NAIROBI, Kenya, May 14 – Even as Azimio presidential candidate Raila Odinga prepared to unveil his running mate on Sunday, Ukambani leaders are on overdrive, insisting it must be Wiper Leader Kalonzo Musyoka.
On Saturday, Kaiti Member of Parliament Joshua Kimilu said it is Kalonzo to be named Raila’s DP failure to which they will get him on the ballot.
“Kalonzo is a presidential material, if he is named the deputy, he will go all the way to the ballot and vie for the Presidency and am sure he will win,” Kimilu declared.
The MP further argued that Kalonzo has been loyal to Raila including deputizing him twice on the ballot and he, therefore, deserves the position.
According to the MP, Wiper party has already collected 2,000 signatures across 24 counties, as a prerequisite for Kalonzo’s candidature, in line with the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission’s (IEBC) guidelines.
“We are ready, we have also collected the required signatures, what we are saying is no Kalonzo, no Raila,” he stated.
Odinga is expected to unveil his running mate at the historic Kamukunji grounds on Sunday from three names handed to him by a panel of eminent persons
Sources say Musyoka is on the list alongside former Gatanga MP Peter Kenneth and Narc Kenya leader Martha Karua.
On the Kenya Kwanza brigade, Deputy President Willia Ruto was under intense pressure on Saturday when he was expected to name his running mate.
Sources had indicated that he was planning to name Tharaka Nithi Senator Kithure Kindiki, in what sparked outrage in sections of Central Kenya where supporters of the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) protested, demanding that Ruto names Mathira MP Rigathi Gachagua.
Ruto was reported to have been in meetings late into the night with his top strategists after meeting Kindiki and Gachagua, with an announcement now expected on Sunday or Monday ahead of the Tuesday deadline set out by the IEBC.
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