•Strategist says politics of deceit are the cause of country's problems, not the Constitution.
•Kenya's problem rests on unfulfilled political pacts
Image: COURTESY
Eliud Owalo, a former aide of Raila Odinga, has dissuaded the former ODM leader's Luo Nyanza base against hoping he’d win elections in 2022.
The political strategist said he chose to back Deputy President William Ruto for the presidency as there is no clear future in Raila’s candidacy.
Owalo, speaking to Kisumu-based broadcaster Nam Lolwe FM, called on residents from the ODM leaders’ traditional bases to shift their thinking about the race.
He said signs were on the wall that Raila has lost support in Ukambani, Western and is also under threat at the Coast.
Owalo said there were also signs those fronting the system may have also learned that Raila is not sellable in Central.
“Let us be open-ended. From the information I have. Let us get the best scenario and the options we can pursue in the event of failure,” Owalo said.
The ODM leaders’ ex-strategic said he was privy to opinion polls – including by ODM - which have shown Ruto leading in popularity rating for the past six months.
Owalo further dissuaded Nyanza from overdependence on the promise that the infamous system will guarantee a Raila victory.
“The late President Daniel Moi had the system and was ready to have Uhuru Kenyatta (President) succeed him but failed,” he said.
“Twenty years down the line, things have changed. System must be backed with numbers. We must look for partners with whom we can work with in 2022.”
Owalo reiterated his shift to Ruto’s camp adding that Nyanza should back Ruto so that together with Raila, they discuss a government under the expected dispensation.
"I have not joined Jubilee but I want to work with Ruto so that we rally support for him to form the government."
He said the DP has shown that he favours no one community, having worked with both Uhuru and Raila in his journey of politics.
The strategist said the rain started beating Luo Nyanza the moment Raila and Ruto fell out politically, adding that the DP stands to empower youths economically.
“The government has programmes. I would wish to see an all-inclusive government and one with economic empowerment agenda. I have suggested to the DP what we can do to change the situation of the citizens.”
Owalo further discouraged Raila’s supporters from hoping for an automatic Uhuru endorsement of the ODM leader.
The political strategist said the country’s politics is hugely ethnic-based and the patterns will not be different in the next election.
“I have friends, including in the purported system, and are clear that Raila or a Luo presidency is not feasible. They are looking for someone they can front and have a Luo support them,” Owalo claimed.
He added that nothing much will change in the expected BBI report and as such it is easy to tell the direction the country would take.
Owalo said he left ODM because of the lies in the party and the skewed nomination process citing his experience in the Kibra by-election.
On why he left ANC, the politician said the party's politics is not issue-oriented, and has leadership that waits to be given things on a silver platter.
He accused Raila of throwing him under the bus when he needed his support in the by-election and that there was no assurance he'd be backed by the ODM leader.