Between Kathungu and Karen: Kalonzo’s memoir
Against All Odds unfolds
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| Former Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka during his book launch/ Photo by kalonzomusyoka.co.ke |
By MWINGI TIMES TEAM
Kalonzo
Musyoka’s memoirs Against All Odds is
an interesting read with vivid descriptions and full of high octane power plays
covering his entire political and public life spanning more than three decades.
The book demonstrates how a self-made son of
a commoner rose from the base of poverty in Tseikuru to Karen’s affluence. Yet he
remains humble. He does not call himself hustler or brag about it.
Without escaping criticism, Musyoka addresses
some of the sticking hard questions that his detractors have long held. Like did
he betray Raila in 2007 by joining forces with Kibaki to form national unity government? He argues that by him forming the government he
helped stop the post-election violence escalation that had already claimed 1133
lives of innocent civilians and displacing 600000 others.
“I am sure that had I joined Raila in the
dispute, the violence would have spread to my stronghold in Eastern Province
with disastrous consequences. Because of this proximity, thousands, perhaps
millions of Kikuyu immigrants live here. Had I joined the ODM side, these
people would have come under attack, he observes.
TRASHED MOU
TRASHED MOU
Musyoka revisits the trashed MoU that
informed the formation of NARC in 2002 claiming that Raila was denied the
Premiership and himself denied the second Vice Presidential position after the
death of Kijana Wamalwa.
From warning Interior Minister Dr. Chris
Murungaru from playing God when he “predicted” the death of Wamalwa lying in
London hospital bed, to being the go between when the high and mighty differed
the book makes for historical and political attempt to draw the life of
Musyoka.
In a tense meeting with Uhuru and others,
Kalonzo reveals how he was dropped as the preferred presidential candidate by
the Uhuruto only being offered lesser positions and not the president and the
deputy presidency. He writes “[Uhuru] walked five steps to the waterfall,
removed a packet from his jacket pocket and pulled out a cigarette. Holding it
in his hand, he lit it with a lighter in his right hand and furiously puffed on
it…My brother, in the spirit of transparency, I wish to inform you that
tomorrow we are flying to Bujumbura to meet with President Pierre Nkurunziza
and our sister Charity Ngilu will accompany us.”
Writing a newspaper article titled Why Kalonzo Musyoka is a safe bet, not CORD
leaders, Musalia, in The Standard on Sunday, Prof. Makau Mutua opines that
Kalonzo is a safe bet terming him as “honest policitican.” Only later to add a
rider that “I’ve only compared him to his species.”
The book is coauthored
with former Nation journalist Caleb Atemi
and published by Peace Book Co Ltd of Hong Kong.
MWINGI TIMES for timely and authoritative news.
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