ODM leader Raila Odinga has struck the final nail in the Nasa coffin after publicly admitting the opposition coalition is no more.
During an interview on Sunday with NTV, Raila said Nasa was not a political party as largely perceived but was only a pre-political outfit.
“If the pre-election coalition wins, they form a government and share. If they don’t, the coalition dies automatically…There is nothing else..Nasa did not form the government,” Raila said.
The announcement now brings to the fore the end of a rocky relationship Raila had with his fellow Nasa principals; ANC leader Musalia Mudavadi, Wiper’s Kalonzo Musyoka and Ford Kenya boss Moses Wetangula.
All the three leaders backed the former Prime Minister in the last two presidential elections – as Cord in 2013 and Nasa in 2017.
The cracks in the coalition started soon after the ANC, Wiper and Ford Kenya principals were conspicuously absent from Raila’s swearing-in as ‘The People’s President’ in January 2018 at Uhuru Park.
Their relationship deteriorated in March the same year after the famous Handshake between Raila and President Uhuru Kenyatta which brought an end to the political turmoil that engulfed the country after the contested 2017 elections.
The Handshake caught many by surprise including Kalonzo, Wetang’ula and Mudavadi who appeared locked out of the negotiations that brought the two leaders together and finally gave birth to the Building Bridges Initiative.
Image: JACK OWUOR
During the Sunday interview, Raila remained non-committal to comment on an alleged ‘secret deal’ between himself and Kalonzo where he was to support the Wiper leader for the Presidency in 2022.
“I really do not want to talk about that..I do not know the context in which Kalonzo talked about it… I do not want to discuss about it,” Raila quipped.
However when asked about his relationship with the Deputy President William Ruto, the AU envoy said he had no problem with Uhuru’s deputy.
“I am the one who appointed him as Minister for Agriculture and, thereafter, Higher Education. We are not enemies at all,” he said.
The ODM leader’s sentiments come at a time when calls for his candidature in the 2022 presidential poll gained momentum.
The latest endorsement for a Raila Presidency in 2022 came from Jubilee Party Vice Chairman David Murathe and Cotu Secretary General Francis Atwoli.
However, the former PM has played his cards close to his chest, saying his focus at the moment remains on development and uniting Kenyans.
“President Kenyatta and I have said we don’t want to talk about 2022. We want to come up with reforms that will make it possible for this country to transition,” he said.
“We don’t want to pick leadership. We want to create a conducive environment so that Kenyans can get proper leadership. There are limits to abusive power, and that is what BBI is aimed at achieving.”