Businessman and Safina Party leader Jimi Wanjigi advised the United Opposition against choosing Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka as its presidential candidate next year.
Speaking in a radio interview on Sunday, June 21, Wanjigi said Musyoka does not inspire and lacks the drive to push any major political cause.
He reached that conclusion after working with Musyoka during the late Raila Odinga’s presidential campaign in 2017.
“Kalonzo is my friend, but I will be honest with you. He has been in the game for a while. I worked with him in 2017 when we were backing Raila, and, unfortunately, in my view, he is not the driver of anything,” Wanjigi said.
Wanjigi added that Kalonzo has not built a political force he can rally behind to advance his agenda. He argued that Kalonzo Musyoka failed to learn from the late Raila Odinga, who understood Kenya’s politics and how to navigate them effectively.
He added that Musyoka cannot achieve major political impact without support from others, which he said leaves him weak against serious contenders such as President William Ruto.
“Kalonzo supported Raila in three elections, but you don’t hear him speak in Raila’s home turf, in Raila’s constituency, or anywhere. Raila had a massive constituency, and it wasn’t only his home ground. Kalonzo doesn’t have a constituency there, and that shows there must be a leadership vacuum around him,” Wanjigi said.
He therefore concluded that choosing Musyoka as the opposition’s presidential candidate would make it easier for Ruto to win.
Meanwhile, Wanjigi said the opposition will also lose regardless of Kalonzo’s candidacy, largely because of its campaign strategy. He argued that the opposition unites mainly along ethnic lines, instead of pitching its agenda to Kenyans.
Wanjigi warned the opposition not to campaign for power based on people’s origins, saying Ruto will outmaneuver them in that same contest.
“William Ruto will win hands down if Kalonzo is the candidate. He will outsmart them. They should unify around an agenda. One term has a limit, because many people don’t know what comes after it. If they sell their plans beyond one term, they will give voters a stronger reason to unite. Otherwise, Ruto will win very early in the morning. They are playing in Ruto’s arena, and he understands the game. Raila handled it well. He never pushed tribalism. He sold his track record,” he said.