TEARS AS GIDEON AND MUSALIA RUN AWAY FROM KALONZO

The political future of the fledgling One Kenya Alliance seems uncertain as its bosses pull in different directions. 

It has emerged that the collapsed Building Bridges Initiative could have fundamentally bolstered plans by the big boys to craft a broad-based alliance.

ANC party leader Musalia Mudavadi yesterday said he could pick his 2022 running mate from Mt Kenya, President Uhuru Kenyatta’s backyard.

The announcement raised the question of what positions his OKA partners would hold were he to be picked the alliance’s flagbearer. 

The OKA principals are Mudavadi, Kanu’s Gideon Moi, Wiper’s Kalonzo Musyoka and Moses Wetang’ula of Ford Kenya. 

It has also emerged that Gideon could have changed his mind about backing someone else for the presidency.

Speculation is rife that Gideon could go all the way to the ballot to compete with Deputy President William Ruto for the heart and soul of Rift Valley.

At the burial of his father, President Daniel Moi, in February last year, Gideon was handed his rungu—popularly known as Fimbo ya Nyayo.

The handover by Kalenjin elders was seen as a political statement that Gideon was the community’s new leader.

Tiaty MP William Kamket and Kanu secretary general Nick Salat announced that Gideon is set to make a major political pronouncement in the coming days “that will shake the nation”.

“One thing that I must say very candidly is that after the ruling on the Court of Appeal on matters of BBI, things are not the same again…apart from the reforms [in BBI], there was also the power arrangement. So it’s not business as usual, there is a rethink of issues,” said Kamket, a close ally of Gideon.

“I can tell you for sure that in the next few days, Kenyans will be hearing the news that they have been waiting for on what the senator from Baringo wants…It is just a matter of time, perhaps this week. You will even be hearing political developments from Kanu that will shake the nation.”

ODM chief Raila Odinga and Deputy President William Ruto have ramped up their political activities, but most of the OKA bosses have largely taken a low profile, the quartet not having met publicly since they left Naivasha on August 17. 

The BBI was the magic that was to provide a broader base for political negotiations but after the BBI ruling, every party is fighting for survival and as Kanu, we shall not sit back

Kanu secretary general Nick Salat

This is the first time that Kanu, a major partner in OKA, is speaking to its own political future.

Although in OKA, Gideon has had a soft spot for ODM boss Raila.

On Tuesday, however, the Independence party signalled a change of heart, saying the collapse of the BBI necessitated a change of strategy on how to approach the next polls. 

The Court of Appeal upheld the High Court verdict that declared BBI unconstitutional, sending the bigwigs back to the drawing board.

Salat told the Star that the BBI defeat has heralded a major shift in the political architecture and Kanu “will no longer sit back”. 

“The BBI was the magic that was to provide a broader base for political negotiations, but after the BBI judgment, every party is fighting for survival and as Kanu, we shall not sit back,” he said. 

Asked whether Kanu is plotting a presidential run, Salat said deliberations on the party’s future are complete and Gideon will very soon unveil the plan. 

“In essence, a political party exists to capture power. For us as Kanu, we are planning and very soon you will be hearing it from our chairman himself about our 2022 plans,” he said. 

Meanwhile, Mudavadi said he is toying with the idea of picking his 2022 running-mate from Mt Kenya. 

“It can happen. It is possible that I will pick a running mate from Mt Kenya,” he said during an interview on Inooro TV when asked how he intends to work with the people from the mountain. 

The ANC boss has lately stepped up his vote-hunt in Mt Kenya, attending church services and meeting delegations. 

His remarks further point to the political significance of Central as hopefuls strategise to court its population. Front-runners are dangling the running-mate post. 

Mudavadi said he cannot turn a blind eye to the region as it is the country’s largest vote bloc. 

“I have experience and the ticket from my party to vie for the presidency in next year’s election. I have played second [fiddle] to others in previous elections and time has come for me to now captain the ship,” he said. 

With Mudavadi and Gideon giving the clearest hint that they will be in the 2022 presidential ballot, analysts say the future of OKA could be bleak, 319 days to the general election. 

Kamket, an influential Kanu stalwart, said Gideon’s announcement will provide the alternative political arrangement that Kenyans have been craving and the time has come for Kanu to chart its own path. 

“We are not enemies in One Kenya Alliance, we are partners. But I think it is time to give Kenyans the alternative that they have always been waiting for,” he said. 

The comments suggested that Kanu will be on the ballot, leaving the future of OKA in limbo. 

“I am sure that the resistance that you are seeing, especially from Mt Kenya, to some people is because they are waiting for that alternative,” Kamket said.

“The perceived popularity that you see on the wheelbarrow party is because Kenyans have not been given the alternatives that they want. That also applies to Rift Valley and the Kamatusa political base.” 

There are reports that there is a push to have Gideon run for president to build his stature and political influence. 

Should Gideon throw his hat in the presidential ring, this would chip away some of Ruto’s support base in Rift Valley, a major springboard he is banking on to romp to State House. 

Ruto has acrimoniously fallen out with his boss, President Kenyatta, with the head of state working on a scheme to stifle his bid. 

The President has previously urged OKA leaders to work closely with Raila—his perceived preferred successor—as part of the strategy to consolidate their bases to vanquish Ruto. 

But the OKA chiefs are said to be playing hardball on reuniting with Raila, demanding that the ODM boss agree to back one of them. 

By The Star