Political analyst Prof Herman Manyora says that the winning team in both the looming referendum debate and the 2022 general election must bring on board Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko.
Speaking on Saturday, Manyora said that the county boss will be more useful to the handshake team, should the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) taskforce propose a referendum.
He said that as things stand now, President Uhuru Kenyatta and ODM leader Raila Odinga might have it hard succeeding in their quest for change.
This, he added, is owing to the support Deputy President William Ruto has amassed, especially among the majority youth, considering that the DP appears opposed to any changes.
According to Manyora, this calls for the inclusion of Sonko, who also enjoys a great backing among the youth, and could help in convincing them to vote the handshake way.
"In order to deflate the hustler's (Ruto) card missiles, you need somebody who can penetrate the hustler nation and one man stands out; Mike Mbuvi Sonko," he said on his YouTube analysis channel Take It or Leave It.
He says that with Sonko, they can be sure to weaken the DP among the youth, which would make it even easier to beat him in the 2022 polls should they decide to go it together.
He argues that since Sonko resonates with almost the entire nation, beyond tribe, he will be useful not only in Nairobi but also in Eastern Kenya and Western.
"Sonko resdonates with the people," he opined, adding that he would now leave Uhuru and Raila with the simple job of rallying their Central and Nyanza regions behind their push.
Ruto has been seen to enjoy a sizeable amount of support in Western Kenya, which has been blamed on the inability by area leaders to united the region and lead it in a specific direction.