Kalonzo and Karua double the effort in battle to succeed Raila

Azimio co-principals Kalonzo Musyoka and Martha Karua. [File, Standard]

Azimio co-principals Kalonzo Musyoka and Martha Karua seem to have laid out strategies that will help them succeed their coalition party leader Raila Odinga.

While the Wiper Party leader has already rolled out his moves, Karua seems to be warming up albeit keeping her cards close to her chest although she somehow let the cat out of the bag in her latest interview on a YouTube channel where she laid bare her strategies of holding the Kenya Kwanza government into account.

Kalonzo has already gone flat out on an aggressive campaign blitz to inherit Raila’s base after he, alongside his foot soldiers, camped in three Nyanza counties’ Kisii, Nyamira and Migori on March 20.

In Migori he presided over the opening of the Wiper Democratic Movement office in Kehancha and later addressed a rally in Migori town where he promised the residents that he could push for the creation of Kuria county.

“When I was the Vice President, I was the one who brought the district here. I will continue advocating for the creation of Kuria county,” he said. The Kuria have for years complained of marginalisation and this assertion was music to their ears.

Kalonzo was accompanied by MPs Innocent Obiri (Bobasi), Stephen Mule (Matungulu), Irene Kasalu (Kitui MP) and former lawmaker Ben Momanyi and Senators Enoch Wambua (Kitui) Agnes Muthama (Machakos). They later went to Rongo constituency for another meet-the-people event.

During the tour he dismissed fears that the Opposition would be crippled by Raila’s exit to the African Union Commission chairmanship saying he would continue to put the government in check.

“We must continue putting the government in check and point out any wrongdoing even in Raila’s exit, we will not remain mum. In case they overwhelm us, we shall ask Raila to come back and help us deal with these people,” Kalonzo said at Awendo while reiterating that Raila knew of his existence in his backyard.

Kalonzo has also visited some counties in the Mt Kenya region including Embu and later met Kikuyu Council of Elders led by Wachira Kiago and Muranga politicians where it was agreed that elders from the two communities would meet to discuss a possible readmission of Akamba community into the Gikuyu Embu Meru Association (Gema) be replacing ‘association’ with ‘Akamba’.

On March 27, Kalonzo toured Kiambu county for a Sunday service at Anointed Christian Fellowship where he chided the Kenya Kwanza administration for the high cost of living.  

The Wiper leader has teamed up with Democratic Action Party-Kenya (DAP-K) party leader Eugene Wamalwa and his Roots party counterpart Geroge Wajackoyah in his quest to succeed Raila.

On the other hand, although much has not been seen with Karua, as she has snubbed Azimio summit meetings and public events attended by Raila or Kalonzo, her latest remarks calling on Kenyans to exercise their residue powers seemed to indicate that her card of succeeding Raila was aimed at calling for protests to ignite the disgruntled Kenyans against the Kenya Kwanza government.

The Narc Kenya leader challenged Kenyans, who have been aggrieved by corruption and high cost of living to rise up and use their ‘residual power’ saying if the electorate felt the shoe was pinching the only way to rectify was standing up and saying no to the ills of the government.

“Kenyans have to be able to use their residual power because sovereignty belongs to the people and it begins with each one of us leaders and citizens. Using their agencies, their voices to say enough is enough. Already people are having hardships and they can’t feed their children. Many people’s houses have been closed while children have been home from school,” said Karua.

Karua, who has teamed up with Jubilee Secretary General Jeremiah Kioni, has gone back to her Mt Kenya region to consolidate her backyard which is expected to give her political impetus for a national discourse.

The two have already convinced 13 small political parties to form an alliance with the Jubilee and Narc Kenya and will meet next month in a political conference dubbed Limuru III to deliberate the ‘unfolding political events especially on Raila’s soft handshake with Ruto and whether it is tenable for them to continue being in Azimio coalition.

Kioni said the resolution to hold the Limuru meeting was reached after 13 parties expressed interest in working with the Jubilee Party and agreed to review and audit the new developments in the Azimio coalition.

“Although the Azimio coalition is intact, the Jubilee party and the other political parties reached a consensus that we shall have the meeting to discuss the economic and political way forward as a Mt Kenya region,” said Kioni.

Asked whether they could discuss Raila’s bid to contest for the AUC chairmanship Kioni said “We may not dwell so much on his decision as we view it as a personal and family decision but we will deliberate on how the move will affect Mt Kenya region and plan ourselves on how we shall manage ourselves for the two hours he said he will take come back home whenever there is an issue,” he said.