Wiper Violates Azimio Pact, Fields Candidates in Nairobi

Wiper party led by Kalonzo Musyoka, has defied Azimio la Umoja One Kenya’s decision to zone Nairobi by fielding its own candidates.

Kalonzo’s defiance sets the stage for a brutal struggle among the coalition’s candidates.

The announcement comes after the party awarded certificates to seven MP candidates and 35 ward representative candidates.

Wiper Nairobi leader Roy Kivusyu claimed that the zoning system had left the party with only the deputy governorship and one MP seat, Embakasi South.

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This occurred, he claimed, despite the party having a significant number of votes in the city that might affect the outcome of the governorship, senatorship, and woman representative seats.

“There is no way you can ignore Wiper in Nairobi. We are ready to be under Azimio but under an equal three-legged coalition,” said Mr Kivusyu.

Jubilee was awarded the governorship, Wiper was given the deputy governorship, and ODM was given the senatorship, woman representative, and county assembly speakership in the Azimio pact announced by the coalition’s presidential candidate Raila Odinga a fortnight ago.

The capital was also to be divided into zones based on the relative strength of the three major parties, with Jubilee and ODM each receiving eight of the 17 constituencies and Wiper receiving one.

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The fielding for MCA seats was also done according to party strength in order to prevent deputy President William Ruto’s Kenya Kwanza from gaining any seats in the city.

Mr Kivusyu, on the other hand, stated that as far as Wiper is concerned, the negotiations did not include MP and MCA seats, but rather the other top seats.

Giving Wiper only one MP seat, he claimed, was like undercutting the party’s numerical strength, given the party’s members are largely from the Kamba community.

He asserted that the Kamba community is Nairobi’s second-largest voting group and that it cannot be reduced to a few seats.

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“If you look at Nairobi’s population, Wiper will decide who gets the top seats because of the Kamba population in the city. If we are only given one MP seat, does it make sense? It becomes a bit tricky then,” he said.

Wiper voters and the Kamba community, he claimed, will determine who becomes governor, senator, and woman representative.

Julius Mawathe, the incumbent MP for Embakasi South, Ben Milai (Mathare), Fred Akech (Makadara), Tabitha Mutero (Kasarani), Joash Omwenga (Embakasi East), Mohamad Nur (Kamukunji), and Baba Ndege (Dagoretti North) were among those issued certificates to contend for MP seats.

Mr Kivusyu further stated that the party will accept no less than the role of running mate in the presidential election.

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He claimed that Wiper had made it clear that Kalonzo must deputize Raila, claiming that he brings more value to the ticket than the other candidates.

“It is Kalonzo Musyoka or nothing for the position of Deputy President. We demand he be given the ticket because he will bring to Azimio a solid bloc of more than 2.5 million votes,” he said.

The vetting of Raila’s possible running mate will kick off tomorrow by a 7-member panel.

The panel will conclude the exercise by May 10, it announced on Sunday.

Among those set to be vetted include: Murang’a Woman Rep Sabina Chege, Martha Karua, Kieni MP Kanini Kega, Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho, Kalonzo and Agriculture CS Peter Munya.