Kioni: Wait for Ruto bubble burst, many UDA members will soon rejoin Jubilee

In this second part of the interview with Sunday Nation, Mr Jeremiah Kioni, the new Jubilee secretary-general, speaks about the sticking issue of Raila Odinga’s running mate amid the Kalonzo-factor after he joined Azimio, parliamentary purge against rebels and the poaching of UDA candidates ahead of the August 9 General Election.

So far, Kenya Kwanza’s presidential candidate DP William Ruto is more popular than Azimio’s leader Raila Odinga in Mt Kenya. What can Mr Odinga do to boost his chances of scaling the Mountain?

It would be naïve for Raila and us supporting him to imagine that the work done by the deputy president for four-and-half years of maligning him and the President can be undone in two years.

What Mr Odinga needs to do is to ensure that he remains steadfast with his messaging of unifying the country because he is an elder and never be bothered by the insults hurled by the deputy president.

What demands have Mt Kenya leaders given to Raila to fulfil if he wins the presidency?

Our experience with the presidency is that when you decide to support a person to run for the country’s top job, you don’t give him conditional support. You support him knowing that he is not only going to be a president for you, but also for the whole country.

We may want some key projects implemented in our region, but we must give him the space to manage the country.

How different is Raila’s candidature this year compared to 2013 and 2017?

With the calmness that is there in the Azimio coalition and the country in general, one can be able to assess his leadership skills. You can see his love for the country. When he speaks, it is only about how we can make the lives of Kenyans better.

He has such a thick skin that no matter how you insult him, he just smiles. He has no time to insult anyone. I remember one time we told him not to go to Githurai because we thought he would receive hostile reception but he convinced us on why he should go.

He said he would go and sell to the people there our agenda. His style of management and courage is also different. He is full of love. He is not the Raila we used to see being tear-gassed.

Are there plans to reorganise the committees in Parliament?

No, it’s too late. However, those who hold management positions in the House such as the Leader of Majority and have moved to another party, must be replaced. That office is important and will continue to play a key role until much later. Such a person cannot continue to hold that office. 

So, if one doesn’t have the decency to write a letter saying they have moved on, then we have to ask the House leadership to remove them.

You said that you will write to the Speaker of the National Assembly to formally start the process of kicking out Jubilee MPs who have decamped to UDA, what happens if the Speakers fail to act?

We can’t force him.

The question of Azimio running mate, we understand that Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka has laid claim to the position and at the same time Mt Kenya leaders feel it belongs to them, what is the way forward?

The decision will be left to the President himself. Remember when you are picking the running mate, there are many things you put into consideration. You may look at the numbers and other things but to me the important thing is chemistry. You must have chemistry with your running mate and you must have a person that will allow you to run the government.

Remember the votes are being given to you, the other person will only be available when you need assistance. You need a person to clearly understand that, without feeling that he is being left out.

We don’t want a person like the deputy president who goes round the country telling Kenyans that he helped the President to get votes. We don’t want another period of disruption from Karen as we have seen.

As Azimio, have you settled on the running mate, any possible names?

We have not settled on anyone and there are no names.

We have seen David Murathe saying it is not a must for Jubilee to get the position of the running mate. Are they preparing Mt Kenya for something else and what positions is Jubilee now eying in Azimio?

Like I started earlier, there are no conditions that we have put on Mr Odinga who is going to be the fifth President of Kenya.

There are claims that Jubilee is wooing UDA members by giving them money... is it true?

We would not be interested in wooing any person who is not interested in coming back to the party. But there are people out there who are telling us that they did not know this would happen.

There are people who were swallowed by the propaganda for four-and-half years and they are now waking up to the reality and saying, this has been a bubble and now it is bursting. It is losing momentum and they don’t want to be swallowed when it bursts. They are many. 

Young people have been telling me that they want to come back as they have been lied to. They are also not happy with the campaigns of insulting the President and the community that supported him.

On the question of zoning, does Jubilee support it and if yes, which regions?

Zoning is a word that is just being used by people. There is no agreement on zoning but again, it is a strategy to win seats. It is a tool used when you want to have numbers in Parliament. It will be used when we feel it will give us the best results. The Political Parties Act we passed allows us to use all methods of nomination. Be it direct or indirect so that means you must have all the tools on the table.

What is President Uhuru Kenyatta going to do after polls?

The President has said he wants to be actively involved in the party affairs and not the government. He has a vision for the party and we are sure under his leadership and availability, he will grow it.