By Athman Amran
The meeting between Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka and Mvita MP Najib Balala a month after the VP met Justice Minister Eugene Wamalwa to plot their future bears signs of a new alliance in the making.
This is taking into consideration that while Mr Balala was kicked out of ODM, Kalonzo and Mr Wamalwa have seemingly been side-lined within the G7 Alliance since the entry of Deputy Prime Minister Musalia Mudavadi into the scene. The VP has, however, consistently insisted that he is still in the G7 Alliance.
Mudavadi left ODM for United Democratic Forum, and has expressed readiness to work with the G7 Alliance, whose top leaders are Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta and Eldoret North MP William Ruto.
But while some political observers feel that the VP’s relationship with Eugene may not go far, taking into account that the Saboti MP may be fighting a losing battle in Western against Mudavadi, Ford- Kenya leader Moses Wetangula and ODM, some also feel that Balala may not be a “big catch” for Kalonzo.
University of Nairobi lecturer Adams Oloo told The Standard On Sunday under the current circumstances, Balala may have little to offer politically at the Coast.
Faced similar fates
“I do not see any popularity of Balala at the Coast,” Oloo said adding that the Mvita MP cannot influence Muslims to move with him to the Wiper Party.
The lecturer said Balala was in the National Muslim Leaders Forum (Namlef), which worked with ODM in 2007 just because he was a Muslim. It does not follow that Namlef would follow him to Kalonzo’s party.
When Balala was sacked from the Tourism Ministry, Oloo argues, Muslims did not hold press conferences or protests to demonstrate that they sympathised with him.
He also pointed out that no MP from Coast or other leaders protested at Balala’s sacking. Nominated MP Sheikh Muhammad Dor was the only ODM legislator who was on the former minister’s side.
