Five times ‘watermelon’ Kalonzo has changed his mind on the political scene
Kalonzo Musyoka, the seasoned Kenyan politician who once served as the country’s vice-president between 2008 and 2013, is cheekily referred to in political circles as a watermelon owing to his unpredictable nature.
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Here are some of the occasions that have made him more or less justify that tag.
1. Contest for Senate Speaker position – Kalonzo announced on Wednesday he will contest for the Speaker of the National Assembly. He did not keep that promise. A day later he changed his mind and withdrew from contesting at the eleventh hour, leaving his Azimio coalition Senators with an egg on their faces.
2. Contest for Speaker of National Assembly position – Earlier this week, the former Mwingi lawmaker also announced he will contest for the Speaker of the National Assembly. He even went to Parliament buildings and picked the requisite forms. But then, again, he changed his mind and announced he will not contest following a meeting with his Wiper party officials who confessed they sensed an ’embrassment’ should he go all the way.
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3. Fallout with Odinga – Kalonzo briefly fell out with Azimio presidential candidate Raila Odinga after claiming in a television interview he would be one of the ‘most stupid men’ to support Odinga’s presidential bid for the tried time without a measure of reciprocity.
The situation appeared to be headed for the worse when Odinga snubbed Kalonzo and settled for Martha Karua as his running mate in the August 2022 polls. But alas! Kalonzo would change his mind and elect to play third fiddle to both Odinga and Karua in the elections
4. Presidential bid – In early 2022, Kalonzo announced he will vie for President of Kenya. He even picked his running mate and started off his campaigns. That, too, did not last. He stepped down after consultations with President Uhuru Kenyatta and Kani chairman Gideon Moi and opted to back Odinga.
5. Running mate interview – Amid reports he would be sacrificed in the race to become Raila Odinga’s running mate in the August 2022 polls, Kalonzo vowed not to attend the running mate interviews at the Serena hotel, Serena Hotel in Nairobi.
His handlers consistently maintained their man will not turn up. But he did. And against all expectations, graced the interview which considering the results failed with the party picking Martha Karua as Odinga’s running mate
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