Kalonzo Musyoka is preparing to mount a legal battle against CS Aden Duale who reported about the former VP's private meeting with William Ruto and Uhuru Kenyatta
Wiper leader and former Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka has announced his intention to launch a legal battle against Defence Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale, citing misrepresentation of events in Duale's recently released book, "For The Record."
Kalonzo, during an interview on Spice FM on January 17, expressed his dissatisfaction with the book's portrayal of negotiations that took place in 2012, just ahead of the 2013 General Election.
The pivotal meeting occurred at Kalonzo Musyoka's residence during a period of political uncertainty as former President Mwai Kibaki prepared to leave office.
The potential candidates for succession included opposition leader Raila Odinga, Uhuru Kenyatta, Kalonzo Musyoka, and William Ruto.
Uhuru and Ruto, who were facing charges at the ICC, joined forces and were also seeking to recruit Kalonzo in their camp to campaign against Odinga. They paid him a visit to his 4-acre home in Hardy, Karen.
According to Kalonzo, Duale's book inaccurately represents the discussions during the meeting, asserting that the CS disclosed details he was not privy to.
One of the contentious points is Duale's claim that Kalonzo suggested he could provide stability if Uhuru and Ruto were jailed by the ICC and thus was the best candidate.
“What vice president or normal human being would tell a suffering duo that when you guys go to jail, I will come and help you. It is ridiculous, that is why I am suing Duale because he has written a book on that chapter and he was not in it. It is a very exciting suit because he wrote about things he doesn’t know," Kalonzo stated during the interview.
In his own account detailed in the book "Against All Odds," Kalonzo explains that the initial plan was to form a presidential ticket, with either him or Uhuru taking the top spot and the other as running mate. Ruto was to be the National Assembly Majority Leader.
READ: Day Uhuru and Ruto performed a vanishing act - Aden Duale's account
“We had agreed with Ruto that I would be on the presidential ticket, with Uhuru as my running mate or vice versa. Ruto was to be the majority leader,” Kalonzo records in his book.
However, after arriving for the meeting, Uhuru informed Kalonzo that they had decided he should consider a different position, ruling out both the presidency and deputy presidency.
“Stephen, we have decided that you should pick some other position, but not the presidency or the deputy presidency,” Uhuru said during the meeting, causing the tension to reverberate across the room.
Kalonzo recalls that the tension in the air was so high that after delivering the news, Kenyatta walked off to smoke a cigarette and when he came back to the gazebo, he told Kalonzo they’d be taking Charity Ngilu with them on a foreign trip to Burundi.
Kalonzo said in his book that he considered the meeting one of the most significant moments of betrayal in his political life.