The Wiper Democratic Movement Thursday rebuked ODM for ‘undermining’ sister parties in the National Super Alliance coalition.
Speaking when he received the recently elected Embakasi South MP Julius Mawathe at the Wiper headquarters in Nairobi, Mr Kalonzo Musyoka said the fact that the MP was re-elected showed the party had the best candidate.
EMBAKASI RACE
“This contest was not between two parties, Wiper and ODM, but 15 parties, that was an absolute win for Mawathe. The people of Embakasi South overwhelmingly voted for him because he was the best candidate,” said Mr Musyoka.
“It is good that the Supreme Court made a decision so that the people of Embakasi South can be given the opportunity to drive this matter to its logical conclusion,” he added.
He thanked the Jubilee Party for withdrawing its candidate during the by-election as well as Ford-Kenya and the Amani National Congress (ANC) for supporting Wiper during the by-election.
The party was of the view that the election was unfortunate and unnecessary had ODM listened to its proposal to withdraw its candidate.
At the same time, Wiper has told off Deputy President William Ruto’s foot soldiers who had claimed that Mr Mawathe’s win was for the DP.
Mr Musyoka said it was a win for the party and no one else, “I want to put the record straight that this was a Wiper win and not anybody else’s or any political grouping other than Wiper. If there is wrangling in Jubilee they should not bring it to us, we intend to move and build this movement and win political power come the next General Election,” he said.
According to him, it was inappropriate for a faction of Jubilee leaders to claim that the DP had a hand in Mr Mawathe’s win saying that no one from his faction funded the MP during the campaigns.
WARNING
The Wiper leader blamed ODM for enjoying political funding alone; “We will continue to engage our friends in ODM and together with Ford Kenya and ANC so that what is contained in our coalition agreement is honoured,” said Mr Musyoka.
He called for an end to the sibling rivalry between ODM and Wiper saying, “It is not healthy for an official of a political party to hurl insults at the leadership of a sister coalition party, you should not undermine sister parties according to the coalition’s agreement.”
Consequently, Wiper members fired warning shots at ODM and its Secretary General Edwin Sifuna who they accused of despising them.
They accused him of insulting Wiper and its leaders.
“It was unfortunate and expensive that a coalition member party took us through all that. I want to tell ODM that we have seen the insults that you hurled at us and at our party leader, we are not going to do business as usual,” said Mavoko MP Patrick Makau during the press briefing.
“Sifuna is a huge disservice to the party (ODM), if he continues like that I will make sure that we do not walk together,” added Mr Mawathe.
Mr Musyoka urged the government to take action to tame effects of the current drought which has distressed millions across the country.
“To say that no one has died because of hunger is like saying you do not live in Kenya,” he said and called on President Uhuru Kenyatta to continue the fight against corruption.