Raila hints at working with Mudavadi

CORD presidential candidate Raila and former Kass FM radio presenter Sang at the latter’s home in Seum farm, Cherangani

By Robert Wanyonyi and Titus Too
Prime Minister Raila Odinga and his Coalition for Reforms and Democracy (CORD) team have extended an Olive Branch to Amani Coalition’s Musalia Mudavadi and radio journalist Joshua arap Sang with promise of goodies.
Addressing a rally at Posta Grounds in Bungoma town on Thursday, Raila hinted at a possibility of working again with Mudavadi, saying they were still “close friends”.

With opinion polls showing no candidate could win the presidential race in the first round, Raila is seen to warm up to Mudavadi in readiness for a run-off. According to recent opinion polls, the PM and Jubilee’s Uhuru Kenyatta, could be headed for a run-off if the Monday vote doesn’t produce a winner with mandatory 50 per cent plus one votes.
Raila, who began his campaigns in the vote-rich Western and the North Rift with a visit to Justice minister Eugene Wamalwa’s Trans Nzoia County, told the rally in Bungoma that Mudavadi was merely duped into believing a non-existent political arrangement (with G-7 team).
Attentive audience
“Those who duped him wanted to use him to achieve own ambitions. However, even when he was at the middle of that quagmire, Mudavadi assured me we will work together again because we are still close friends,” Raila told the cheering crowd.
Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka, Trade Minister Moses Wetangula, Internal Security Assistant Minister Alfred Khang’ati and Kangundo MP Johnstone Muthama are accompanying the PM in the Western campaign tour.
Raila dismissed pollsters indicating the race between him and Uhuru is too close and expressed optimism he would beat the Jubilee flag-bearer by a wide margin.
Kalonzo urged residents to turn out in large numbers and vote to give Raila and CORD a first-round win on Monday and save the country millions of money earmarked for a runoff.
Wetang’ula termed as cheap propaganda claims that Raila and Kalonzo have shared positions in a CORD government on a 50-50 basis.
Next regime
And in Rift Valley, CORD campaign team visited radio journalist Sang and affirmed they would be better placed to bring the ICC cases back home, if the coalition forms the next government.
They said, if elected, Raila would be a neutral president who can approach the outside world and the UN to have cases facing four Kenyans referred back to the country