State House bid is not a two-horse race, says Kalonzo

Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka addressing his supporters in Nakuru. September 22, 2021. [Kipsang Joseph, Standard]

Wiper Party leader Kalonzo Musyoka has dismissed the narrative that the 2022 presidential contest will be a two-horse race and insisted the race is still open. 

Speaking in an interview on Citizen TV, Kalonzo maintained that Kenya belongs to all citizens and there are no pre-ordained personalities destined to lead the country.

“Why is it that there is always this negative view that some people were born to support others. Why not the other way round?” asked the Wiper leader, who has supported Raila Odinga in the 2013 and 2017 elections.

“Kenyans are left with the poor choice of extreme positions; men and women who believe in themselves and think that unless it is them, there is no country,” added Kalonzo.

He also criticised and praised the Uhuru government in equal measure stating that although the president had sworn to fight corruption, little has been done to bring graft perpetrators to justice.

“The low lying fruit for President Uhuru Kenyatta was the fight against corruption. When it comes to dysfunctional government, they have broken the record especially when you have a deputy president undermining the president for five years,” said Kalonzo.

He was optimistic that plans harboured by One Kenya Alliance (OKA) including free secondary education, a 24-hour economy and a slash of the tax burden, are achievable and represent their vision.

“The 5th president will have to figure out ways of giving the youth jobs. They don’t want handouts. We are very passionate about poverty levels in this country and the best way to help people out of poverty is to help them get jobs,” said Kalonzo.

With different personalities including Raila having already declared their candidature for the presidency, Kalonzo says that it is still too early for OKA to reveal its presidential candidate and that the coalition is using the time to test the waters and see what card their competitors have.

The Wiper leader also added his voice in the Political Parties (Amendment) Bill, 2021 giving Wiper legislators “full clearance” to stand with the Bill.

The Wiper leader explains that challenges witnessed in coalitions such as unnecessary advantage and even unequal share of coalition funds will be addressed by the Bill.

“Therefore, under this amendment, those problems will be cured. So even in our coalition (OKA), you have a presidential candidate and the running mate and they come from different political parties, both of them will be reflected,” said Kalonzo.