One Kenya Alliance to field presidential candidate in 2022

From left: ANC leader Musalia Mudavadi, KANU's Gideon Moi, Ford-Kenya's Moses Wetang'ula and Wiper Party leader Kalnzo Musyoka. [File, Standard]

One Kenya Alliance (OKA) principals have announced that they will field one presidential candidate in the 2022 General Election.

The principals met at the Great Rift Valley Lodge Resort in Naivasha on Tuesday, August 17.

“We hereby unequivocally state that One Kenya Alliance will field a presidential candidate in next year’s general election. And the candidate is here,” said OKA in a statement read by Kitutu Chache MP Richard Onyonka.

The Alliance made up of Wiper Party leader Kalonzo Musyoka, Ford-Kenya’s Moses Wetang’ula, Amani National Congress leader Musalia Mudavadi and KANU’s Gideon Moi says top of its agenda is to “resuscitate Kenya’s economy”.

“What we require as a country is to intensify the war against graft in order to salvage public resources diverted for personal gains and channel them to spur our economy,” said OKA.

The Alliance said it won’t support calls for the removal of Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) chairperson Wafula Chebukati, saying the move will “destabilise” the Commission, yet the elections are a few months away.

“We support the independence of the electoral commission and we cannot afford to destabilise the IEBC a year to the elections. As the body mandated to oversee the elections, Kenyans are looking forward to a Commission that will deliver a free, fair, credible, and verifiable elections.”

On Friday, August 20, the Court of Appeal will deliver its ruling on BBI, whether the Constitutional change push will go on, or will be thrown out of the window as it had been by the High Court.

OKA says regardless of the outcome the Alliance will respect the appellate court’s decision.

“As an alliance that believes in the rule of law, we shall accept and respect the verdict of the courts. Irrespective of the outcome, we wish to restate that our resolve to be the leadership committed to seeing a one united Kenya,” said OKA.

The outfit’s decision to field a presidential candidate in the 2022 General Election comes on the back of efforts by President Uhuru Kenyatta to convince the four principals to support a Raila Odinga candidature in the presidential contest.

Musyoka, Wetang’ula, Mudavadi and Moi have reportedly failed to reach a mutual agreement that would see them endorse Raila Odinga for President.

Wiper’s Kalonzo Musyoka said he had supported Raila Odinga in the 2013 and 2017 general elections, and he’d be “stupid” to root for a Raila presidency for a third time.

Samburu West MP Naisula Lesuuda said the principals are currently deliberating on a compromise candidate, who will fly OKA’s flag in the 2022 presidential race.

“We understand everyone wants to know who our presidential candidate is. We are solely behind our principals, and whoever they will give us, we will back him fully,” Lesuuda, who was among 132 OKA-affiliated members at the Great Rift Valley Lodge Resort, said.