A powerful individual affiliated to President Uhuru Kenyatta played a major role in the selection of the National Super Alliance (NASA) flag-bearer last week on Thursday.
According to political observers familiar with the intrigues behind NASA’s flag-bearer deal, Joseph Wanjigi -credited with the amalgamation of President Kenyatta’s The National Alliance party (TNA) and Deputy President William Ruto’s United Republican Party ahead of the 2013 elections, had a hand in the NASA deal.
Sources revealed that the influential businessman was amongst a group of political power brokers pulling the strings behind the scenes that arrived at the Raila- Kalonzo ticket unveiled at Uhuru Park.
Wanjigi, who midwived the Jubilee Coalition was captured on camera occasionally walking to NASA co-principals Raila Odinga and his running mate Kalonzo Musyoka to consult them.
The sources added that Wanjigi reportedly attended the unveiling of the Nasa line-up at Uhuru Park to provide his support for the opposition outfit out to unseat President Kenyatta.
Joseph Wanjigi allegedly had an acrimonious fallout with the Jubilee government at its formative stages.
Another influential figure in the shadows during the NASA deal was New York-based academic, Prof Makau Mutua who was said to have been instrumental in convincing Mr Musyoka to commit to supporting Mr Odinga as the Nasa candidate for a second time.
The Law scholar reportedly impressed upon Kalonzo that the winning ticket was within NASA since Jubilee had a candidate preferably to 2022.
