Series on Who is Kalonzo Musyoka

From: Sam Oyugi

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PART 1

Who is Kalonzo Musyoka?

Records show that Kalonzo Musyoka entered Parliament via a by-election in 1985, after a policeman shot and killed the previous Kitui North incumbent, Philip Manandu – whom Kalonzo had contested against in 1983, when he polled an undistinguished 3,000 votes to come third behind Manandu, who won by a huge margin, polling more than 15,000 votes.

In the by-election after Manandu’s death, Kalonzo was the only candidate from the late MP’s home area, and he benefited from Kenyan voters’ well-known propensity for casting the sympathy vote after the death of a sitting MP. According to Sarah Elderkin formerly of the Weekly Review, patronage paved the way to many of Kalonzo’s introductions.

Once elected, Kalonzo moved fast to ensure that he had the right political godfathers. He first aligned himself with Kitui West MP Kitili Mwendwa, previously Kenya’s first African chief justice. The patronage of the powerful Kitili paved the way to many other introductions including being appointed an assistant minister for Works, Housing and Physical planning.

His climb up the establishment ladder continued when he cut himself a comfortable niche in Kanu when President Moi in 1987 paid his first-ever visit to his Kitui North constituency , to conduct a fundraising event.

By the time for 1988 ‘queue-voting’ elections, it had become clear that Kalonzo was facing serious challenge for his seat from someone who had previously supported him – Josephat Muliungi, the local Catholic diocese development co-ordinator. Muliungi had become well known through his work distributing famine relief supplies – and was also becoming the beneficiary of support from a significant contingent of Kitui North constituents living in Nairobi.

Muliungi, however, was destined never to stand in any election that year. He was disqualified after his nomination papers inexplicably disappeared. That’s Kalonzo for you. Kalonzo, now with no challenger, sailed back into parliament under the ignominious Kanu nomination-stage 70 per cent rule of 1988.

He went in “unopposed” in what would today be called “ consensus”. Remember the “selection” dark days of Nyayo, when democracy was denied to voters. Nearly 60 MPs, including Kalonzo WENT to Parliament in 1988 without a proper election.

Still aged only 35, he was two months later elected deputy speaker of the National Assembly, then in the same year was elected Kanu national organising secretary. Kalonzo cut a niche for himself as a leading opposition basher and Nyayo sycophant.

The ambitious young man castigated any government critic – which he did at every opportunity. Moi was so impressed by Kalonzo’s zeal, that he came out publicly to praise him as a diligent and steadfast supporter of government policies.

In this guise of staunch government defender, Kalonzo in 1989, the year after his re-election, criticised the Daily Nation in parliament, accusing the paper of every kind of evil against MPs and the nation, as well as of sacking a former personnel manager for seeking to contest a Kanu post. Parliament rallied behind Kalonzo’s motion to bar the Nation from parliament, and for a while the newspaper was banned from reporting its proceedings. That’s Kalonzo and the fundamental freedom of the Press for you.

What Kalonzo had neglected to tell the House, however, in an incident that raises serious questions about his honesty and his glibness in the art doublespeak, was that the personnel manager in question was intending to oppose him in KANU.

Kalonzo's long history of relentless bashing of reformers, including his role of firing back at their genuine demands for change at the US Congress in 1992, raises serious questions about whether he is indeed the right custodian to steer Kenya towards the much elusive reforms.

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PART 2

After reading Kalonzo Musyoka’s interview here, all I can conclude is exactly what Sarah Elderkin, former Managing Editor Weekly Review, accurately described. I’ll quote Sara Elderkins description of Kalonzo,….

“It seems that Kalonzo Musyoka, who has been at pains to promote himself as a man of impeccable integrity, might not be telling the full story concerning his past, perhaps hoping that people have short memories….. Kalonzo might not be the worst of our politicians – but anyone who decides to set himself up as ‘Mr Spotless’ needs to be very sure that the facts don’t contradict him.”

She adds,…”beneath the outward display of suave urbanity, youthful good looks and professed Christian attitudes, there beats a heart driven by pure and unrelenting ruthlessness and opportunism.”

I can now see why the anxious Kalonzo all along wanted the ODM-K nomination process rushed up -so he gets “Toshwaad” before people actually get to revisit & know him well.

Let’s dissect his Sunday Nation interview yesterday and I (JOB) will rebut his claims with alot of credible arguments advanced by Elderkin.

SUNDAY NATION: Some say you can't lead as you are too steeped in the old ways, that you represent the status quo and cannot bring change.

KALONZO: I have heard that said by one of us, which is unfortunate because even friendly fire kills. It's propaganda. Can you think of something more radical than devolving power from Nairobi to the provinces and districts, as I have proposed in my vision? When I say that there will be no corruption any more, I know what I am talking. I don't come from a prominent family like some of my colleagues who have been detained, but you are looking at a revolutionary.

JOB: Let’s pull out Kalonzo’s records! Kalonzo has been a bona fide status quo conservative who previously resisted change publicly. All he wants is an opportunistic chance to become President. His record for being at the front line, attacking pro-democrats is still fresh. He is not keen on devolution since he fears this may antagonize him with anti-devolution forces currently in power. His vision is largely talking of power delegation rather than devolution which is contained in the Bomas draft.

After the July 7, 1990, multi-party “Saba Saba” demonstrations, which led to the tragic detention of Kenneth Matiba, Charles Rubia and Raila Odinga, it was Kalonzo who moved a motion in Parliament to discuss Saba Saba, attacking with scathing hatred both multiparty advocates and the US Embassy under the leadership of Ambassador Smith Hempstone.

Kalonzo was right up there again attacking Oginga Odinga after Odinga tried, on March 13, 1991 (before the repeal of Section 2a), to register the National Democratic Party – the young Kalonzo going as far as to warn the venerable politician against what he termed "a treasonable act".

Later, when Odinga announced his intention to sue Vice-President George Saitoti for libel over remarks Saitoti had made about Odinga when addressing UK parliamentarians in London, Kalonzo jumped in to call a press conference at Kanu headquarters, where he described Odinga’s actions as "the height of bad manners aimed at bringing the office of the vice-president into disrepute". (Saitoti had falsely called Odinga a Communist and accused him of importing Soviet arms into the country in order to overthrow the government.) Recognising a golden opportunity, Kalonzo took particular trouble to go into much greater detailed lies about activities Odinga had been accused of in the past.

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PART 3

Reporter: You were a Moi loyalist, part of the system, some say. Have you ever cut corrupt deals in your career?

KALONZO: My history speaks for itself. Don't you think my name would have come up in the so-called corruption list of shame? I lived in the system, worked with them but still did not involve myself in corruption. I detest corruption. Under my presidency, corruption will be history in this country. Kenyans can take my word to the bank. But I don't want to point fingers at my friends. I talk for myself.

I served as minister, assistant minister, deputy speaker but I was not the president! You need wisdom to know when to lie low and when to act. This is the time to act. I have been lying low for far too long and the real Kalonzo Musyoka has just emerged.

JOB: Elderkin clearly documents that,.. In May 1991, Kalonzo found himself committed to jail over land fraud ( a piece of land in Athi River owned by Matunda Estates Ltd (individual owner, a Mr Murage, a large scale fruit farmer) valued at over sh 15 million in 1989, probably over a hundred million shillings today). A High Court judge called it "a serious and appalling fraud". Kalonzo simply assumed that he would easily defraud Mr. Murage of his farm owing to his proximity to Moi.

Mr Justice Frank Shields found that Kalonzo Musyoka fraudulently transferred and registered a piece of land that had been the subject of a longstanding dispute. Shields severely castigated and committed Kalonzo Musyoka to civil jail for contempt of court but he appealed for a stay of execution. But that was not all, Kalonzo later “pretended” to transfer back the land to the owners company, but this time he had registered his law firm, (Kalonzo & Musili Advocates) as the new owner of the company.

The Judge ordered that this be investigated by the attorney-general, and that the AG’s office and the Criminal Investigations Department take note of the possibility of filing criminal charges against Kalonzo.

Here are the judges own words,…….."It appears that some people are prepared to flagrantly flout the orders of the court simply because they perceive they have godfathers to protect them".

As Sarah Elderkin reported,……Kalonzo was deeply worried about public exposure because, when it was first reported in the Daily Nation , he had responded in parliament by accusing the Nation of "open cheating and propaganda" against him. He was supported by Yatta MP Gideon Mutiso, who said the newspaper’s report was "a malicious invention to mar the good name of Kalonzo".

Kalonzo also took refuge, as he is wont to do, in a religious persona he had carefully created for himself (one that he has since promulgated nationwide ), telling a Kitui Kanu recruitment meeting at the end of May same year (in rather stomach-churning words that in retrospect look very similar to Kamlesh Pattni’s recent piety), "When the situation looks awesome, a right hand appears, and then I see it is the right hand of Jesus Christ”

Unfortunately for Kalonzo, there was no divine intervention because this matter remains unresolved. When the land case came up for mention before the Court of Appeal at the end of May, Chief Justice Alan Hancox & others said, "this court can still, if it so desires, enforce the order of Shields J, who does seem already to have granted considerable indulgence".

Soon afterwards, [b]Kalonzo’s lawyer, Mutula Kilonzo, finally appeared in court to present to Shields the documents pertaining to the disputed land, and he made a passionate appeal to the judge, saying, "The documents are returned in absolute good faith and as purge of contempt that you have found to have been committed."

Shields directed the commissioner of complaints, the attorney-general and the Law Society of Kenya to investigate the matter further. Apparently, the AG chose not to institute criminal proceedings, as nothing further was heard of the case. It remains unresolved and Kalonzo knows this.

In September 2005, as the referendum campaigns shook the country, the then Internal security minister Mirugi Kariuki threatened that the case against Mr Kalonzo Musyoka would be revived just at the right time. Kalonzo may be hoping that his nomination for the Presidency may be the only guarantee of safety with regard to this case.

On a more recent matter, Parliamentary records showed that Kalonzo Musyoka cooked his mileage reimbursement claims to a tune of sh 559,000 above what he was justified to get! This too remains unresolved.

Reporter: Would it be unfair to say you never lifted a finger when things were going wrong?

KALONZO: That is not true. I went as an observer to Kiharu elections and I reported that the late Dr Kikonyo Kiano had beaten Gidraf Mweru, but the DC had turned it the other way round. I came and told President Moi what I saw. He understood, but not some other operatives who kept laughing. That is my contribution to democracy at that particular time. You don't have to go to jail or detention to prove a point. If that is the case, then we should give Koigi wa Wamwere the presidency tomorrow.

JOB: Did you lift a finger when public land was being irregularly grabbed? Did you lift a finger when civilians were being tortured at Nyayo chambers? Did you lift a finger when out Treasury was being looted by your colleagues?

Did you lift a finger when Ouko was murdered? Did you lift a finger when our parastatals were being drained dry? Did you lift a finger when unequal distribution of resources, including denying your Mwingi North constituency water, was being perpetrated?

OK your only contribution to democracy was reporting to MOI how you witnessed rigging in Kiharu, results that were never even acted upon,…..OK I think you are demonstrating lack of appreciation of the real issues under Moi’s tyranny which incidentally you were very much part of.

To rubbish the suffering of those who have sacrificed and done numerous pro-democracy tours of duty in detention camps and dungeon chambers is the last straw that broke the camel's back. It is totally arrogant and in bad taste Sir!

Reporter: And the corruption?

KALONZO: Ask the (former) ministers concerned. Turkwel project, for instance, was not in my docket. I knew a time would come for a true leader to emerge. What you are seeing right now is the emergence of a leader, there is nothing you can do about it.

JOB: If Turkwell project was not in your docket, what did you do about it as a member of both the cabinet and Parliament? Also, an emerging leader is not afraid to face the polls. A leader who understands voters rights doesn’t brag about voters not being able to do anything about his/her ascendancy to the top. Go slow on your ever inflating ego.

Now back to corruption, how about your more recent actions,…can you please explain how,…… on a more recent matter, Parliamentary records showed that Kalonzo Musyoka cooked his mileage reimbursement claims to a tune of sh 559,000 above what he was justified to get! This too remains unresolved.

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PART 4

Reporter: Would you today expose what your colleagues did?

KALONZO: Haven't you seen those fellows who were talking against corruption then and today they are steeped in Anglo-Leasing and things like those? We don't want people who preach today they are reformists and then they become conformists the next day. I want to remain consistent, the real reformer is emerging.

JOB: The question is about exposing the Anglo-Fleecers in the previous Moi government, would you expose them today Mr. Kalonzo?

Good point you bring about reformist turncoats today. When true reformers stood in the line of fire in Parliament in 2005, in a classic reform battlefield, gallantly defending the Bomas draft against mutilation, didn’t you turn coat and take a trip to the toilet? Yes you surely want to remain consistent. You exactly showed us that consistency by being absent in yet another reform battlefield within Parliament.

Your actions speak louder than your words, you are a true conservative emerging for the 2007 contest in a reformers uniform. We already know that you as Kalonzo will actually score into our own goal instead, just like Kibaki did. Once bitten, twice shy, many true reformers will say tumekataa!

Reporter: So you also worked to bring democratic change?

KALONZO: I worked for the merger of Kanu and NDP, when people thought I was a Moi protégé. I respect the old man, but the day I differed openly with Moi on the nomination process of 2002, I have never gone back either in private or public. Let Kenyans look at my record, they will agree that consistency has been my strongest point.

JOB: Is this surely the best an aspiring president can come up with? The Merger of KANU & NDP was part of someone else’s matrix for effecting change so steer away from it. What exactly are your contributions to change. Truth be said, you’ve done more to limit change that bring it. Ok Kalonzo, you refer us to your records, lets see,…..

After the July 7, 1990, multi-party “Saba Saba” demonstrations, which led to the tragic detention of Kenneth Matiba, Charles Rubia and Raila Odinga, it was Kalonzo Musyoka who moved a motion in Parliament to discuss Saba Saba, attacking with scathing hatred both multiparty advocates and the US Embassy under the leadership of Ambassador Smith Hempstone.

Is this record to be proud of? Have you apologized to Kenyans about this specific action when you clearly know how many innocent reform-minded Kenyans lost their lives on this particular day?

Another of Kalonzo’s “great contributions” to reforms is this…….When pro-democracy advocates that included the team of akina Raila, Dr. Willy Mutunga, Kamau Kuria, James Orengo and others presented the case for multi-party democracy in congressional hearings at the Congress, Washington DC in 1992, it was the same sycophantic KANU cheerleader, Kalonzo Musyoka (Moi’s Foreign Minister) who stood in the way, defending Moi’s government claiming that multi-partyism would ruin Kenya.

Now he wants to ride on the backs of those who brought multi-partyism to Kenya, the same people who afforded him the very opportunity that accords him a chance to run for the Presidency on an opposition ticket. Wakenya jameni, isn’t this really interesting!

Kalonzo worked consistently against change. The record is screaming at our faces. Moi was so impressed by Kalonzo’s zeal at bashing pro-democrats that in fact, he came out publicly to praise him as a diligent and steadfast supporter of government policies. Kumbe all Kalonzo was doing then was trying to catch Mzee Moi’s eye to increase his chances of a future succession “Toshaaring” .

When it failed, he saw his next opportunity in the opposition, he dumped the Nyayo bandwagon for the opposition,…he now claims to be the oppositions top reformist,…..it’s only savior and redeemer. Ati this is for real ladies and gentlemen, this is not a dream,….makes me wanna have a one-on-one chat about opportunism with this fella.

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PART 5

Reporter: Your role in the second liberation is not very clear?

KALONZO: People would like to think what happened in Kanu in 2002 was because of Raila. Do you know that NARC got together in my room? Do you know that the word "Rainbow" was my invention? What other contribution to democracy would you want? You stand for truth and justice, you want democratic elections, you want transparency in governance, you want the best for your country, that is even before you get to the top office. When I am in the office, de-mystifying the presidency is my number one ambition.

JOB: One of Kalonzo’s “greatest roles” in the second liberation was standing in the way, defending Moi’s government claiming that multi-partyism would ruin Kenya. Now he wants to ride on the backs of those who brought multi-partyism to Kenya on an opposition ticket. This is really interesting! Kalonzo worked consistently against change. The record is screaming at our faces.

Now coming to 2002, it is not the venue (host) or the person who coins a movement’s name that is important. What you do to effect the change like challenging status quo forces in and out of Parliament that counts. Kalonzo has failed to excel on this score, at best he comes out as a fence-sitting, half-hearted reformer. He also seems to fear facing democratic nominations, instead opting to take us back to the KANU days of closed- door “selections” rather than ballot-based elections

Reporter: What will be the core policy of your presidency?

KALONZO: When I talked about free secondary education, didn't this government jump in? The core of my vision is the reduction of poverty. We cannot continue saying that the economy is growing by 6.1 per cent but it is only in Nairobi. I went to Mukuru slums recently and what I saw could make you cry. I know what poverty means because that is where I am coming from ...

JOB: While Kalonzo is entitled to his own views, that’s a mediocre response in my view. It’s a disingenuous & typical answer from someone disguising him/herself as a social democrat when he/she is in fact not one. I now have every reason to believe Charity Ngilu when she claims this man is not for the people’s welfare but all for himself. I am sure Kibaki himself laughed at this wanton display of mediocrity.

ODM-K’s core policy is enacting good governance and ensuring fair and equitable distribution of resources, period! That’s why they choose the Bomas draft as their manifesto. This is why ODM has led their supporters into believing that constitutional change comes first to address devolution, resource distribution, & power distribution to check excesses of the Presidency which facilitates corruption & tribalism.

Secondary to this then comes, the various policies in poverty reduction, economy, land,education, corruption, health, agriculture, foreign affairs, trade, infrastructure etc etc.

Kalonzo Musyoka you are disappointing surely. I thought we were on the same page with someone who was in fact a breath away from the Presidency. We need to seriously vet these candidates my fellow citizens.

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PART 6

Reporter: ....you tend to believe Kenyans should elect you simply because you come from a poor background?

KALONZO: No! I am not the poorest of the poor, my father was a shopkeeper. I don't want you to look at me as a pauper, I am not, I hate poverty and I am fighting to make sure that we get rid of poverty it. To get rid of poverty, you must get rid of corruption. The point is that I understand poverty, perhaps better than my other friends.

JOB: Clearly running away and disassociating himself from poverty, & at the same time claiming to understand poverty better than the colleagues? Hmmm!

So long as Kalonzo demonstrates his failure to grasp the concept of enacting the Bomas Katiba including key components like devolution, fair & equitable distribution of resources & power sharing then all his poverty reduction plans lead nowhere, it will be business as usual. Corruption & poverty are fought when you have instituted the fundamental constitutional changes above. It is only then that you can succeed in reducing poverty.

Fighting corruption can’t be done under the current status quo of presidential patronage which allows room for State House facilitated corruption without executive power check. We have observed very keenly the studious silence Kalonzo has taken, throughout the reform debate, with regard to - checking Presidential powers through the enactment of laws enabling powers to a Prime Minister, answerable to Parliament on a daily basis, to head government. Why this ambivalence? It basically means we are not on the same page. Why elect another "Kibaki" in Kalonzo, then engage in a fresh round of kelele after 2008?.

Reporter: What exactly do you represent?

KALONZO: Are you telling me that Kenyans don't know that I have already brought them free secondary education? Because when I announced it, the government included it in the budget. Even the free primary education was my contribution to the Kibaki campaign when he was in hospital. Kenyans know that I was the first to launch my vision, I believe I was the first in Africa to do so. Isn't that a contribution to democracy? I may not shout at the top of Mt Kenya, but believe you me, I am very effective.

JOB: Here we go again, Kalonzo skirting the issue and walking all over the place. Kalonzo is surely showing that he represents the neo-conservative face of Kenya keen on obfuscating issues. He clearly avoided the phrase,..”I represent change” This is an important observation.

Ati Kalonzo represents free secondary education and even takes claim for the free primary education too. The man makes Kibaki look too good for real. I can't comment further on this

Reporter: What do you think you would do better than Mr Kibaki?

KALONZO: A lot of things. If you look at the UNDP statistics in terms of Poverty Index, Kenya is rated 151 and Zimbabwe 153. I want to bring real differences to this country, from being a Third World economy, to at least an upper middle class economy in the first few years. When the government talks of vision 2030, they forget that the international community gave 2015 in terms of Millennium Development Goals. The sharing of national wealth will be equitable through devolved government, and therefore the need to give this country a proper constitution. You cannot do these things without settling the issue of constitution.

JOB: Ok if Kalonzo appreciates the importance of Katiba change, ( the best thing he has so far said) then he should just be straight and to the point. Why didn’t he commit & say " I will facilitate constitutional change within a given timeline, specified date, that will enable the enactment of devolution & equitable resource & power sharing as stipulated in the Bomas draft” . If he gave me this kind of answer I might have had a second thought about him. Kalonzo's answer is wishy washy at best. Fearing to make commitments. Lacking clarity of mind about what exactly he intends to do better than Kibaki, Appearing quite doubtful and unprepared for the Presidency.That’s suspect!

Reporter: You started off as a supporter of the delegates system in ODM, now you are a consensus man. What has shifted?

KALONZO: I haven't shifted. It is not a matter of shifting or changing, it is a matter of political reality. By last year when we were pushing for the delegates system, we didn't have the proliferation of Kibaki-friendly parties.

This is now a clearer picture and as ODM-K, we have to relate to this reality. Secondly we don't have the time and that is the reason I say we have to look at the mode of nominations afresh. The problem with the delegates system is bribery. The moment you have been told you are a delegate, then you begin to see it in money value. It is worse when you move them from the point of sub-location to a location where they have to ask for transport from the aspirants. If one doesn't give, then they will get it from the other candidate. When money becomes an issue, it compromises the integrity of the delegates system.

JOB: The truth of the matter is that Kalonzo supported delegates when Steadman polls showed he was leading. He did not view bribery as a problem then. Now that polls show him trailing others, he now fears facing delegates in a ballot contest, he now introduces flimsy claims ati bribery,….thus this flip-flopping stand. It’s simply stated fear of the ballot, fear of defeat, and fear of democracy. Yaani he is used to the old Nyayo era way of doing business behind closed doors, something Kenyans want to bury.

Proliferation of Kibaki friendly parties only serves to remind you to do things in the open as a guarantee that ODM-K represents the change they advocate for. Kalonzo seems to be in conflict with ODM on this.

Reporter: But the issue of money has always been there?

KALONZO: Of course. That's why I was insisting that if we had the time, I would want the elections to take place at the sub-location because there are 7,000 sub-locations in this country. But the moment you move it to the constituency, you are now reducing the polling centres to 210, now that is what begins to compromise the integrity of the process.

I am still convinced that if we had the time, do it at the sub-location level without moving the delegates, I would still be for it. But first of all, do we have the time now and do we have the money? I am just being realistic.

JOB: Any right thinking person knows that bribery can still take place at the individual level, family level, village level, sub-location level, location level, constituency level etc. Dishing out money in 7000 sub-locations is even better for those endowed with resources since it becomes very effective by giving undue advantage to the monied & corrupt.

Anyone can see Kalonzo straining too hard to introduce speculations about possibility of bribery, just in case he looses, to give him an exit strategy,…using bribery as reason to bolt out of ODM.

Reporter: You think consensus will work?

KALONZO: It should, it worked in 2002. But this time when you are talking about consensus, even if we are to agree on a line-up, the kind of consensus I am talking about is a team, not an individual, Kenyans don't want to see one fellow lording it over them, they have been cheated long enough. Even if we are to come up with boardroom agreement, it should be taken before properly elected delegates, lets say, 20 delegates who come to Nairobi not to vote, but to approve the decision. (Kalonzo's dying wish - a stark reminder of the dark past and Nyayo's system)

Even if we agree on consensus, the decision should not be announced until we call the delegates. That is the departure point between what happened in 2002, because we still have to consult. The trouble is that there are people who believe that whatever happens, they must be on the ballot paper. There are people who decided a long time ago that it is now or never, and that is very bad for consensus.

JOB: This man is dying to have Kenyans go back to board-room MOUs which failed miserably after Kibaki’s election or even further down memory lane, to the Nyayo "selection" years.

Without batting an eye-lid, Kalonzo bravely puts the case for taking these MOUs to dummy delegates to rubber-stamp the choice of a select few,…..as a very acceptable form of democracy. Where is the involvement of grassroots participation if the delegates don't get a chance to vote. This man is in a different Nyayo planet. He was left long ago by pro-democrats and real reformers

Reporter: You declined to return your nomination papers until the National Electoral Board was put in place. You knew the board's job was nomination by delegates. Consensus was an affair of the Council of Elders.

KALONZO: I was aware the board was created to deal with the issue, and even now I hope the Sh 1 million we paid is safe and it should be under custody of that board not under the secretariat. Recently, I put it clearly that the secretariat was compromised, it is not impartial. The board is not just to do the delegate alone, it can also record a consent of a consensus, because they must be the one to approve the final elections. Don't narrow their scope. Remember that after they are through with the presidential candidates, the same board will have to supervise the parliamentary and civic nominations. During the last NEC meeting, we agreed that we now must put in place Constituency Committees and branch election panels.

JOB: So Kalonzo was aware the NEB’s job was to deal with the issue of nomination by delegates. Why is he then intent on breaking the rules for his personal convenience? Why can’t Kalonzo table proof to show how the secretariat is compromised? Does he believe that only when his supporters like Maanzo sit in the secretariat that it would not be compromised? This sounds as petty whining in anticipation of imminent defeat.

Reporter: Rhetoric aside, do you genuinely believe that ODM will survive until the election?

KALONZO: I don't want to speculate on the future of ODM-K. What I know is that we are working hard towards it. My prayer is that ODM-K remains intact, but if there are people holding the view that they must be presidential candidates whether we like it or not, then that is a different thing.

JOB: Kalonzo does not want to speculate about ODM’s future but doesn’t hesitate to speculate about perceived views of competitors. Double-speak for you!

Reporter: You still maintain you will never leave ODM under any circumstances?

KALONZO: You are not here to administer an oath on me, that is an irrelevant issue. If you remember I have always talked about integrity, justice and fairness. If there is overwhelming evidence that I have been mistreated, I am not a stone. I consult on a daily basis with my supporters and I am not my own any more. Rather, I am owned by the Kenyan people. If they tell tomorrow to leave ODM-K, I will leave like a bullet.

JOB: Wow! That was quite abrasive. Irrelevant issue? Administering oath? Let Kalonzo keep waiting for the Kenyan people to tell him to leave ODM. That time ain’t coming. But I can bet you he will still leave claiming that “the Kenyan people have asked me to leave” Moi refused to Tosha Kalonzo,, Raila has also refused to Tosha him, he isn’t giving up, ,…someone may one day Tosha him in the future, if people care to listen. This is the trouble of riding on people’s back perennially. Learn to struggle to earn Sir!

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PART 7

Reporter: But is it true that you are determined to run for presidency at whatever cost, whether in ODM or not?

KALONZO: It was recently reported in one of the dailies that I was ready to step down. I am not a selfish person, but on the other hand, if everybody knows the truth that if we put Musyoka there, we take the presidency, why are they shying away?

Why are our people not facing up to the reality? If you think that this is what is going to give us a win, please be humble enough to accept that is the wish of the majority.

I take my instructions from my supporters. If they say I must go for it, I will go for it. In 2002, I threw in the towel and used the words "let us this time bite the bullet". But do you keep on biting the bullet when other people don't appreciate? I am very determined but I am not rigid.

JOB: Kalonzo claims that “It was recently reported in one of the dailies that I was ready to step down” but what does he actually say himself in his own words?

No commitment.

I also wonder who tells Kalonzo that he is in fact the only one who can beat Kibaki.

To me if you ask me I think matching Kibaki with Kalonzo is a risk. Kibaki can easily whitewash Kalonzo since they are basically cut from the same cloth, birds of the same feathers, a bigger/ richer one vs a smaller/broke one.

True both Kibaki and Kalonzo are not true reformers, they are both fence sitters, they are both opportunists,...but Kibaki is a heck lot the undisputed champion in this field. It's like matching Tyson with an amatuer upcoming boxer.

What is this wish of the majority Kalonzo is talking about? Where did they vote their opinions? Can’t Kalonzo then give the same majority a chance to vote him for the nominations? It's as simple as that. Let him beat his contenders since he claims to be with the majority and ODM moves on to face Kibaki.

Kalonzo now claims that he threw in the towel in 2002. Yea right! Who does he think he’s kidding? He didn’t have a freaking outside chance. He was in fact ranked lower than Ngilu and many others. That’s the bitter truth.

Reporter: Will you fully support the winner if you lose?

KALONZO: I have answered that question very many times. I don't need to repeat.

JOB: No commitment yet again. The silence is louder than many words. Very suspect!

Reporter: What do you say to the allegations that you own ODM through your proxy, Mr Daniel Maanzo, the registered chairman?

KALONZO: First of all, you cannot have an individual owning a party. Parties are owned by members. But what some of us have been arguing, if you look at LDP, we tried to get David Musila and Joseph Kamotho to be registered properly as the chairman and secretary-general of the party.

But some of our colleagues insisted that it must remain Larry Gumbe and Mumbi Ng'aru. The same people are now demanding the same thing. What is the hurry now and why blame it on me? I had to go and plead with Maanzo to relax his stance because I don't want that perception to continue.

By the way, Maanzo is not even from LDP but from LPK. But having said that, I don't understand why people feel threatened by Maanzo. Why?

JOB: You are wrong Kalonzo. Your analogies are not addressing synonymous comparisons. LDP secretariat had Gumbe and Mumbi serving in different capacities from what Maanzo is doing. Neither Gumbe nor Mumbi registered LDP & kept the registration in their mfukos the same way Maanzo has done.

Gumbe & Ngaru never carried LDP as if it was a personal property. Your own words say it all,….“I had to go and plead with Maanzo to relax his stance because I don't want that perception to continue.”…….”

That perception has sunk deep in. You are holding ODM at ransom and trying to blackmail it,...ati either you get the nomination or you walk away with the registration. You and Maanzo have made it very clear.

Kalonzo also says...."By the way, Maanzo is not even from LDP but from LPK.“ Hmmm! ……..Good point in reminding ODM supporters about that, which party is this LPK and what role has it played in Kenya's liberation so far? Is Maanzo's party basically a power chasing vehicle in the works?