By Oscar Obonyo

NAIROBI, KENYA: The move by former Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka to lead his troops from outside Parliament marks the beginning of everything.

The move signals, not the end of his career, but a new political life outside Parliament, where he has served for nearly three decades. It is also bound to shape how he now relates with former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, with whom he teamed up with in the last polls.

Same as Raila, Kalonzo wants to spend the next five years reorganising and strengthening his Wiper Democratic Movement ahead of the next General Election. Kalonzo was Raila’s running mate in the presidential elections under the Coalition for Reforms and Democracy (CORD).       

While this is a positive gesture for the CORD the pair, there are chances the move could also mark the beginning of cracks within the Raila-Kalonzo alliance. With both leaders outside and with the polls over, it is unlikely the former VP will want to continue playing second fiddle to the former PM.

“With the elections behind them, the two are now focussed on building their separate political constituencies as equals. And as Kalonzo has put it, he wants to be recognised as Wiper party leader and not CORD’s deputy leader or anything of that sort,” stresses an MP allied to the party, who did not wish to be accused of creating a rift between Raila and Kalonzo. 

The politician argues to effectively organise his political house Kalonzo must concentrate on rebuilding Wiper. This he cannot do in Raila’s wings under CORD.

Eye on 2017

Breaking his silence on the one-month long controversy as to whether he should go back to Parliament to lead Official Opposition, Kalonzo said he was not interested in becoming MP.

Speaking in Machakos on Sunday, he said he would instead lead the opposition from outside Parliament to strengthen and make it vibrant ahead of the 2017 elections.

“I want to make this issue clear and bring it to an end. I am not interested in joining the current Parliament. Furthermore there is no time I said I wanted to be an MP. I am the Wiper Democratic Movement leader and I will remain so to strengthen the party up to the next polls,” he said.

His move now also confirms WDM’s Francis Nyenze as Leader of Minority. According to the initial understanding, Mr Nyenze was to hold brief for Kalonzo as the Coalition worked out avenues to get the former VP into Parliament.

This means despite having majority legislators within CORD, the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) wing will have to make do with secondary roles in the National Assembly, where Nyenze is boss and Senate, where Bungoma County Senator, Moses Wetangula is Leader of Minority.

Although also a member of Wiper party, MPs allied to ODM have confided in The Standard On Sunday they were readily going to accept Kalonzo as boss in the National Assembly, on the account he is one of the CORD principals. Now the Nyenze factor is bound to cause a major discomfort with CORD partners. 

But according to Yatta MP Francis Mwangangi, neither the Nyenze factor nor Raila-Kalonzo absence from Parliament will create a rift between ODM and Wiper.

“Unless they are play-acting to hoodwink the Jubilee rivals, I don’t see them working at cross purpose.

CORD can only survive and remain politically relevant by strengthening their separate parties and that is exactly what Raila and Kalonzo have said they will do,” says the Jubilee allied MP, elected on Muungano party ticket.

Efforts to get Kalonzo back to Parliament were hit by several impediments, including unwillingness by some identified legislators to step down in his favour.

However, Kibwezi West MP Patrick Musimba had agreed to step aside.

But former Kibwezi MP and leader of The Independent Party (TIP) Kalembe Ndile, declined to pave way, insisting the petition he had filed against Mr Musimba’s election be determined first.

Mr Mwangangi hails the former VP’s decision to stay out of Parliament. “It would have been unthinkable for him to accept the climb down from a VP to a mere MP. I was personally opposed to it from day one, because for a man of his status he still has future political prospects,” he said.

Take a break

Indeed, Kalonzo will not be the first high-profile Kenya politician to take a break from Parliament and bounce back. Eighth Vice President Musalia Mudavadi did just that in 2002 after rejection by his Sabatia constituents when he was Kanu candidate Uhuru Kenyatta’s running mate.

Five years later Mr Mudavadi came back strong as Raila’s running mate on ODM ticket in a presidential poll that some believe the duo won. The resultant electoral impasse led to formation of Grand Coalition Government where Mudavadi served as Deputy Prime Minister.   

“We cannot rule out a comeback by Kalonzo and Raila. But even as they build their coalition, we want to challenge them to nurture youthful leaders able to match those of us in the rival coalition, otherwise Kenyans will reject their union of ageing politicians,” observes Mwangangi.  

In the meantime, as he consolidates his stranglehold of Ukambani region before extending to the rest of the country, Kalonzo has his old rival Charity Ngilu, to contend with. She is now a Cabinet Secretary.