Kenya: I Am a Wiser Fool Now, Kalonzo Says On 2027 Presidential Bid

5 January 2023

Nairobi — Wiper Leader Kalonzo Musyoka says "I am a wiser fool now and I will run like I have never run before" in readiness for the 2027 presidential contest.

Musyoka who has thrice shelved his presidential ambition for Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) Leader Raila Odinga says he is "wiser" now.

"What is obvious in the event we are still around God willing and my party nominates me to run I will run like I have never run before," he said during an interview on NTV.

The former Vice President supported Odinga during 2013, 2017, and 2022 General Elections.

In the interview, Musyoka said he has no regrets for backing Odinga who narrowly lost in the 2022 election to President William Ruto.

"The fool in me ended up supporting Raila for the third time but that fool is wiser now than he was then. I am no fool. It took some painful introspection to support Raila for the third time and it was the right thing to do," he said.

In the lead-up to the 2022 election, Musyoka noted that he would be a fool to support Odinga for the third time but later had a change of heart in what he now says "I am no fool, I will never be".

"You are looking at a new Musyoka. In 2022 I was a buffalo soldier and going forward I will be more than that," he said.

Musyoka has emerged as the face of the opposition in Kenya's politics in recent days after Odinga failed to clinch the Presidency.

It was the fifth attempt for Odinga to ascend to power in a contest he appeared confident that victory would be his after securing the endorsement of former President Uhuru Kenyatta.

Kenyatta had chosen Odinga as his preferred successor and sidelined his then-deputy Ruto of 10 years who eventually succeeded him.

Odinga who lost narrowly to President Ruto moved to the Supreme Court to challenge the outcome of the polls albeit unsuccessful.

In their unanimous judgment, the seven judges of the apex court ruled that the Azimio petition was full of hot air and lacked merit.

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