The Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party has dismissed claims by Wiper boss Kalonzo Musyoka over a pact with Raila Odinga to support his 2022 presidential ambitions.
Musyoka told Sunday Nation, in an interview, that even though the National Super Alliance (NASA) coalition is dead, he had signed an agreement with the former Prime Minister on how they will approach the 2022 elections.
However, In a hard-hitting statement on Sunday, ODM Secretary General Edwin Sifuna said that the party owes Kalonzo nothing.
“The Orange Democratic Movement is shocked by claims made by Hon. Stephen Kalonzo Musyoka that there exists a secret pact between him and our party Leader H.E. Raila Odinga that will see Raila support him in 2022. We wish to state categorically that no such deal exists,” said Sifuna.
While dismissing claims that Odinga’s betrayal was the main reason why Kalonzo’s party entered into a cooperation agreement with Jubilee, ODM described Kalonzo as a man who has mastered the art of treachery and a politician who often wants to reap where he did not sow.
“We are however not surprised that Kalonzo is making those claims. It is typical of Mr Kalonzo’s character as a two-faced treacherous character who is always whining while seeking to reap where he did not sow. It is a continuation of his ‘kati kati’ brand of politics. Kalonzo has indeed been variously described as a hyena who follows a man hoping the hands will fall, ” said Sifuna.
“…As a party, we challenge Kalonzo to man up, stop whining and be able to stand up for something for once.ODM and its leader Raila Odinga owe Kalonzo nothing. As a party, we have moved on and we are not planning our politics around Kalonzo.”
ODM said NASA’s agreement was open and that Odinga had not committed to supporting any of its principles — Amani National Congress leader Musalia Mudavadi and Ford-Kenya’s Moses Wetang’ula — in 2022.
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“We know that Kalonzo tried to push Raila to commit to support him in 2022 as part of the NASA pact and as a party, we flatly rejected that demand. It is why the coalition agreement left it open for the party to support any of the partners in the event the coalition was renewed in 2022. The so-called deal therefore only exists in Kalonzo’s wild dreams, ” said Sifuna.
“Consistent with Kalonzo’s politics of whining and lying while seeking to reap where he has sowed nothing, he claims that ODM frustrated NASA and that that is the reason he is seeking a coalition agreement with Jubilee. Nothing could be further from the truth.”
The party said Kalonzo, just like the other co-principals had failed to support the coalition financially after the 2007 elections.
“It is a fact that for a whole year after 2017 elections, ODM single-handedly financed the NASA Secretariat, including paying staff salaries. That was because Wiper and all the other NASA parties refused to submit the Ksh10,000 monthly payment of their elected leaders to finance the Secretariat. ODM had no option but to stop shouldering the burden, ” said ODM.
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“With their subsequent withdrawal of financial support to the NASA secretariat, it became clear to us in ODM that we were dealing with very dishonest cowards who could not be depended on to put up a fight.”
Kalonzo recently said that the reason why Wiper is quitting NASA is because the coalition had become “totally dysfunctional”.
ODM now says that the reason why Kalonzo decided to work with Jubilee is because he feels threatened at his Ukambani backyard.
The party added that Kalonzo will not add any value to the President Uhuru Kenyatta-led party.
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“It is quite dishonest of Kalonzo to claim that he is seeking a coalition agreement with Jubilee because of ODM betrayal. The fact is, Kalonzo is feeling threatened by Governors Charity Ngilu, Prof Kivutha Kibwana and Dr Alfred Mutua. In seeking a deal with Jubilee, Kalonzo is seeking protection from the three Governors, ” said Sifuna.
“Kalonzo is a known traitor, currently undermining governors Ngilu, Mutua and Kibwana who won their seats against his wishes. It is his politics of slyness, cowardice and self-aggrandisement that has made him lose Hon Muthama and it is that brand of politics that is pushing him to Jubilee despite the fact that his arrival will add absolutely no value to Jubilee.”
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