Wiper party presidential running mate Andrew Ole Sunkuli says he opted to shelve his ambitions to run for the Narok senator seat after he was picked to deputise Kalonzo Musyoka ahead of August polls.
Sunkuli says Kalonzo had told him that it was time to choose the country and he immediately opted out of the Narok senatorial race.
“He told me a time comes where you have to choose between your job and the country, and he asked me what I would choose first and without hesitation, I said I would choose Kenya at any given time,” he said.
Sunkuli says he was taken aback by the news as he had already started his Senatorial campaigns in Narok.
In an interview on Citizen Tv on Tuesday, Sunkuli said he learnt he had been picked as the Wiper presidential running mate when he had just arrived in Nairobi from Narok County where he had held a series of campaigns.
“I wanted to take some rest so I switched off my phones completely. I wanted three hours of sleep with no interruption. When I woke up, I freshened up a bit and switched on my phone. Many of my friends had tried to reach out to me,” Sunkuli said.
Sunkuli’s wife was the first to call after he switched on his phone and informed him that Kalonzo was looking for him.
“To the best of my knowledge, I had no outstanding business with Kalonzo. I was actually going to host him in Narok on May 16, 2022. At first, I thought he wanted to make changes to the program,” Sunkuli said.
He called Kalonzo's office but was informed that he had left, so he opted to visit the former Vice President’s Nairobi residence where, he luckily found him.
“We had a cup of tea and after the usual pleasantries, he broke the news. I have to admit that there was a split second of silence in the room and then I asked if he was serious to which he responded and said that he was,” Sunkuli added.
Kalonzo named Sunkuli as his running mate in the upcoming August presidential election last week.
He made the announcement after Kalonzo defected from the Azimio-One Kenya coalition after missing out on the coalition's party running mate slot.
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