Nairobi — Wiper Party Leader Kalonzo Musyoka was on Monday set to make what his handlers termed as “an extremely important announcement” amid reports that he was unlikely to be picked as Raila Odinga’s running mate in the August 9 presidential election.
Wiper invited the media for a press conference at Kalonzo’s SKM Command Centre in Nairobi’s Karen in an event likely to run parallel with the Azimio la Umoja-One Kenya Alliance Coalition Party’s unveiling of its running mate at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC).
The briefing was called just a day after Wiper announced it would move to court in a bid to annul the Azimio coalition deal citing unconstitutional provisions.
Kalonzo has been jostling for the running mate slot in the Azimio outfit led by President Uhuru Kenyatta as its patron and is understood to have demanded to deputize Odinga as an irreducible minimum for him to remain in the outfit.
While issuing an ultimatum on Sunday, the Kalonzo Musyoka-led outfit said the party’s decision-making organ had cleared Kalonzo to quit Azimio in the event he is not named as Raila’s running mate.
Makueni lawmaker Dan Maanzo who was set to led Wiper’s legal team said the party had also resolved to have Musyoka renew his presidential bid in the event he is not picked as the running mate.
“The agreement of Azimio-OKA has legal issues. As wiper and its lawyers, we are approaching the High Court tomorrow seeking to impeach the agreement of Azimio-OKA and I believe the court is a court of justice and will guide the political parties correctly… and we will prove that the current agreement is illegal and unconstitutional,” he said.
Maanzo said Wiper’s suit will empower other parties said to be stranded in Azimio over intricate exit procedures to abandon the outfit hurriedly crafted under the leadership of President Kenyatta who has anointed Odinga as his preferred candidate in the August 9 presidential election.
“We had conducted a National Delegates Conference which authorized Kalonzo to run for president and also negotiate with like-minded parties to team up and form a coalition. But the only reason Kalonzo withdrew his presidential ambitions is so that he may run as a deputy of Raila,” the legislator remarked.
“Now that it seems from the indications so far that Raila Odinga no longer wishes to work with Kalonzo and his party Wiper, it is clear that there will be no Raila Odinga without Kalonzo,” Maanzo added.
He added that Wiper could only abandon the suit if Kalonzo gets the running mate slot in Azimio ahead of the May 16 deadline set by the electoral commission, IEBC.