- He said for many years the party has been supporting other people but this time around they are putting their demands forward.
- Malala said their partners from Mt Kenya should understand that the deputy president slot would be taken by anyone based on their experience.
Image: CALISTUS LUCHETU
ANC leaders from Western are demanding the deputy president slot in Kenya Kwanza coalition, a move that may cause anxiety in one of the formidable political associations in the country.
Led by Kakamega Senator Cleophas Malala, the leaders stated that the party will not settle for anything less than the deputy president slot as their irreducible minimum.
Malala, who was meeting the residents of Malava constituency, said Amani National Congress will not repeat the mistakes they made when they joined the disintegrated Nasa coalition four years ago.
“We want to remind our Kenya Kwanza partners that Kenya Kwanza is a coalition of parties and not a coalition of regions. That is why as ANC party, we are saying that we have our full support behind William Ruto as the Kenya Kwanza presidential flag bearer, but we are demanding that the slot of deputy president should be handed to ANC party and that should be Wycliffe Musalia Mudavadi,” Malala said.
He added that for many years the party has been supporting other people but this time around they are putting their demands forward.
Malala said their partners from Mt Kenya region should understand that the deputy president slot would be taken by anyone in the coalition based on their political and leadership experience.
“People should not sit in a place and imagine that since they come from the mountain they are fit to be deputy president more than others like us who come from the other part of the country. As a party we are saying if UDA takes the president slot we want that of the deputy president,” Malala said.
He said Mudavadi was the most experienced among those eyeing the deputy president position in the coalition and therefore deserves it.
“Our agenda as Kenya Kwanza is economic revival. We want to improve the economy and we want to know who is up to that task by interviewing those rooting for the second top seat in the country. We would want to know between Musalia Mudavadi and Rigathi Gachagua who is more capable of handling the economic matters in the country,” he said.
The legislator said Mudavadi was once minister of Supplies and Marketing, Finance, Local Government, the Vice President, Deputy Prime Minister.
“You should tell us what whoever else you want to be the deputy president has done in this country,” Malala said.
“As we are going to do the coalition agreement, we must sit down and agree that every party gets its fair share. If UDA gets president, let ANC have the deputy slot and other parties get their different slots as they join in".
West Kabras MCA David Ndakwa said ANC joined Kenya Kwanza as an equal partner. Mudavadi is in the coalition as an equal principal and should be given what he deserves.
“Kenya Kwanza has been given a national face by Musalia Mudavadi. It has also been given a regional bloc by the ANC joining in, and so we are only demanding what rightfully belongs to us. We are not children of a lesser god as Luhyas and we are no longer 'watchmen' as we used to be referred to in the past. The deputy president slot belongs to ANC,” he said.
Edited by Henry Makori