Makau Mutua: Kalonzo stands no chance of winning presidency

Azimio la Umoja think tank member Prof Makau Mutua now says Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka stands no chance of winning the presidency in the August 9 polls.

Mutua said as things are currently, there is no path forward for Kalonzo as a presidential candidate.

Mutua spoke Wednesday on KTN News in an interview hosted by Ken Mijungu.

“It would be a theatre of absurd if Kalonzo would go all alone to the ballot. There is no way he can win against ODM leader Raila Odinga and Deputy President William Ruto who are the top contenders,” Mutua said.

This comes after the Kenya Human Rights Commission chairperson was appointed as the Spokesperson of the Raila Odinga 2022 presidential campaign team, as well as head of its think tank.

Mutua said Kalonzo only has a support base in the three Ukambani counties and his influence has since dropped.

“As we speak his solid base is in Makueni, Kitui and Machakos counties where the three governors have already hit the ground running for Azimio,” said Mutua.

According to him, unlike DP Ruto who remains a kingpin for the Kalenjin Community, there has been a lot of back and forth in the Ukambani and Mt Kenya voting bloc.

This he said is clear that even without Kalonzo in the picture, there can rise another politician who can rally the Ukambani region to take either course.

“Kalonzo has been vocal that he cannot work with thieves, the only option he has is Azimio but he is only playing hard to get,” he said.

“The election period is always a silly season because it does strange things to men and women. Kalonzo is right in his own way because he is positioning himself. If he does proper calculations, he will be the winner because he has a very long runway ahead of him,” Mutua added.

The professor said since 2017, he has been in touch with Kalonzo and visited his Karen Home and the Stephen Kalonzo Musyoka command centre several times.

“We agreed that we would meet with Raila Odinga in a few days but he (Kalonzo) cancelled the meeting even after pushing him not to,” he said.

Mutua said it was laughable for Kalonzo to purport to reveal a secret power agreement deal between him and Raila yet he is the one who orchestrated the death of the NASA coalition.

Mutua said the said document was hypothetical under the NASA deal whose contents stand null and void since the coalition no longer exists.

“All we are telling Kalonzo is that elections are about additions and not subtractions. We value him as a man of integrity and his Ukambani base is very important to Azimio. We want to win the election with him but if we have to, we will win without him,” said Mutua.

The lawyer said the problem he has with Kalonzo is that instead of allowing himself to the negotiating table, he is instead negotiating with himself and the media.

“If we were to go on that peddle, then it is Kalonzo who should be accused of betraying the other NASA principles. How would he enter into a secret power pact with Raila behind the backs of the other principals,” he posed.

Mutua said currently Raila’s competitor has lost the charisma and support of the president which is hurting him in all aspects.

“In this spirit, Kalonzo should know that power is never given on a silver platter it is taken. But if anyone feels they are better placed than Raila then let the go-ahead and vie,” he said.

He said the reason why Azimio wants Kalonzo on their side is so that they can win overwhelmingly to remove any doubts.