There is disquiet among Kalenjin leaders and residents of the Rift Valley who do not see Amani National Congress (ANC) leader Musalia Mudavadi as adding value to UDA and its leadership in their quest to beat Raila Odinga at the ballot in August.
According to sources, DP Ruto’s backyard strongly feels Wiper leader Stephen Kalonzo Musyoka would have been a better catch, compared to Mudavadi who has lost grip of the Western vote.
The unease is also fueled by the fact ANC and Ford-Kenya parties have been left a shell of their former selves following a wave of defections that has left the two outfits with only a handful of MPs, yet the two leaders (Mudavadi and Wetangula) demand a lion’s share in their partnership with Ruto who is doing the heavy lifting.
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On Monday, United Democratic Alliance (UDA) chairperson Johnstone Muthama came out to dismiss the Kenya Kwanza Alliance being pushed by their new allies, saying the three parties were just political friends and had not signed any coalition pacts yet.
”As far as we are concerned, DP Ruto is the UDA presidential candidate, and Musalia Mudavadi is the presidential candidate of ANC, in other words, we are independent but talking as friends. We are friends when the time of agreeing on the coalition terms we will deal with it.
Our supporters wherever you are, know that your party had no coalition agreement. It has not signed any coalition agreement and if that will be done later alone you will be notified,” he said in Nairobi.
The UDA chair proceeded to note their main agenda at the moment was not rushing into political deals, but to engage like-minded friends on how to make the country united ahead of the polls.
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According to Muthama, UDA, Ford-Kenya, and ANC are yet to agree on terms, including who will fly their flag at the August polls.
“The true position is that we unite the country, maintain peace and that there are Kenyans who stand together. We have come together as friends and are in talks to see how we can move together and move forward together.”
