The Star 04/28/2017

Nearly half of NASA supporters agree with the flagbearer and his deputy named at Uhuru Park rally. This was according to an Ipsos poll that was released yesterday. ODM leader Raila Odinga was named as the National Super Alliance flagbearer. Raila will face President Uhuru Kenyatta of Jubilee with Kalonzo Musyoka as his running mate. NASA brings together Raila, Musalia Mudavadi (Amani), Kalonzo Musyoka (Wiper), Moses Wetang’ula (Ford Kenya) and Isaac Rutto (CCM). According to the poll, 49 per cent of the voters support Raila-Kalonzo leadership, while 55 per cent expected it. But fewer identified this pair as their preferred paired-choice rated at 34 per cent. Only seven per cent expected a Raila-Mudavadi leadership, with eight per cent preferring it. Seven per cent of the supporters preferred a Kalonzo-Raila leadership…

GLADYS SHOLLEI Leads top women in North Rift Former Education minister Margaret Kamar and former Chief Registrar of the Judiciary Gladys Shollei led top women in the North Rift who won during the Jubilee primaries.Shollei joined politics for the first time. She pledged to join other leaders in fighting for the rights of women, children and less fortunate in society if elected in August. See Page 33 WILLIAM KABOGO A threat to someone? Governor Kabogo’s claim “someone” in Jubilee schemed his downfall in the Kiambu nominations has sparked speculation about a renewed feud with Deputy President William Ruto. Kabogo on Tuesday evening said at a press briefing in Kiambu his defeat was plotted because “I am a threat to someone”. See Page 28 BISHOP WANJIRU To spend five days in…

IN JULY 2016: The Star exclusively reported that Amani leader Musalia Mudavadi was reaching out to ODM leader Raila Odinga, Ford Kenya boss Moses Wetang’ula and Wiper chief Kalonzo Musyoka for the formation of a super alliance to face Jubilee. OCTOBER 10: Star reported that talks between Mudavadi, Raila, Wetang’ula and Kalonzo were making progress on the formation of the alliance. OCTOBER 20: Star reported that Raila, Kalonzo, Wetang’ula and Mudavadi were preparing to sign a pre-election agreement. Star reported that Raila was scheduled to meet several close allies to discuss the super alliance. JANUARY: Star reported that NASA leaders were discussing the framework for the registration of NASA as a coalition. FEBRUARY 8: Star reported how NASA was planning to share power, revealing that the coalition had agreed to…

DID President Uhuru Kenyatta snub musician Jaguar (pictured), who is also the Starehe Jubilee parliamentary aspirant at the Jubilee headquarters? Well, after losing the primaries to city political supremo Maina Kamanda, albeit for a while, the musician headed straight to the party headquarters to protest and contest the result. Security officers nearly blocked him from talking to Uhuru, but Jaguar bulldozed his way straight to the President. For a while the President kept talking to Deputy President William Ruto before the musician caught his attention. He tried to tell Uhuru something, but he did not seem interested. JUBILEE MP in Central Kenya, who lost the primaries to a rival, was seen in very deep thoughts at Parliament Buildings. The flamboyant MP, who is always jovial and outgoing with colleagues and…

THE National Super Alliance has replicated the historic 2002 Narc unity that toppled the Kanu regime by announcing ODM leader Raila Odinga as the joint opposition presidential candidate. After months of tense negotiations and fears of a bitter split, the NASA Pentagon unveiled the Alliance’s official power structure, setting the stage for a do-or-die battle with President Uhuru Kenyatta. In an event attended by tens of thousands of supporters and initially punctuated by anxiety over the lineup –– Wiper Leader Kalonzo Musyoka was named Raila’s running mate –partially replicating the 2013 lineup. Under this arrangement, Amani National Congress boss Musalia Mudavadi will be Premier Cabinet Secretary in charge of Government Coordination, in the event of victory. Ford Kenya’s Moses Wetang’ula would be Deputy Premier CS responsible for Rconomic Sector Coordination,…

WIPER leader Kalonzo Musyoka yesterday sought to downplay fears among his supporters that he may well have got a raw deal in the NASA agreement. “I said, ‘do I bite the bullet, or do I not?’ I said, ‘Kenya is bigger than anybody else’,” Kalonzo said. Addressing NASA supporters in Uhuru Park, Kalonzo, whose party had insisted that he be named the NASA presidential flagbearer, explained that his interest is to fight for the dignity of Kenyans. “I said I am prepared even to be a sweeper in a NASA government, provided Kenyans get their own dignity”, he told the mammoth crowd. Kalonzo will be opposition chief Raila Odinga’s running mate at the August 8 polls. Drawing analogies from his poverty stricken background at his parents’ Tseikuru home, Kalonzo told…