It is impossible to sympathise with Stephen Kalonzo Musyoka, the Vice-President, in his current plight with the other prominent members of the Gang of Seven. They have been looking for a reason to jettison the V-P for some time now. Ever since Uhuru Kenyatta made that crack about some politicians behaving like hyenas hankering over the hanging hand of the unsuspecting, Mr Musyoka was always on thin ice. When the Minister for Justice declared that the Constitution and the law of Kenya were clear that Mr Kenyatta and William Ruto could not and should not offer themselves for the presidency until their ICC trial was over, they found the perfect reason for putting pressure on Mr Musyoka to leave their gang.
Mr Musyoka is scrambling to salvage the situation, going so far as to write to the President asking him to sack Mutula Kilonzo, though it is difficult to see which grounds he will advance to make his case. He has also promised that Johnston Muthama would be dealt with through the 'internal mechanisms' of the Wiper party. Mr Muthama's sin, it appears, was to tell the people of Ukambani what they had known all along: that with the departure of the two, Mr Musyoka stood to gain and perhaps take the presidency at the next general elections.
The Gang of Seven was always founded on the wrong principles. It's reason for life was primarily to keep Raila Odinga from the top job. Other than the fact that the major partners in the Gang were all former KANU die-hards, there is no ideology that weds these men together. They have done nothing to demonstrate that their sympathies lie with the people of Kenya or for the challenges that the nation faces as it seeks to implement the Constitution that at least one of them rejected during the referendum campaigns of 2010. Mr Musyoka, the senior-most member of the Gang of Seven has consistently played second fiddle to Mr Kenyatta and Mr Ruto presumably because of his perceived weaknesses.
For instance, it is widely presumed that while Mr Kenyatta and Mr Ruto command large followings in their respective political backyards, Central Kenya for Mr Kenyatta and the Rift Valley for Mr Ruto, Mr Musyoka barely commands the loyalty of half the peoples of Ukambani. Even in his Kitui home, he has to contend with the indefatigable Charity Ngilu, one of his most ardent opponents. In Kangundo and Mbooni areas of Machakos, Mr Musyoka relies on the popularity (and money) of Mr Muthama and Mr Kilonzo. In Makueni County, Prof Philip Kaloki, one of his allies, faces challenges from the down-but-not-out and recently resurgent Kalembe Ndile. Nor can he count on the support of Kilome's John Harun Mwau, a man who has stood alone ever since his first foray into elective politics in 1992. It also does not help when it is perceived that Mr Musyoka does not have and cannot raise the finances to support a lone-wolf presidential campaign without the assistance of Mr Muthama and his cronies in the gemstone industry.
Mr Musyoka has consistently been on the wrong side of history since 2005 when he engineered the break-up of the original Orange Movement. His decision to stand by Mr Kibaki in the aftermath of the 2007 general elections demonstrated as nothing else had done so far that he was willing to grab whatever opportunities came his way. The irony is not lost; Mr Musyoka's greatest asset in the Gang of Seven was his willingness to do whatever he could to deny Raila Odinga the presidency is his greatest liability in preserving his position in the Gang of Seven. His decision to jettison his erstwhile allies in the Wiper party demonstrate that he still does not get it. Mr Kenyatta and Mr Ruto, so long as they remain in the cross-hairs of the ICC prosecutor, are political liabilities, especially if the IDP remain in camps living in the abject conditions that the government has left them to. Mr Ruto's political nomadism is proof that just like Mr Musyoka, he will do what it takes to ascend to the presidency. He has persistently moved from one party to the next looking for a vehicle that will take him to State House and with the URP he has found himself the perfect vehicle.
Now Mr Musyoka finds himself in a quandary. The list of people he has betrayed in his ascension to the V-P's office is long and growing longer. I doubt whether the memories of the betrayed are as pigeon-like as the V-P thinks. Therefore, Mr Musyoka finds himself not only fighting to persuade Mr Ruto and Mr Kenyatta to allow him to participate in their 'primaries', but he finds an unlikely coalition arrayed against him. Even if the majority of the people he has betrayed are portrayed as minnows, they will become a formidable force when they join hands and perhaps join with Mr Odinga in denying Mr Musyoka the presidency. This is a race of incumbents, even with the inclusion of Raphael Tuju. All the major players are or were serving members of the Executive so the general election is a referendum on their performance not just in government but in their parties. Mr Musyoka faces a great challenge in rehabilitating his political fortunes. It is difficult to sympathise with him.
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