Was there ever a National Super Alliance in the first place? NASA was simply a camouflage and something to make Amani National Congress party leader Musalia Mudavadi feel good and honoured.
The alliance was purely always about former Prime Minister Raila Odinga and his Orange Democratic Movement party, the others are just flower girls. That is why, when it comes to making decisions, they don’t count. It is all about what Raila and ODM want implemented.
NASA was a non-starter from the beginning and it was meant to hoodwink the public that there was unity, which was never there in the first place. It was just a design, one would say, to promote the political interests of Raila as he contested against President Uhuru Kenyatta in the August 8 General Election.
There is nothing strange going on right now in the coalition as far as I am concerned. This unease in NASA could even be vividly seen seven months ago.
The co-principals were already quarreling over the decision to swear in Raila and Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka on January 30 this year. The whole pretension of the swearing-in ceremony was just a Raila show since he did not want his colleagues around.
Kalonzo, Mudavadi and Wetang’ula were feeling bitter and looked stupid because they felt cheated by Raila and ODM.
Kalonzo kept looking ridiculous, making strange public statements after Raila’s oath-taking event, but nobody was listening to him. It was indeed a Raila show.
There was never NASA at the begging and there never was the Coalition for Reforms and Democracy either. The coalition is already split. Wiper, ODM, Ford Kenya and ANC will each front a candidate to run for President in 2022.
But Ford Kenya party leader Moses Wetang’ula is confused in-between. Wetang’ula just wants to be a good senator, but be there when they are sharing crucial slots.
For Mudavadi to survive in this country’s politics, he has to be a presidential candidate. Kalonzo is almost finished, but he keeps on maintaining that he will run for President in 2022.There is no way those people will remain together in the run-up to the 2022 General Election. Kalonzo and his team feel cheated twice and have no reason to remain in the coalition. Everyone will contest on his own, but not through a coalition called NASA.The writer is USIU Professor of History and International Relations
