'Eventually the team returned the name of Raila Odinga as the presidential candidate with Kalonzo Musyoka as his running mate. There was a level of disappointment in some quarters in my party and I suspect in some of the others too'
Some members of the Nasa did not want Raila Odinga to be the presidential candidate of the coalition in the 2017 General Election, ANC leader Musalia Mudavadi says in his new book.
He said members of the National Super Alliance were unsure whether the ODM party leader was the most suitable flagbearer for the coalition.
Mudavadi says certain quarters within the coalition felt another principal should have earned the presidential ticket due to Raila’s repeated unsuccessful attempts at the presidency.
Nasa coalition had Raila, Musalia, Kalonzo Musyoka (Wiper), Ford Kenya's Moses Wetang'ula and CCM's Isaac Ruto as its principals
“Eventually the team returned the name of Raila Odinga as the presidential candidate with Kalonzo Musyoka as his running mate. There was a level of disappointment in some quarters in my party and I suspect in some of the others too,” Mudavadi says in his biography, Soaring above the Storms of Passion.
Mudavadi says the general feeling was that a presidential ticket of Kalonzo and himself stood a better chance against President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto.
“There were people who felt rather strongly that I should have been the flagbearer with Kalonzo as my running mate. Vibes from Wiper, on the other hand, suggested that Kalonzo should have been the candidate with me as the running mate.”
The selection of Nasa coalition's flagbearer was a painstaking process that attracted taunts from rival Jubilee for the coalition’s dithering.
Mudavadi says the management committee tasked with naming the flagbearer and his running mate was under a lot of pressure.
“Their work was informed with a lot of tension and backroom battles. We can also not rule out the possibility of a lot of influence from behind the scenes."
The Nasa line-up was later unveiled at a rally at Uhuru Park in April during which the other luminaries were designated powerful positions in a possible Nasa government.
Mudavadi was premier cabinet secretary-designate to be in charge of government coordination.
Wetang’ula and Rutto were designated as deputy premiers.
Mudavadi says Raila’s seniority in age got him ahead of the other principals for the coalition’s presidential ticket.
“He was older than the rest of us. On the other hand, he categorically stated that if we gave him the chance, he would be obliged to support someone else next time within the coalition framework,” Mudavadi narrates.
This was the ODM party supremo’s fourth attempt at the top job having earlier ran for the presidency in 1997, 2007 and 2013.
edited by peter obuya