Kalonzo's arbitration efforts betray raw ambitions

By: Oscar Obonyo
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[ Posted On: 2008-01-09 ]

Except for his suspect impatience to have the presidential poll impasse ironed out "without any further delay", ODM-Kenya leader Kalonzo Musyoka’s march to new political heights is on.

With a paltry 43 MPs-elect as opposed to ODM’s 101, President Kibaki’s PNU is certainly poised to reach out to Kalonzo to survive an anticipated storm in the Tenth Parliament. The Mwingi North MP-elect’s party has secured 15 parliamentary seats.

Even as Kibaki and ODM’s Raila Odinga — who maintains he won the elections — haggle over the poll results, the current situation puts Kalonzo in a most enviable position.

There is no denying that the ball is squarely in his court and he can comfortably figure out the size of potato he wants in a coalition as he awaits Kibaki’s formal and public overture.

The only glaring concern, though, is that Kalonzo's hurry has betrayed his apparent raw greed for political power.

The push by PNU and ODM-Kenya politicians, who last Sunday advocated for release of presidential results "without any further delay", quickly plunged the country into anarchy, that has left more than 300 dead and over 100,000 displaced.

Apart from reminding ODM to seek legal redress, a position shared by ODM-Kenya Secretary General, Mr Mutula Kilonzo, Kalonzo publicly pleaded with ODM leaders not to encourage their supporters to perpetuate post-election violence.

Singling out Raila, as one whom he had personally met and pleaded with, Kalonzo claimed he found ODM presidential candidate "much more moderate" than a day earlier. The claims irked Raila who rubbished the claims as "complete fabrication".

He said: "Mr Musyoka's claim is not surprising. He is an irrelevance to resolving the current crisis and is seeking cheap publicity through exploiting the national agony that has been inflicted on us by Mwai Kibaki's open theft of the election."

The ODM leader further accuses Kalonzo of being part of the problem that currently besets the nation.

Raila claims that tens of thousands of votes were stolen in Ukumbani for Kibaki, yet Kalonzo had refused to condemn it.

"He is indeed part of the scheme to defraud the country of inaugurating the president Kenyans elected," charges Raila.

Raila's rage is indeed understandable considering that Kalonzo did not only help split the opposition vote, but is currently riding on Raila's back for personal gain.

Simply put — Kibaki's PNU is desperate for partnership with Kalonzo after facing an election waterloo at the hands of Raila's ODM that denied it tens of parliamentary seats.

Elsewhere, the feeling was not very different as captured in some of the opinion write-ups and letters from readers of The Standard across the country and abroad.

"It is pathetic to see Kalonzo masquerading as a peacemaker. This man had a chance to help resolve the crises, but he selfishly spoilt for everyone who had a better chance. What Kalonzo never understood was Kenyans' resolve for change," writes Terrence Maloki of Nairobi.

Arguing that the ODM-Kenya leader has vested interests in the current stalemate Maloki says that Kalonzo is blemished in a coalition for national healing, and "he cannot broker reconciliation, without injecting self-interest."

Writes Ms Benta Wanjiru of Nairobi: "Kalonzo and his handlers have proved they are opportunists per excellence. If Samuel Kivuitu's allegations are correct, we must ask: What did ODM-Kenya intend to achieve with demanding release of disputed presidential election results?"

Wanjiru concludes that Kalonzo and group want a place in a coalition, "the Simeon Nyachae-style".

This is sad and selfish," she observes.

Political scientist, Mr Mutahi Ngunyi, who accuses Kalonzo of promoting selfish political interests, supports these sentiments.

Ngunyi says Kenya would not be in the current acrimony, with more than 300 young people dead, had Kalonzo not insisted on "miracle victory".

ODM Pentagon member, Mr Najib Balala and other party bigwigs point out that Kalonzo was all along part of the Government scheme; the Mwingi North MP-elect maintains that he will freely engage in a coalition arrangement "where necessary".

"We should not be afraid to talk to other parties even if we are called traitors," Kalonzo told The Sunday Standard in an exclusive interview.

Noting that political parties must face the reality of the moment and prepare to work together, he observed that future of government was truly in coalitions. No party will be capable of transacting House business alone, he warned.

But has Kibaki offered him the post of Vice-President? Kalonzo says he is not interested in the position as it is not a priority to him now.

"My focus now is to see the country remain united, with no incidents of anarchy that are threatening to tear our nation apart," he explains.

Nonetheless, he drops a critical hint: "If I have to negotiate with President Kibaki over the position, I will make it open. We must face realities that the nation at the moment needs healing and not the pursuit of positions."

Kalonzo further confirms he has met Kibaki to find ways of ending post-election chaos that have engulfed the country.

But even as he denied holding discussions with the President over his inclusion in Government, all indications were that Kalonzo was leading his troops into PNU to captalise on the spoils.

The Sunday Standard has learnt that MPs-elect allied to ODM-Kenya are independently lobbying for their inclusion in the yet to be named Cabinet.

Kalonzo has in the past insisted he was ready to join any post-election coalition with the winning party — a fact that is supported by ODM-Kenya's Mutula Kilonzo, who maintains that the party will play a key role in coalitions.

"We have the numbers and will certainly play our role," Mutula told The Sunday Standard.

Our investigations show that apart from the Mbooni MP-elect, who is one of Kalonzo's key advisers and political strategists, gemstone dealer and Kangundo MP-elect, Mr Nduya Muthama, and his Kibwezi counterpart, Prof Philip Kaloki, are expected to play a key role in a coalition.

According to word circulating the two and Mutula are tipped to bag Cabinet positions if the party joins Kibaki.

Over and above the Cabinet slots, the ODM-Kenya brigade is eyeing appointments in parastatals and diplomatic missions.

These, too, are being negotiated with parliamentary losers allied to the party rating high on the "waiting list".

Kalonzo might not have succeeded in staging a clean sweep for ODM-Kenya in all the Ukambani seats, after losing in three — Kilome, Kitui West and former Health minister, Mrs Charity Ngilu's Kitui Central — but he put up a strong fight.

Judging from the shadowy performance of his key campaigners and members of ODM-Kenya Summit, running mate Dr Julia Ojiambo, Mr Joe Khamisi and Mr Lucas Maitha —who were swept aside — one is persuaded to think Kalonzo fought his battle almost single-handedly.

Nonetheless, political upward mobility for the former Foreign Affairs minister who has been in parliament since 1985 may not be rosy. Even if he is appointed VP, Kalonzo may find it hard to spread wings beyond Ukambani.

With Ngilu back as MP, against the Kalonzo 'wiper' wave, the ODM-Kenya leader may find it a challenge to contain Ukambani.

Ngilu also had Narc candidate in Kitui West, who won against Mrs Nyiva Mwendwa, a Kalonzo ally. If Ngilu teams up with Kilome MP-elect, Mr John Harun Mwau, then Kalonzo will have more challenges in his home turf.

Choosing Kalonzo as VP over other PNU politicians is tantamount to dumping him in a den of political hyenas that may maul him before 2012, when another General Election is expected.

Kalonzo's entry is likely to cause internal dissent and upset the political scales within PNU.

Considered an "outsider", such a move would prove perfect fodder for internal woes and competition as witnessed under the Narc coalition of the Ninth Parliament.

Having entered into a pre-election pact and campaigned hard for Kibaki, Kanu, for instance, expects a giant share of the spoils. And with 11 seats, it leads the pack of party partners with the highest number of seats.

Kanu chairman, Mr Uhuru Kenyatta is on record for suggesting that if Kibaki wins the presidency then a Kanu politician should be appointed VP.

Uhuru made a bold historic move to back President Kibaki's re-election bid for what Kanu leaders have termed a "purely strategic retreat", and the Gatundu South MP-elect will accordingly be alert to Kalonzo's maneuvers.

Yet, one-time Vice-President, Prof George Saitoti, will also not let the opportunity go. Although he is MP-elect for Kajiado North, which is in the Rift Valley Province, Saitoti is largely considered by a clique around President Kibaki in Central Province, as a leading player in the Kibaki succession.

As he warms up, therefore, for a position in government, Kalonzo is confronted with many challenges, including some that border on his conscience and principles. It is interesting to see if he could betray these.

Will he be joining Government out of fear of staying in the opposition or because the move will push him a step closer to the presidency? And will this be the long desired "change" that Kalonzo championed during his campaign? It could be a 'miracle.'

Article Source: http://www.afroarticles.com/article-dashboard

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