Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka has come under pressure to leave the Cord political outfit. A number of MPs from Ukambani said they believed that ODM leader Raila Odinga was preparing to run for Presidency in 2017 and this would lock out Kalonzo.
"We have told him that he must leave Cord now if he wants a bright political future. We think all these rallies Raila is undertaking are meant to position himself as the most ideal candidate to take on Jubilee," said an MP.
“We cannot keep talking of a national dialogue when actually we in Cord need an internal dialogue to know whether Raila is ready to honour the pre-election agreement we signed,” said Mbooni MP Kisoi Munyao yesterday.
In an interview with Reuters this week, Raila said that he had not considered running for presidency in 2017 but had not ruled out the possibility either.
The push for national dialogue has divided Ukambani leaders, triggering speculation that Kalonzo could eventually walk out of the Cord Coalition.
Yesterday, Four MPs from the region criticized the ongoing rallies, calling them “a waste of time”.
But Wiper Chairman David Musila dismissed the speculation, insisting that the push for national dialogue had the blessings of the party's leadership.
Mwala MP Vincent Musyoka, Itwiku Mbai of Masinga, Francis Mwangangi of Yatta and Mbooni MP Mike Kisoi said it was wrong for Cord to begin placing the country in campaign mode.
Mwala MP added that Cord should look for alternative ways of pushing for the disbandment of the IEBC and not through national dialogue. According to the MP, Cord was using the national dialogue demand as an excuse to polarize the country and destabilize the Jubilee Administration.
However, other Wiper MPs have affirmed their unwavering support for Cord, even as it emerged that former VP Kalonzo would skip the Eldoret rally.
“We shall be present in Eldoret because we all believe in national dialogue. The former VP is fully committed to this cause,” Makueni MP Daniel Maanzo said.
Elsewhere, UDF party leader, Musalia Mudavadi has threatened to ditch the Jubilee coalition after his party's only governor, Issa Timamy, was charged in court over the Mpeketoni killings.
Speaking in Nairobi, Mudavadi said that his party had been aggrieved by the government's decision to arraign Timamy in court.
"We in the Amani Coalition are offended that we are being targeted as the soft spot in a political war between Jubilee and Cord," said Mudavadi at UDF headquarters.
He added that the Amani coalition was reviewing its cooperation with the Jubilee Government with the option of withdrawing from the coalition.
He said the arrest of Timamy was inhumane and a clear indication of discrimination by the jubilee government.
“The Amani coalition does not condone criminality, ethnic profiling, conflict and violence or terror. Anyone found culpable must face the full force of the law. We stand for a united and indivisible Kenya, where human rights, justice and democracy are protected and observed,” he said adding that, “These are some of the principles that underpinned our cooperation with the Jubilee coalition. But we in the Amani coalition are offended that we are being targeted as the soft spot in the political war between Jubilee and Cord.”
Mudavadi remarked that the arrest of the governor raised constitutional concerns as it amounted to the national government overthrowing a county government.
He argued that if Timamy was suspected to have incited residents of Lamu to carry out the attacks, he should have been summoned to record a statement, “as was the case with Cord politicians”.
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