•The MP said Karua would be vital in the fight against corruption.
•“She has a good track record as an MP and she is not corrupt," Mohamed said.
Image: Wangechi Wang'ondu
Fafi MP Abdikarim Mohamed has said Narc Kenya Party Leader Martha Karua is best suited to be the running mate of ODM leader Raila Odinga ahead of the August polls.
In an interview on Tuesday on K24 TV, the MP said Karua would be vital in the fight against corruption in the country.
“She has a good track record as an MP and she is not corrupt and that is why I suggest that Raila picks her as his running mate," Mohamed said.
Further, he said that the Wiper Party leader Kalonzo Musyoka had not openly declared his interest in the running mate position.
“Kalonzo usually says that he will support Raila's Presidential bid,” he said.
Some female leaders from the Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Alliance coalition also want Martha Karua to be named Raila’s running mate.
Speaking on Monday at the Jacaranda Hotel in Nairobi, the women leaders drawn from 26 different political parties agreed on the push to have Karua named as a running mate.
Public Service and Gender Programmes CAS Rachael Wambui Shebesh said Karua is one of the formidable female politicians in the country who have the ability to sway crowds in a particular direction.
“We don’t know why you cannot see the value of Martha. Her record speaks for itself,” Shebesh said.
Shebesh said the move will be good for Raila and that it will give women hope that they can be leaders at the level of a deputy president.
“The rest of the names that are lobbying around Azimio, we wish them well, but we think our strategy might be the winning one.
In April, Kalonzo had signalled that he would be Raila’s running mate in the forthcoming elections.
Responding to questions from journalists at the party headquarters, Kalonzo said he did not want to discuss the obvious.
“Let us not talk about the obvious. We don’t discuss the obvious,” he said.
“Talks on power-sharing are still underway. We want to ensure the Kamba community gets a fair deal," the former vice president said.
He, however, said he was confident the Azimio la Umoja flag bearer will form the next government.
“Don’t worry about who becomes what” he added.
IEBC chairman Wafula Chebukati had told the Star that the commission expects presidential candidates to name their deputies by April 28.
“We expect to know their running mates on the date when they submit names of the nominated candidates...either themselves as independent candidates or through the party, if a political party candidate, this being April 28,” Chebukati said.
This basically means Raila and Deputy President William Ruto have up to Thursday to name their seconds-in-command.
Others seen as Raila's potential running mates are former Gatanga MP Peter Kenneth, Equity Bank Group CEO James Mwangi and Nakuru Governor Lee Kinyanjui.