Amani National Congress (ANC) party is prepared to wrestle Kibra parliamentary seat from its rival Orange Democratic Movement (ODM), ANC Secretary General Barrack Muluka has said.
ANC, which is led by former Vice President Musalia Mudavadi, on Wednesday handed a direct ticket to former ODM party leader Raila Odinga's strategist Eliud Owalo, to be its candidate in the by-election scheduled for November 7 this year.
Speaking hours later after presenting Owalo with the nomination certificate, Muluka said ANC had declared war on Raila and his 2017 running mate Kalonzo Musyoka of Wiper party, and expressed confidence that it will emerge victorious in the much anticipated mini-poll.
“ANC is ready to vanquish Raila and ODM in Kibra. This is just the beginning of an all-out war we have declared against Raila and Wiper Leader Kalonzo Musyoka," he said during KTN's Point Blank Show.
Terming Odinga and Kalonzo as political opportunists, Muluka accused the duo of abandoning the opposition and going to bed with the Jubilee administration, which they vehemently campaigned against in the 2017 polls.
He lauded his party leader for staying true to the opposition's course.
“The only opposition leader now is Musalia. Raila and Kalonzo are political opportunists who have gone to ‘sleep’ with government, claiming that they are feeling cold being in the opposition. We will demonstrate this when we beat Raila in Kibra,” Muluka said.
While announcing Owalo as ANC candidate, Mudavadi also exuded optimism that his party will snatch the seat from ODM.
“We are ready for the political competition ahead of us. We are entering the Kibra race very rejuvenated,” he said.
The seat fell vacant following the death of Ken Okoth in late July after a long battle with cancer.