Embakasi East Member of Parliament Babu Owino has come out to address his close association with Wiper party leader Kalonzo Musyoka amid speculations of defecting.
Speaking on Wednesday morning during an interview on Radio Citizen, the lawmaker dismissed the claims, clarifying that his close ties with the former Vice President were purely personal.
Babu questioned why he was being labelled a rebel within the party for merely communicating with Kalonzo, who he insisted was his Azimio coalition principal.
He went ahead to explain that there was nothing wrong with maintaining contact with political allies, reiterating that his association with Kalonzo should not be misinterpreted.
"Up to now, Kalonzo has always communicated with Raila Odinga. He calls Raila, and Raila calls him back. If Raila and Kalonzo communicate, what is wrong when I communicate with Kalonzo?" Babu questioned.
"Even if you put politics aside, what has Kalonzo done bad? So by just communicating with Kalonzo now, people have begun saying that I have started being rude," he added.
Babu Owino's clarification comes about a week after he formally endorsed the Wiper party leader as the best bet to unseat President William Ruto in the 2027 General Elections.
Addressing a rally on September 29, the lawmaker commended Kalonzo for his resilience in supporting the former Prime Minister during the last elections despite not being named as the running mate.
While calling on Kenyans to come out in large numbers to vote out the current regime in 2027, the MP likened the anticipated situation in the next elections to the US polls in 2020, where Americans turned out to vote out President Donald Trump.
"In 2020, when Americans turned out in large numbers, they did not come out to vote for Joe Biden; they came out to vote out Trump. Likewise, in 2002, Kenyans came out to vote out Moi; they did not come out to vote in Kibaki," Babu stated.
"Kalonzo was in Azimio. When he was in Azimio, he was a good person. Why should I then assume that he is now a bad person? What then can we say Kalonzo has done to be labelled a bad person?" he added.
Meanwhile, the speculations of Babu Owino ditching the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party for the Wiper party come amidst his strong stance against the broad-based government.
