• Murathe insisted that he believes Kalonzo is in the coalition voluntarily.
• The Jubilee vice chair, however, noted that there is communication among Azimio principals that should the Wiper leader decide to vie for presidency, they will allow him.
Image: FILE
Jubilee Party vice chairman David Murathe has said that Wiper Party leader Kalonzo Musyoka is still in the Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Alliance party.
Speaking on Sunday, Murathe insisted that he believes Kalonzo is in the coalition voluntarily.
He explained that the coalition agreement states that no member can leave the coalition six months to the election and three months after.
"Kalonzo is still in Azimio because that agreement says you cannot get out of it six months to the election and three months after the election. The reason for that is because in the event of a run off, you cannot pledge allegiance to the other formation," Murathe said on NTV.
"It will be desirable to have Kalonzo in Azimio because that says Ukambani votes is locked for the block because Ngilu is in, Kivutha is in most of the leadership in lower eastern is in."
The Jubilee vice chair, however, noted that there is communication among Azimio principals that should the Wiper leader decide to vie for presidency, they will allow him.
"I believe Kalonzo is in Azimio to stay voluntarily. He's not being forced. I also know the principals in Azimio have agreed in principle that if he should want to quit or run as a presidential candidate on a Wiper ticket, they have no problem with that," Murathe stated.
His remarks come after Kalonzo decamped from the Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Alliance.
He then announced that he would run for the presidency on the Wiper ticket under the One Kenya Alliance coalition after he felt shortchanged in the Azimio.
"If there is no faith, you can't do business... For how long will we sacrifice and even of we sacrifice, they mess up," he said.
He said that he would soon launch his manifesto because "this country needs an alternative.
Kalonzo said he, Raila and President Uhuru Kenyatta have been in consultation but the ultimate decision to pick Narc Kenya leader Martha Karua as Azimio's running mate was Raila's.
During the interview, Murathe said that Kalonzo would not win the election if he went solo in the August 9 General election.
"Kalonzo running it alone realistically cannot win this election, you need more than just your own community to win," he said.
Murathe added, "In 2007, if Kalonzo had decided to stick with either Mwai Kibaki or Raila Odinga we would have probably not had the dispute that led to the post election violence."