The deal Kalonzo could not resist
An evening meeting late Wednesday convinced Wiper chief to return to Raila camp.
Before his back and forth, Kalonzo had presented his papers seeking to contest the presidency and even collected 66,000 signatures of supporters from 33 counties, picked a running mate in Andrew Sunkuli, who had to drop his bid for the Narok Senate seat.
The man from Tseikuru was to present his papers on Saturday to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) and officially start his presidential campaigns.
But yesterday, he completed a remarkable about-turn. The former vice-president had started off by gunning for the One Kenya Alliance’s presidential ticket, bagged the Wiper ticket and even challenged Raila for the Azimio la Umoja ticket.
Kalonzo has insisted he was the best suited to be the Azimio running mate owing to his seniority, longevity in politics and experience as running alongside Raila twice. This never came to be since Raila opted for Martha Karua as running mate. Kalonzo then bolted out.
His change of heart was preceded by a series of intrigues. There were meetings night and day that preceded Kalonzo’s climb-down and there are indications his perceived loss was a victory for him and his former One Kenya coalition.
Yesterday’s developments now mean the One Kenya Alliance that brought together Kalonzo, Karua and Kanu chairman Gideon Moi has won the running mate post, the Chief Minister’s position and a number of Cabinet slots.
