ANC Party’s lack of numbers in the Senate and National Assembly played out in Naivasha in the first joint One Kenya Alliance (OKA) retreat, which brings together party leaders Musalia Mudavadi (ANC), Kalonzo Musyoka (Wiper), Gideon Moi (KANU), and Moses Wetangula (Ford-Kenya) plus their respective Parliamentary groups to discuss the future of the new outfit and their plans for 2022.
During yesterday’s meeting, Musalia Mudavadi and his team led by his deputy Lugari MP Ayub Savula stood their ground, that it is time for the ANC leader to be handed over the OKA presidential ticket from consensus and without any competitive process, a proposal which was strongly dismissed by the Wiper party and its leadership, which insists Mr. Musyoka has the highest number of elected seats in OKA, and thus automatically qualifies to become its flagbearer.
Read: KANU insists OKA must work with Raila Odinga in 2022
Wiper Democratic Movement currently has a total of 23MPs in Parliament, Amani National Congress closely follows with 14MPs, Ford-Kenya which is rocked with internal leadership wrangles between Wetangula and Wamunyinyi factions has 11MPs, and KANU 10.
Backed to a corner by Wiper and KANU to prove their mettle and why their party leader feels he has the support base to deliver a strong victory for OKA in 2022, Mr. Mudavadi told his fellow principals he has the backing of Ford-Kenya’s 11MPs and was coming to the table with a total of 25MPs, against Mr. Musyoka’s 23.
Unknown to the ANC team, Wiper, and KANU leaders had previously agreed to have their parties jointly push their interests in the two-day retreat, and with a total of 33MPs (from KANU and Wiper) Kalonzo and his allies assert he has more MPs backing his bid than the ANC boss, and that he is the right person to be OKA’s presidential candidate in 2022.
”Mudavadi is the most disadvantaged out of the four OKA principals. Even with Wetangula’s help he still has no numbers but insists he must be the flagbearer. It is too late for him. Bolting out of OKA is not an option and politics is all about numbers,” a source confided to this publication.
Read: President Uhuru summons Raila, OKA principals to State House
This new development yesterday saw the new alliance’s principals defer any talks of picking a presidential flagbearer until the BBI judgment is out.
The Naivasha meeting is coming days after President Uhuru Kenyatta told the former NASA chiefs to back Raila Odinga for the top seat next year.
