Wiper postpones PG meeting after Raila, Kalonzo hold talks

A meeting between ODM leader Raila Odinga and Wiper’s Kalonzo Musyoka on the sharing of political parties’ funds led to the postponement of a meeting that would have seen the latter leave the Nasa coalition.

The Wiper parliamentary group meeting, supposed to be held Friday, was to announce its pull-out from Nasa.

But the Nation has learnt that Wiper postponed the meeting after talks between Mr Odinga and Mr Kalonzo. The party leadership instead resolved to give dialogue a chance.

Sources within Wiper and One Kenya Alliance (OKA) have also revealed that Wiper reached the decision after weighing its political future ahead of 2022 and the ramifications of pulling out of the coalition. According to the sources, Wiper does not want to lose key leadership positions in Parliament that its members hold should they pull out of Nasa.

According to the coalition’s agreement, the outfit stands dissolved if three affiliate parties leave.

Wiper members currently hold the National Assembly’s Deputy Minority Leader (Kathiani MP Robert Mbui) and Senate Minority Whip (Makueni Senator Mutula Kilonzo Jnr) positions.

Borabu MP Ben Momanyi would also have to kiss goodbye his membership to the coveted Parliamentary Service Commission (PSC), a slot which he got after a tussle with ODM.

According to Wiper members, it would be politically counterproductive to move out of Nasa when OKA is yet to fully take shape and positions apportioned to the four parties.

The OKA technical team will proceed to Naivasha next week to, among other things, work on the power sharing formula. Insiders at Wiper, however, believe that it is Amani National Congress (ANC) leader Musalia Mudavadi who will be handed the presidential ticket and not their party leader.

These, among other reasons, led to the much hyped joint parliamentary group meeting bringing together ANC, Wiper and Ford Kenya scheduled to take place at the Serena Hotel being called off.

Contacted about the meeting, ANC Deputy Party leader Ayub Savula did not give reasons why the joint PG was postponed but said the meeting has been moved to Tuesday next week.

Ford Kenya’s Kiminini MP Chris Wamalwa yesterday could also not provide a reason for the

Wiper party National vice-chairman Victor Swanya told the Saturday Nation that the party will organise for the PG sometime next week. He said Mr Mbui was tasked with coordinating the arrangement of the meeting but had not come back to the party with more details.

“The unity of OKA is critical in future. It is also important to get Mr Odinga into this early but it is more important for him to honour the Nasa agreement,” Mr Swanya said.

Abeyance

This development at Wiper means that the efforts by the four parties – Wiper, ANC, Ford Kenya and Kanu to build OKA as their political outfit for the 2022 polls – remains in abeyance.

Independence party Kanu, which had also entered into a post-election coalition with Jubilee Party is also reluctant to withdraw from the coalition to ink one with OKA.

According to the law, no party can belong to two or more coalitions at the same time.

Kanu secretary-general Nick Salat maintained that Kanu’s partnership with Jubilee runs until the end of the term of the current Parliament and that they have no reason to terminate it midway. “We will support the government because that was the arrangement that was made by NDC. We really follow and adhere to our structures,” added Mr Salat.