ODM leader Raila Odinga remained diplomatic in his engagements with Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka as the former VP boxed him into a corner that could precipitate an acrimonious falling out.
Raila let his surrogates speak.
Kalonzo on Tuesday publicly accused Raila of betrayal and flashed out a 2017 secret agreement that bars the ODM leader from running for president. He spoke at the SKM Command Centre.
Kalonzo took Raila head-on over what he called “material breach”of their power agreement, saying the ODM boss should honour the deal by backing him for president.
“By accepting nomination of the Orange Democratic Party to run as President for the fifth time, I believe my brother, the Honourable Raila Odinga, has committed an irreparable material breach of this agreement,” Kalonzo told the press in Nairobi.
However, some critics said Kalonzo was only upping the stakes in his negotiations with Raila.
It's believed Raila is scheming to hand over the running mate slot to Mt Kenya, leaving Kalonzo with two choices: chief minister or speaker of the National Assembly.
For the first time on Tuesday, Kalonzo admitted that he snubbed the Saturday ODM National Delegates Conference that was attended by President Uhuru Kenyatta.
Kalonzo's hardline stance threatens to spoil Raila's political arithmetic.
The former Prime Minister is banking on Ukambani votes to have a competitive advantage against Deputy President William Ruto.
Ukambani overwhelmingly voted for Raila in 2013 and 2017 in what is attributed to the Kalonzo factor.There are Kambas around the
country.
But Raila was non-confrontational. His surrogates spoke, suggesting the purported accorded was irrelevant. The Star has a copy of what Kalonzo flourished.
Law professor Makau Mutua told the Star Azimio welcomes Musyoka as a key player on the team, describing him as "a respected Kenyan".
“We as Azimio would be pleased to work with Musyoka, we welcome him. He is an important and respected Kenyan, we want to win the election with him and not without him,” Mutua said. He described himself as the spokesman of Azimio La Umoja.
Mutua said with the three Ukambani governors Charity Ngilu (Kitui), Alfred Mutua, (Machakos) and Makueni’s Kivutha Kibwana aggressively backing Azimio, Musyoka must quickly make up his mind.
“No one in politics is indispensable, we must work as a group,” Mutua told the Star.
Kalonzo disclosed his 2017 private agreement with Raila, which he claimed was signed in confidence without the knowledge of Musalia Mudavadi and Moses Wetang'ula, two other Nasa principals.
He built a strong case against teaming up with Raila again before the ODM boss would publicly admit to the existence of their 2017 pre-election deal.
In a clear political threat, Kalonzo said the ODM leader may choose to act in “utter defiance and repudiation of the agreement, and thereby compound the trust deficit.
“My brother has the option of abiding by the terms of this live binding, legal agreement and thereby emerging as a true, national, regional and indeed continental democratic hero,” Kalonzo said.
Musyoka, one of the One Kenya Alliance principals, was Raila’s running mate in the 2017 Nasa coalition that also had Mudavadi and Wetang'ula.
The machine that nearly vanquished President Uhuru’s re-election bid, triggering a Supreme Court presidential petition battle, collapsed in 2020 over trust deficits.
Speaking at the Stephen Kalonzo Musyoka Command Centre, Kalonzo, however, signalled his willingness to work with Raila for what he termed the "sake of our great nation".
“As already publicly expressed, I am ready to work with him again under the Three Pillar, Grand Coalition Government, for the sake of our great nation,” Musyoka said.
He went on, “I urge that as we engage in fresh negotiations, this document forms the basis for such negotiation.”
Previously, there have been claims of the existence of a secret MoU allegedly signed by Kalonzo and Raila in the run-up to the high-stakes 2017 polls.
However, despite their acrimonious separation following the death of the National Super Alliance, their 2017 election vehicle, neither of them had publicly produced the alleged agreement.
On Tuesday, Musyoka unfurled a two-page document signed by himself and Raila, and witnessed by Makueni Governor Kivutha Kibwana as well as US-based professor Makau Mutua.
According to the agreement, Raila was to run in the 2017 presidential election on the Nasa ticket with Musyoka as the running mate. It carried a requirement that the former would back the latter in 2022.
“Let me say I am disappointed in Musyoka’s choice of language to address his issues. I can’t deny or confirm the agreement existed and allegedly was signed in the context of Nasa
“By this agreement, the parties agree that principal H (Odinga) will be Nasa’s presidential nominee and that principal Q (Musyoka) shall be his running mate. This agreement will be valid until the 2022 elections, whether or not Nasa wins the 2017 presidential elections,” the agreement read.
The accord also says: "The commitments made herein shall bind principal H and principal Q in both the 2017 and the 2022 elections.”
But Mutua, while saying he doesn’t deny or confirm the existence of the MoU, said he was disappointed in what he called the Wiper boss’s breach of the secret agreement, if any, possibly a breach of confidentiality.
“Let me say that I am disappointed in Musyoka’s choice of language to address his issues. I can’t deny or confirm the agreement existed and allegedly was signed in the context of Nasa,” he said.
The professor said if at all the agreement existed, as claimed by Kalonzo, then it does not hold water as Nasa died, and Odinga did not serve the one term as alleged in the Wiper boss’ statement.
Former Ford Kenya secretary general Eseli Simiyu said he was not aware of any deal signed secretly between Odinga and Musyoka.
“If there was any, then it was Musyoka who betrayed his colleagues,” the DAP-K secretary general said.
The alleged agreement was executed in a quadruplicate with one original copy for Odinga and another for Musyoka. Prof Mutua was to get another original copy as was Governor Kibwana.
“Prof Mutua’s original copy shall be the final true, authentic and dipositive copy of this agreement in case of a dispute. Professor Mutua will be the sole depository for this agreement,” the agreement read.
ODM National Treasurer Timothy Bosire asked Musyoka to look at the bigger picture and place the country first above himself.
"This is the moment of selflessness, the nation is more important than localised propositions,” he said.
However, according to deal, the agreement would only be publicly divulged with the consent and concurrence of all the parties including Odinga, Musyoka, Mutua and Kibwana.
The pact also provided that Mutua would have the exclusive right and duty to disclose the agreement in case Odinga and Musyoka cause an irreparable breach of the agreement.
Musyoka on Tuesday said he was compelled to make the document public after unsuccessfully pushing Mutua, depository of the agreement, to convene a meeting with Odinga.
“On his part, Prof Makau stands in breach of his obligation under the agreement since he has joined Hon Raila’s campaign team,” Musyoka said in his statement.
Mutua has openly endorsed Raila for president and even attended the ODM National Delegates Convention last Saturday. He has persistently put forward a strong case for a Raila presidency.
“Attending the ODM delegates Conference at which my brother was named a presidential candidate would have meant acquiescence of the impugned breach,” Musyoka said.
However, there were reports of dismay and shock in Raila's camp over Musyoka’s “dubious and deceptive” revelations.
There were claims that Musyoka was quoting sections of the agreement that favour him while ignoring those that do not support his position.
“There is no guarantee that what was shared is what Makau has. The document did not say that if Makau does not produce the document then Kalonzo should,” a source close to Raila said.
Principal H (Odinga) agrees after three years in the presidency, he shall delegate substantial national duties to principal Q (Musyoka) and largely concentrate on international duties
There were also concerns in the former Nasa team that Musyoka entered a private pact with Raila away from other principals, Wetang'ula and Musalia.
“There was only one agreement that was known to all principals,” a politician close to Raila said.
The deal had also provided that Odinga would provide Musyoka with campaign finances for the 2017 polls and cede some powers after three years in office.
"Principal H (Odinga) agrees that after three years in the presidency, he shall delegate substantial national duties to principal Q (Musyoka) and largely concentrate on international duties," the agreement reads.
(Edited by V. Graham)
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