Nasa is crumbling from within

There was rather some good news last week that the National Super Alliance (NASA) had agreed to drop some of their so-called irreducible minimum demands. Except that it came from the least expected person; Kalonzo Musyoka.
Ever since the opposition won the Supreme Court petition against the election of President Uhuru Kenyatta, NASA has treated us to one press conference after another, even as the dynamic duo of President Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto campaign vigorously. NASA flag-bearer Raila Odinga has been addressing all these press conferences, mostly stuck on their demands, with the other co-principals only adding a few words afterwards or remaining mum all through.
But it was surprising last week that Kalonzo was the one to break the news that they are finally ready to compromise. This could only mean one thing; there could be a crack within the team. If this decision was an agreement among the four principals, why not call a press conference and let the general make the announcement, given the weight of such a statement? And that they turned around a day later to say that they no longer wanted to compromise only emphasizes the fact that the crack could be widening.
Kalonzo has always been an opportunist and it would not be his first time to betray the opposition’s cause. In the 2007 General Election, Kalonzo broke away from the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) and formed his ODM-Kenya with which he vied for presidency, weakening the opposition’s strength and strategy in beating President Mwai Kibaki.
Then when Kibaki was declared winner in a disputed presidential election in which more than 1,000 Kenyans were killed, Kalonzo turned around and accepted to be Kibaki’s Vice President. Kibaki had a minority in Parliament and wanted to boost his numbers, while Kalonzo was so desperate to be in government. They both gained eventually, leaving the opposition, led by Raila, crying foul.
Kalonzo is not used to being in the opposition, a jungle in which he has suffered for the last five years. Ever since his days in KANU and after taking over from Mulu Mutisya to be the Kamba kingpin in 2004, the son of Tseikuru has always been in government and enjoyed the trappings of power. He must therefore be finding life quite hard in the opposition and could be looking for a way out.
The former Vice President clearly has accepted the bitter truth that NASA will not win the October 26 fresh presidential election and his only way back to government is by being on Jubilee’s side. But he knows he cannot come out to denounce the opposition, he would definitely lose legitimacy. The man is clearly in a tight spot. So his strategy is probably to send mild coded messages such as saying they are ready to compromise on their demands.
Coupled by the fact that the son of Tseikuru has lost tremendously in the August 8 general election, that he needs saving now more than ever cannot be overemphasized. The Kamba supremo’s party, Wiper, has lost key seats, including Kitui and Machakos governor positions, and this has clearly dealt a huge blow on his 2022 presidential bid. How would he win the presidency if he cannot even win smaller seats within his own backyard?
Even though Kalonzo’s carrot has a rider to it; to get the IEBC officials such as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Ezra Chiloba out of office and have Jubilee drop the proposed amendments to the electoral laws, the ruling party finally has the opposition where they wanted them to be. NASA is now begging for a compromise. And the Jubilee tactical team has scored big yet again. The opposition probably did not expect the government to come up with such amendments and now they are bereft of ideas on how to counter it.
On the brighter side though, whatever Kalonzo is doing is good for the country. Kenyans are tired of campaigns and they need to get this election over with. NASA needs to drop its demands and Jubilee should stop the amendments to the electoral laws so that the country can go to the election as prescribed by the Supreme Court ruling. This tug of war between the competitors will only cause a constitutional crisis and hurt our growing nation further.

By Sarah Korere, Laikipia North MP