Cord principals, from left, Mr Moses Wetang’ula, Mr Raila Odinga and Mr Kalonzo Musyoka, during a past event. PHOTO | NATION | FILE
The comments come at a time when muted calls have emerged for the Opposition’s de facto leader Raila Odinga, who unsuccessfully vied for the presidency last year, to retire and allow another Cord candidate to contest the top seat in the next election.
But in an interview with the Sunday Nation, Mr Musyoka, the Wiper party leader, insisted those hoping Cord will disintegrate before the next elections were in for a rude shock as the Opposition had an elaborate plan to manage any potential fall-out.
Mr Musyoka, however, refused to disclose details of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), arguing the time was not ripe.
“For now that is privileged information, and I would rather it remain so. What is important is unity of purpose in Cord, not details of the MoU. The coalition members must all work to achieve this unity,” he said.
Cord is led by a triumvirate of Mr Odinga (ODM), Mr Musyoka (Wiper) and Mr Moses Wetang’ula (Ford Kenya) in addition to smaller parties affiliated to them.
Mr Odinga and his running mate Mr Musyoka were beaten by Jubilee presidential candidate Mr Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy Mr William Ruto in the March 2013 election.
Cord unsuccessfully challenged the results in the Supreme Court, but there have been claims that Mr Odinga was meant to be a one-term president to pave way for either of the co-principals in 2017.
It is not clear what the status of the alleged 2013 agreement is since Mr Odinga was not elected, but the claim by Mr Musyoka that there was an MoU is bound to revive interest in the matter.
However, Mr Musyoka was quick to clarify that the sensitive issue of the next presidential candidate will not be a deal-breaker.
“Any of us can make a good president and any of us can be a good running mate. In the same vein, any of us can also be an excellent leader of the majority (in Parliament),” he said.
Mr Wetang’ula, the Bungoma senator, is on record as saying Cord will conduct a joint nomination to pick its flagbearer and he stood a good chance of being picked, while a section of leaders in Mr Musyoka’s Ukambani stronghold have said he risked being politically irrelevant if he failed to secure the coalition’s ticket in 2017.
Mr Odinga, who has vied for the presidency three times––in 1997, 2007 and last year––has left his allies and opponents guessing about his intentions for 2017. However, the former Prime Minister and his allies have in recent months hinted he will run.
As an example of how emotional the issue was, on Thursday a group of rowdy individuals violently ejected ODM executive director Magerer Lang’at from the party headquarters in Nairobi. Mr Lang’at was alleged to have said the party was dead and that Mr Odinga should retire.
And last week, Kitutu Chache South MP Richard Onyonka, who claimed to speak on behalf of a group of MPs allied to Mr Odinga, said the best chance for Cord to win the top seat in the next elections was for the former PM to sacrifice his bid for the presidency.
However, Mr Odinga’s allies accused those pushing ththese views as “moles” being used by the Jubilee government to divide the Opposition.
Picking a presidential torchbearer and candidates for other elective seats is usually the biggest test for political parties. The challenge is more profound when it is an alliance like Cord that has many affiliate parties.
When Mr Musyoka was absent from the political scene last month, speculation was rife that he was laying ground to leave Cord. This forced him to issue a statement to the Sunday Nation from South Africa a fortnight ago reaffirming his commitment to the coalition and the ongoing Okoa Kenya referendum campaign.
“I am strongly for the referendum; it is only that I have been trying to sort out a few personal issues. We are in close contact with Raila and even this morning, I spoke with him from his hotel room in Yale (university),” he said then, alluding to Mr Odinga’s US visit.
In the interview this week, Mr Musyoka rejected claims by those who said that the split with Mr Odinga in the run-up to the 2007 General Election showed he was a self-seeker.
“No one can today say I cannot sacrifice my ambition for anyone. Even before March 2013, I had sacrificed for (retired president) Mwai Kibaki,” he said.
Mr Musyoka also offered a window into the behind-the-scenes haggling before the grand coalition government was unveiled in 2008. As then ODM-K leader, he told of how instrumental he was in the appointment of Mr Kenyatta as deputy prime minister.
“Many people may not know that I prevailed upon President Kibaki to appoint him deputy prime minister,” he said, adding that Mr Kibaki was “somewhat reluctant” to appoint Mr Kenyatta because of “regional balance or other considerations”.
Mr Kenyatta’s appointment is seen by observers to have led to the weakening of ties between Mr Kibaki and then powerful Justice Minister Martha Karua, who was said to have been eyeing the position of deputy premier.
Mr Musyoka, who was vice-president in the Grand Coalition, told Sunday Nation he did not, however, regret supporting then President Kibaki. This is despite Mr Kibaki’s not returning the favour last year.
“Regret is not in my DNA. I know I have served my country faithfully, but such sacrifices do not go in vain. We must ensure that devolution works,” he told Sunday Nation.
Supporters of Mr Musyoka had hoped that Mr Kibaki would support him to be the fourth president when he retired last year. Even though he did not openly involve himself in succession politics, Mr Kibaki is thought to have supported the Jubilee candidates.
And touching on the recent intrigues in his party, the Wiper leader told of how some members of the county assembly in Makueni and Machakos counties elected on a Wiper ticket had been lured by Jubilee through “goodies”. Some MPs and a governor from the eastern region are said to be gravitating towards the government side.
“Some of these people have gone to bed with Jubilee and so what we are asking them is, why not resign from these positions you hold and vie on a Jubilee ticket? They are just pouring scorn on us. It is infiltration by Jubilee through MCAs which is immoral,” he said.
Makueni Governor Kivutha Kibwana, of the Cord affiliated Muungano Party, has been impeached by MCAs despite Mr Musyoka’s attempts to save him. The matter is in court.
In Machakos, Deputy Governor Bernard Kiala was also shown the door by MCAs before the Senate came to his rescue.
A furious Mr Musyoka read the riot act to the rebel Wiper members when he returned from South Africa, withdrawing support for the Machakos and Makueni Majority Leaders who are Wiper members.
“How did you then check the government if your troops are flip-flopping?”
We had to de-whip them. We have called the few errant MCAs and MPs to order and also stated categorically that we did not support the impeachment of Governor Kibwana,” he said.
But Mr Musyoka still has to grapple with dissent in his stronghold even as he turns his focus to the referendum campaign and the dicey issue of the 2017 presidential candidate.
CREDIT: THE NATION
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