Deputy President William Ruto and opposition leader Raila Odinga stare at a possible predicament as they seek to expand their coalition lattices in order to accommodate new players.
The entry of ANC leader Musalia Mudavadi and his Ford Kenya colleague Moses Wetangula into Ruto’s camp has compounded things on the DP’s initial camp. Recently, Mathira MP Rigathi Gachagua spilled everything and told new entrants to forget about the running mate position.
According to Gachagua, the Deputy President slot is a preserve of Mt Kenya. This argument is reinforced basing on the numerical strength of supporters being brought onboard.
Mt Kenya region is among the top vote-rich zone in Kenya. The region has produced three presidents of Kenya – Jomo Kenyatta (Kiambu), Mwai Kibaki (Nyeri) and Uhuru Kenyatta (Kiambu).
Owing to their proximity to power, leaders from the region want to remain a heartbeat away from presidency after the retirement of President Uhuru Kenyatta.
Raila Odinga is most likely to select his running mate from Central Kenya. Former Gatanga MP Peter Kenneth is among the most favored choice for Raila.
Is Kalonzo Musyoka out of the succession equation?
Kalonzo appears like he has been chained by his own trap. His utterances might hound him out of active politics, if he accepts to support Raila Odinga. If he chooses to ply the Kenya Kwanza route, then he would have betrayed Uhuru.
During the burial of Kalonzo’s father at Tseikuru, Uhuru revealed that his preferred successor would be a shocker to many Kalonzo thought his time had come.
In the burial of Musalia’s mother at Mululu, the president stated that it was time for a person from another tribe, apart from the one that had led before, to rule. Musalia thought it was his time to be endorsed.
The final shocker of the President endorsing Raila stunned the Wiper leader, who since lost grip of his Ukambani backyard with all the regional governors supporting Raila’s presidential bid.
Former Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka recently christened as “the indecisive Kingmaker” has come with a list of demands before joining Raila’s camp. Kalonzo insists that he will no longer play second fiddle to the ODM leader.
Kalonzo wants Raila to support him the way he supported him in the past two general elections. In a press interview, the Wiper leader referenced to his earlier remarks that “he will be a fool if he supported Raila Odinga for the third time.”
ODM, UDA predicament
Both Azimio La Umoja and Kenya Kwanza face a number of hurdles ahead of 2022 general elections. The major headache for the two political titans is how they would manage the looming party nominations without inducing mass exodus of their supporters.
UDA suffered a major blow earlier this week when the Party’s national treasurer Omingo Magara quit the party citing “lack of democracy.” Magara will be contesting for the Kisii gubernatorial seat and might have sensed bias in the coming party nominations.
ODM has been largely criticized over the manner in which Party elections are handled. It has been alleged that the party hands direct nomination tickets to some favored candidates, prevalently in their stronghold regions.
In Homa Bay County alone, three of Raila’s key allies will be squaring out for the gubernatorial seat. The three ODM candidates for Homa Bay gubernatorial contest are Gladys Wanga (Homa Bay women representative), John Mbadi (National Assembly Minority Leader) and Evans Kidero (former Nairobi governor).
In Kirinyaga County, the entry of Governor Ann Waiguru complicated Purity Ngirici’s quest to succeed her. Sensing that Ruto and allies were favoring the incumbent governor prompted Mrs Ngirici to join the Azimio brigade.
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