Kalonzo Musyoka: Why I pulled out of Senate speaker contest

Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka. Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka says the decision to withdraw from the Senate Speaker race came from his party with the endorsement of the Azimio leadership. Kalonzo said his party had, in its National Executive Council on Tuesday, asked him to quit the race with knowledge and agreement with President Uhuru Kenyatta and Azimio leader Raila Odinga. "The decision was not impromptu. I was well guided by my party and the Azimio top leadership after we realised the process had been marred with corruption and bribery. We decided that we needed to keep it clean and in that case, step out of the race," he told The Standard. The Wiper leader said he had a meeting with Azimio senators that went up to midnight on Wednesday at his Karen Command Centre in Nairobi where they unanimously agreed with Uhuru and Raila that he keeps away from the contest. Former Kilifi Governor Amason Kingi won the seat with 46 out of the 69 votes while his deputy Meru Senator Kathuri Murungi was elected unopposed. Kalonzo's move paved the way for the former Kilifi governor to easily sail through as the fourth Speaker of the Senate, taking over from Ken Lusaka, who is now the Bungoma governor. The Wiper leader distanced himself from claims on social media that he had been coerced by the Kenya Kwanza Alliance to step down in return for an appointment in President-elect William Ruto's government. "I have not had any consultation with Kenya Kwanza and Ruto. Those are frivolous allegations. I am taking a strategic retreat so that I can plan my political future which is still bright," said Kalonzo. However, some sources alleged that the Wiper leader decided to withdraw from the race after he discovered that he had no numbers that would have propelled him to victory. Other accounts from the Senate indicated that he had opted out of the race as a result of a deal with Ruto for an unspecified role in the Kenya Kwanza government. Makueni Senator Dan Maanzo rejected the claims saying they were rumours peddled by the Wiper leader's political enemies. The Wiper leader said they were looking forward to a credible process where they would have won but their opponents went on a buying expedition of lawmakers. "You know former Speaker Kenneth Marende was to go for the Senate seat and I for the National Assembly. We then as a coalition agreed on the changes that I go for Senate Speaker seat, but our members were being approached as late as midnight," he said. "There is no such thing or arrangement (with Kenya Kwanza)," he told The Standard at Parliament Buildings, without elaborating. The Wiper leader said he remains focused and will chat his political journey in due time. Additional reporting by Ibrahim Oruko

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