Kalonzo Musyoka has now been officially in the Azimio La Umoja Coalition for something like two months or more. During that time Kalonzo has attended maybe one rally somewhere.
The rest of the time Kalonzo and his team of Kiema Kilonzo, Maanzo, and others have been bombarding Azimio leaders and supporters with their endless demands that Kalonzo Musyoka has to be chosen as Raila Odinga’s running mate or else they will do we don’t know what.
Kalonzo has miraculously managed to stop the Azimio movement Kenyans saw before he joined them when Azimio was in every part of the country with incredible rallies and mass mobilization of voters like we have never seen before.
In fact, just before Raila’s inauguration in Nairobi, Azimio leaders had one of their best rallies in all areas of Ukambani from Machakos through Makueni, Kitui, Mlolongo, and everywhere.
All that has to be stopped because everybody in Azimio now has to concentrate on messaging Kalonzo’s ego. Change the registered name of Azimio Coalition to something Kalonzo personally likes. It is something new every day. It is getting tiresome.
As soon as Kalonzo joined Azimio no such rally has been held and now listening to Prof. Kivutha Kibwana we get the issue is because Kalonzo Muysoka is holding everybody hostage including those in his home areas until he gets his DP compulsory slot.
Kalonzo does not want to work with any of the key leaders in Ukambani like Prof. Kibwana, Alfred Mutua, Charity Ngilu, and others. These leaders were working very well with the rest of the Azimio team and there were no petty fights and all that stuff that kills political parties.
It seems Kalonzo is afraid that if Raila and the rest of the leaders from the region get things going then they can do without him and that reduces any currency he has. Thus resorting to pushing Azimio by threatening that without him (Kalonzo), the alliance gets no votes in the region.
He insists to have his three-legged stool take over Azimio as long as it serves Mr. Musyoka. Makes you sick but we have to deal with it intelligently. Even Kalonzo will have to do the same eventually.
Many Kenyans like the Wiper leader and are very happy that he joined the winning team of Azimio but it could get to a point where many in Azimio will be saying the price of keeping Kalonzo Musyoka is way higher than letting him do wherever he wants. If that means Raila and Azimio lose the election fair enough.
It is better to lose an election than form a government with people whose primary interests are “Me, Myself and I”.
Read: Kalonzo may be Raila and Azimio’s biggest problem, not Ruto
The worst part of all this with Kalonzo, it seems his only interest in Azimio and the 2022 General Elections is that it will give him the opportunity to run in 2027 and become Kenya’s president then. If Azimio can help Kalonzo be president in 2027 then that is great but if not, Kalonzo has no interest in it.
If Kalonzo were to be the Deputy President come August 9, 2022, he will start running for the presidency in 2027 on August 10, 2022.
If people thought Uhuru and Ruto fight because the DP started campaigning in 2017, wait till you see Kalonzo start his fights with Raila right after the August 2022 elections.
People are tired of talking about the three-legged stool Kalonzo wants to sit on while others are out there campaigning. The real deal for Kalonzo here is that he thought he could lean on President Uhuru to help him bully Raila. Kalonzo’s three-legged fantasy is that Raila has one leg, Uhuru has the other leg and the final leg belongs to him.
Uhuru is already the president so he will not need his leg of the stool. Raila will then be the president and leave the stool with only one leg. That is what Kalonzo wants to do. Someone needs to tell him that the one-legged stool he is looking for after August 9, 2022 may be the most dangerous type of chair to sit on because first of all, you have to get there. If you are trying to sit on one-legged stool you can’t even stand up without the chair tumbling over.
The real problem for Kalonzo here is that suppose Azimio settle on Martha Karua as the running mate for their presidential candidate and he goes nuts then what message would he be sending to Martha Karua and to Kenyan women?
Will he be saying that Martha Karua is unfit to hold a DP or even a presidential job? Of course, Kalonzo knows Martha Karua would be equal to that task, and going on a tizzy fit about her may not be the best way to start your 2027 presidential campaign.
Adongo Ogony is a Human Rights Activist and a Writer who lives in Toronto, Canada
