Valley Province, which is widely believed will be crucial in deciding who occupies State House next year.

After the rallies, Mr Musyoka reportedly visited former President Moi at his Kabarak home, where they held a closed-door meeting and whose outcome we could not be confirm at the time of going to press.

The meetings were among a flurry of activities geared towards crafting a new alliance after it became clear that the VP’s position in the G7 alliance was untenable.

Among those he is said to have opened talks with are Prime Minister Raila Odinga and Deputy Prime Minister Musalia Mudavadi, although he has played down talks with the PM.

The VP was thought to be a key leader in the G7 alliance that brings together prominent leaders from across the country, including presidential hopefuls Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta and Eldoret North MP William Ruto.

He announced his departure last Friday and his party claimed that he was being sidelined in the loose alliance. (READ: Kalonzo rejects job as G7 strikes power deal)

Last Thursday, a group of the G7 leaders met at Mr Kenyatta’s residence in Nairobi and shared out key posts in a pre-election pact in which Mr Musyoka is reported to have been offered the post of Majority Leader in Parliament, and which the VP rejected.

The G7 alliance has Mr Kenyatta as its presidential candidate and Mr Ruto as his running mate. Justice and Constitutional Affairs minister Eugene Wamalwa was reportedly given the post that Mr Musyoka rejected.

His spokesman Mr Kaplich Barsito told the Sunday Nation that talks with Mr Mudavadi, who also seems to have fallen out of favour with the G7 alliance, would proceed on Tuesday.

On Saturday, Wiper secretary-general Mutula Kilonzo hosted ODM ministers Otieno Kajwang, James Orengo and Oburu Oginga at his Mbooni consituency as he launched his campaign for the Makueni senatorial seat.

Although he only mentioned his exit from the G7 in passing at yesterday’s campaigns in Nakuru, the VP said that he was in the presidential race to the end.

“All these things are normal… being kicked out like the way it happened to some of us in 2007 is normal, but the country must remain together,” he said.

He said that he was best placed to succeed President Kibaki, noting that he was the second most experienced politician in the country after the President, having served in Parliament for 28 years.

Speaking after opening his party’s office in Nakuru, Mr Musyoka added that the fact that he had deputised the President in the last four years puts him in a good position to inherit the seat.

He earlier met with Muslim leaders before he addressed a gathering at Lions Garden in the town, where he assured the residents he would fight all kinds of injustices and discrimination if elected president.