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Kenya: Musalia Mudavadi, Kalonzo Musyoka Fight Threatens Oka

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4 years ago

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A bitter fight for the One Kenya Alliance presidential ticket between Amani National Congress leader Musalia Mudavadi and Wiper Party boss Kalonzo Musyoka threatens to tear apart the nascent political union.

Two months after they promised a political tsunami, the two principals are locked in a silent war even before OKA takes baby steps.

Mr Musyoka says he’s the senior-most leader with a majority of elected MPs in the coalition and should be handed the ticket.

Mr Mudavadi, on his part, insists he’s accepted across the board and believes he stands a better chance of winning.

During Wiper’s National Executive Committee meeting in July, Mr Musyoka had told his members that he won’t play second fiddle to anybody. “This party has decided we are not deputising anybody in the next elections,” he said.

Wiper has 27 members in the National Assembly and the Senate to ANC’s 17, Ford-Kenya (14) and Kanu (13).

Mr Musyoka’s allies have dismissed Mr Mudavadi’s assertion that he is acceptable across the board, arguing that when he ran in 2013, he came a distance third after garnering a paltry 483,981 votes. When Mr Musyoka ran in 2007, he managed 879,903 votes.

Last month’s Kanu National Delegates Conference, where Mr Gideon Moi was endorsed as the party’s presidential flagbearer, smothered the little that there was about the alliance. Mr Moi did not mention OKA in his acceptance speech, much to the chagrin of his co-principals.

OKA principals stranded

The party’s National Governing Council, whose meeting preceded the NDC, also ignored the alliance. The council’s resolutions read out by the party secretary-general, Mr Nick Salat, mandated Mr Moi to consult like-minded political leaders and parties for a winning coalition.

Mr Mudavadi’s allies are apprehensive about Wiper’s commitment to OKA, with some saying it’s just a matter of time before Mr Musyoka bolts out in favour of the Orange Democratic Movement leader Raila Odinga.

President Uhuru Kenyatta had in August asked OKA chiefs at a meeting in State House Mombasa to support the ODM leader. Interestingly, Mr Musyoka has scaled down his political activities ever since.

It appears the President’s support for Mr Odinga has left OKA principals stranded.

To be safe, Mr Mudavadi’s allies have submitted an application for an alternative coalition to the Office of Registrar of Political Parties (ORPP) in what could be a fallback plan in case things get out of control at OKA.