When Michael Kijana Wamalwa died at a London hospital on August 23, 2003, Kalonzo Musyoka should have been the automatic 'heir' to his position.
In a serialisation of his tell-all book, Against All Odds, by the Nation, Kalonzo says this was not to be as those he trusted turned their backs on him.
The former VP says Cord leader Raila Odinga failed to help him pile pressure on President Mwai Kibaki to honour a MoU they had signed.
“I saw this coming. Before Wamalwa’s death, I was on a presidential flight from Maputo in the company of Dr Chris Murungaru, the minister for Internal Security and one of the powers behind the Kibaki throne then, and Dr. Dan Gikonyo, the president’s personal doctor. During our inflight conversation, Murungaru made what I considered a most unfortunate statement. He told me: “Steve, our friend in London (Wamalwa) is not making it so let us give his slot to Moody Awori to hold it till 2007 when you can become Kibaki’s running mate. Forget about it for now.”
I was so infuriated. I told him: “Chris, please stop playing God.”
Kalonzo says that after Wamalwa’s death, his cabinet colleagues began jostling for the VP position.
“The letter and the spirit of the MoU were very clear that I would be appointed Vice President. I expected that in my absence, Raila would be my advocate just in case Kibaki showed signs of reneging on the agreement. This he was unable to do. Awori was given the job just as Murungaru had stated.”
The Cord co-principal says that in 2005 when pushing for a new constitution, a small clique of politicians from Central Province among them Murungaru and Justice Minister Kiraitu Murungi coalesced around Kibaki asking why he signed the MoU in the first place.
“Raila and I were gradually isolated and excluded from Kibaki’s affairs. When the Chairman of the Electoral Commission of Kenya (ECK), Samuel Kivuitu, unveiled the “Banana” and “Orange” as symbols of “YES” and “NO” for the referendum, I was excited that we got the best fruit; the Orange.
We thus started the Orange Democratic Movement soon after defeating the banana campaign. Raila and I were both ambitious politicians angling for the presidency. So naturally, there was a lot of rivalry and suspicion in the movement. No one wanted to be seen to be endorsing the other.
He says that unity in ODM had been elusive from the very beginning since everyone was jostling for the party’s presidential ticket.
Kalonzo says he expected Raila to back him up as in early 2007, all initial opinion polls showed that he was the man most likely to defeat Kibaki.
“I expected Raila to back me but it did not happen. I recall former MP for Kisumu West Ken Nyagudi telling me: “Things have changed. Raila wants this thing for himself.” At a public rally at Khadija Gardens in Mombasa, I was heckled by hired youths brandishing hammers in what had been planned to be a humiliating afternoon for me. After this rally, I knew that my comradeship with Raila had come to an end and the fallout was acrimonious.
The party later lost its muscle as key players, among them Uhuru Kenyatta, repositioned themselves in readiness for the coming general election.
“Uhuru was the first to leave ODM, leading his party, Kanu, out of the movement in July 2007 and endorsing Kibaki’s re-election bid. The following month, differences between Raila and I reached a point of no return. Some of my most trusted friends and allies decamped from LDP to LPK with me. Among them were senior Kamba politicians: David Musila, Mutula Kilonzo and Johnson Muthama.
Until August 2007, I vied for outright leadership of ODM Kenya with Ojiambo who persisted in her efforts to become the party’s flag bearer at the presidential election. Indeed Ojiambo had made her intention clear by launching her presidential vision in February 2007, long before I decamped to LPK. On August 31, 2007, I clinched the ODM Kenya presidential ticket at Moi International Sports Complex, Kasarani and Julia became my running mate.
Raila was endorsed as the ODM flag bearer at the same venue the following day.”
In the book written by former Nation journalist Caleb Atemi, Kalonzo tells how he was let down by those he had supported and how many others benefitted from his fallout with Raila.
Against All Odds was launched on Wednesday.