- Makueni MP Daniel Maanzo said Wiper will not have any political deal with Ruto but acknowledged that the party will negotiate with like-minded parties.
- Wiper deputy organising secretary Robert Mbui said the party’s communication channels are well known.
Image: COURTESY
Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka has vehemently denied claims he is in talks with DP William Ruto over a political alliance ahead of the 2022 election.
He said claims by former Machakos Senator Johnson Muthama are meant to ruin his cordial working relationship with President Uhuru Kenyatta. Muthama, in his radio interview on Wednesday, gave the impression he had been given the green-light to announce that a pact was looming. He sparked a nationwide debate after hinting Kalonzo was looking to team up with Ruto.
But Kalonzo said the speculations are malicious and an attempt to drive a wedge between him and Uhuru.
“Remarks by individuals should not be attributed to me. The desperate attempts to drive a wedge between me and the President have failed,” he said.
Muthama’s change of tune caught many Kenyans by surprise. In the lead-up to the 2017 General Election, the abrasive politician never lost an opportunity to attack Ruto as a corrupt politician unfit to lead. For some, however, his remarks were a symptom of what ails Kenyan politics — a dearth of convictions.
“After the meeting and after we have agreed, we will seek support from other leaders like Musalia Mudavadi, Moses Wetang’ula and William Ruto,” Muthama said.
Wiper deputy organising secretary Robert Mbui said the party’s communication channels are well known. “The comments made by Senator Muthama were his own personal opinion and are not in any way the position of the party or its leader Kalonzo Musyoka. Wiper party has official communication channels through the office of the secretary-general, the chairman, or the party leader himself,” the Kathiani MP said.
Muthama said they will form a committee to discuss the merits of a coalition with Ruto with a view of Kalonzo moving in as an equal partner.
“Soon and very soon, mark my words: I want to call leaders to create the committee to devise how we can work with Ruto.”
However, their teaming together will not be without conditions. The DP would be required to drop his presidential candidate tag so they can kickstart the talks on an equal pedestal.
“I’ll ask Ruto to tell us who between him and Kalonzo can be president. If he can’t answer that, I’ll tell him to make his committee, which will sit down with us,” Muthama said.
“We will create another committee that will go to Uhuru and ask him if he is with us. If he is, we’ll seek more answers on how he is going to work with Kalonzo.”
The remarks have been read as work-in-progress on what could change the country’s political matrix, and as one which confirms the death of the National Super Alliance (Nasa). Muthama said he has never revealed his preferred candidate to succeed Uhuru in 2022, assertions his critics say amount to double-speak.
Conversations of a looming Kalonzo-Ruto pact were rife after photos emerged of the two in a tête-à-tête on the sidelines of a meeting at KICC, Nairobi, on Tuesday.
Makueni MP Daniel Maanzo said Wiper will not have any political deal with Ruto but acknowledged that the party will negotiate with like-minded parties.
Kalonzo faces a tough test in the wake of governors Alfred Mutua (Machakos), Charity Ngilu (Kitui), and Kivutha Kibwana (Makueni) joining forces to command the Ukambani regions’ following.
Mutua, who is the Maendeleo Chap Chap leader, intimated there have been secret meetings between the two groups. The claim was corroborated by a member of Wiper’s inner circles who told The Star “all options are open” for their party leader. Details of the purported talks remain scant but sources indicate that representatives of both Ruto and Kalonzo camps — elected and non-elected leaders — have been meeting regularly.
Mutua, citing a plot to scuttle the Building Bridges Initiative, said: “We are aware of several secret meetings which have led to today's pronouncements. It has not come as a surprise.”
His view is that the Muthama project will end up being the tradition of leaders auctioning the Kamba community to the highest bidder.
“We want to categorically tell Wiper that our people are tired of being auctioned to the highest bidder, as a pawn for individuals and to enrich a few,” the governor said.
He reiterated his party’s support for the BBI process, asking Kenyans to “shun corrupt and self-seeking alliances meant to destabilise the country”.
Former Kathiani MP Wavinya Ndeti dismissed Mutua's statement as malicious and aimed at isolating Wiper from working with Uhuru.
"There is no alliance between our party leader and the deputy president. People like Alfred Mutua are driving the wild narrative aimed at isolating our party from working with Uhuru," she said.
“Wiper supports the Building Bridges Initiative position as exemplified by the party leader's remarks at Bomas where Mutua 'was voiceless'.”
(Edited by F'Orieny)