Kikuyu Member of Parliament Kimani Ichung'wa on Sunday, June 5, erred when he referenced Amani National Congress (ANC) party leader Musalia Mudavadi's attack on the bottom-up approach.
Ichung'wa appeared at a talk show hosted on Inooro TV, facing off against Azimio flagbearer Raila Odinga's lawyer Paul Mwangi.
The Kikuyu MP went on to explain how the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) would liberate the country using the Bottom-Up approach which he complained was being misused and misunderstood by the Azimio campaign team.
The MP referenced the famous phrase of bottom-up being akin to inverting a bottle and drinking all its contents - which Mwangi together with the show's host, Francis Gachuri, reminded him the remark was not the creation of Azimio but of Kenya Kwanza principal Musalia Mudavadi.
"We know that this is a two-horse race and that is William Ruto and Raila Odinga and Kenyans know both of them very well and their agendas. They know which team advocates for more seats for the likes of Gideon Moi, Kalonzo Musyoka and others."
"In our case, we shall revisit the bottom-up approach like never before. We shall persist on the matter until you people understand that it is not about inverting beer bottles as you guys proclaimed," Ichung'wa stated before he was interjected.
The statement was corrected by Citizen TV's Francis Gachuri who pointed out that the reference was made by ANC's Mudavadi who is in the Kenya Kwanza regime.
In a rejoinder, Ichung'wa defended his statement, noting that at the time Mudavadi was advocating for ideologies proposed by the rival team before he ultimately joined the Kenya Kwanza coalition.
"You know at the time, he was being misled by the Azimio team and that's why when he joined us, he now speaks in favour of the bottom-up approach," he retorted.
The legislator also detailed how Mudavadi had received a better deal in the Kenya Kwanza coalition as opposed to Wiper party leader Kalonzo Musyoka.
He argued that the Azimio coalition was focused on constitutional changes in order to create the Chief Cabinet Secretary position as opposed to the Mudavadi deal whereby they would implement Executive Order number 1.
"We told the Azimio brigade that it's not a must to change the constitution in order to carry out your mandate. In the case of the prime minister, which we call the prime cabinet secretary, it's the same as the Matiang'i docket whereby one can alienate powers from one and give them to another to become the supreme Minister. For Azimio, they kept telling Kalonzo that they ought to change the constitution first because they would not want to draft the same agreement that we did with Mudavadi."
"For Mudavadi, through an executive order number 1, that we will do within the first few months should Azimio not run to court again, we will create a Prime Cabinet Secretary whereas, for them, they will look for ways to change the constitution first," he stated.
The battle for the country's top seat intensifies in the coming days with both teams seeking to woo voters to join their camps before the August 9 poll.
