Kalonzo Musyoka Distressed

By Nicholas Olambo
Foreign Affairs CS Amina Mohamed lost her bid for AU top post to Chad’s Moussa Mahamat after heads of states voted in the seventh round. Moussa takes over from Dlamini-Zuma whose term ended in June but was extended by six months to give candidates time to canvas for votes.

Kenya spent hundreds of taxpayers’ money sending the DP William Ruto on ‘a shuttle diplomacy mission’ to campaign for Amina in over 50 AU member states across the continent. Another seven-member team headed by CS Fred Matiang’i was also set to carry out campaigns for Amina.

The loss is a big blow to President Uhuru Kenyatta, DP William Ruto and Wiper Leader Kalonzo Musyoka who had anticipated a win. Amina win would create a vacancy at the foreign affairs ministry, and wiper leader had been promised the job by the ruling Jubilee. He had served in the same docket under President Moi and President Kibaki so one would argue that he is experienced.

His experience was not the key point, we are in election nearing period and Kalonzo being one of those who has declared their interests to challenge President Kenyatta was being thrown in a trick bag to crash his presidential daydream. Kalonzo also by nickname ‘Watermelon’ is a bonafide snitch who would easily be targeted by Jubilee to destabilize opposition in the quest for Kamba.

Watermelon is a self-professed ‘king of sacrifice’ who came out loud last week that his colleagues in Cord should support his candidature and let him be the coalition’s flag bearer. He claims that he had sacrificed his ambitions before and supported Hon. Raila Odinga in 2013. He was speaking while on a campaign trail in his Eastern backyard, but he had secretly made a deal with Jubilee to take up a CS job should Amina win AU top post.

Musyoka is known for making deals in nocturnal meetings, in two 2007 while he maintained that he would ‘pass in the middle’ to top leadership. It was during the same time that he was rumored to be going to the state house in a dress at night. The deal he made with Ex-President Mwai Kibaki saw him betray Kenyans when he supported Kibaki’s controversial win. Kalonzo who came to a distance third in that year’s presidential race would later be appointed the Vice President.

Unserious presidential candidates who sit on their lazy dreams campaigning only in their backyards and expect to be endorsed are diluting political soup. Now, where does Amina loss leave him? He was just about to sacrifice and betray his coalition colleagues in Cord/ Nasa. Anyway, there are no permanent friends or enemies in politics, in times like this when realignments make the order of the day; his colleagues should be able to put up with his strange ways.