Viewing cable 06NAIROBI1077, MUSYOKA: LIES, LOVERS, AND MERCENARIES IN KENYA’S
A NOTE FROM WIKILEAKS: This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
- Kalonzo Musyoka secretly met Kibaki ahead of 2007 elections
- Kibaki’s number 2 wife, Mary Wambui, brought the Arturs to Kenya
- Kalonzo’s political perspectives attributed to possible consumption of hard drugs
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 NAIROBI 001077
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/08/2026
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PINS PINR KE
SUBJECT: MUSYOKA: LIES, LOVERS, AND MERCENARIES IN KENYA’S
POLITICS
REF: (A) NAIROBI 945 (B) NAIROBI 988
Classified By: PolCouns Michael J. Fitzpatrick, Reasons 1.4 (B) and (D)
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¶1. (C) SUMMARY: Opposition politician Kalonzo Musyoka privately sees sabotage by supporters of a
fellow presidential aspirant as behind the false story suggesting he was cutting a political deal with President Kibaki. The reason for the Government’s own visceral reaction to this story (and raiding the media house): Outrage by Presidential wife Lucy Kibaki. Ironically, Musyoka suggested that Wife Number 2, Mary Wambui, was responsible for the importation of the eastern European mercenaries that played a clear role in the media raids. Musyoka stated that the opposition Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) would continue to work together, but he is clearly suspicious of his ODM allies and will place his presidential ambitions ahead of all other concerns. END SUMMARY.
ODM Suspicions
¶2. (C) Former Foreign Minister and Environment Minister Stephen Kalonzo Musyoka described for poloff March 8 the genesis of the Standard newspaper story claiming he had met secretly with President Kibaki on February 16. (NOTE: The
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article — denied by both State House and Musyoka — set off political firestorms and police raids on the Standard Media Group, reftels. END NOTE.) Musyoka attributed the story to Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) nominal chairperson Prof. Larry Ngumbe and two others close to the party’s charismatic de facto leader, Raila Odinga. Ngumbe cooked up the story to make it appear that Musyoka was “selling out” to the Government for the sake of a ministerial appointment (Energy), thus discrediting Musyoka and clearing the way for Odinga’s 2007 presidential candidacy. Musyoka called Odinga the day the story broke (February 25) expressing his concerns that Ngumbe had fabricated the story. Odinga reportedly dressed down Ngumbe and cautioned others in the ODM to avoid commenting on the story as it would sow divisions in the Movement, working to the Government’s advantage. When asked if he thought Odinga had been involved in any way in fabricating the meeting story, Musyoka initially said not, but then noted he could never be sure.
As the World Turns
¶3. (C) The Government’s puzzling reaction to the story, which was far more damaging to Musyoka than Kibaki, lies in the continuing saga of Kibaki’s two wives. According to Musyoka (and many others), First Lady Lucy does not reside at State House with the President, but stays at their residence in Nairobi’s Muthaiga suburb. Upon learning that secret meetings with political figures could be taking place in State House, Lucy reasoned that other secret liaisons (with unofficial second wife Mary Wambui) could be transpiring as well. She went to State House, where she stayed for two days to make her presence felt. She further insisted that action be taken against the Standard (with which Lucy had a nasty public run-in in 2005), apparently for exposing the fact that meetings could happen in State House without her knowledge.
Mary and the Mercenaries
¶4. (C) Musyoka also linked Wambui directly to the stories of eastern European (possibly Bosnian, Russian, or Ukrainian) mercenaries involved in the March 2 raids on the Standard media facilities. Musyoka said he had personally met some of these individuals, who seemed interested in arms deals in the region. (“How”, they asked, “can we meet with (the DRoC’s) Joseph Kabila?”) The friend who had introduced them later came to Musyoka concerned that these individuals were hit men, not arms dealers, and had simply wanted to meet Musyoka to be able to identify their target.
¶5. (C) Musyoka said Wambui had been instrumental in bringing the mercenaries into play in Kenya. Thanks to her good offices, they travel in Government cars with a security detail. Wambui also apparently took a portion of them with her on a trip to Dubai, where she is alleged to have spent US$600,000 on unspecified merchandise. Musyoka said he had heard of plans to secretly install a portion of the mercenaries in an office within the Police Criminal Investigations Division. One of them, in fact, was to be appointed de facto deputy of CID. (COMMENT: While Post has heard repeated suggestions that Mary Wambui and Stanley Murage (her man at State House) are behind the presence of the foreign mercenaries on the Government payroll, it strikes us as true irony if Wife Two’s hired guns were indeed used to avenge a perceived slight against Wife One. END COMMENT.)
Presidential Aspirations
¶6. (C) Musyoka’s presidential candidacy, and his calculations for the 2007 race, wove their way into several points of the conversation. He flatly dismissed Odinga’s presidential aspirations (conventional wisdom says Kenyans will not elect a Luo for president). He expected Kibaki would not run for a second term. (“I don’t know if it’s the drugs they’re giving him, but he’s sleeping on the job.”) However, there are no other logical candidates among the President’s inner circle, so the current leadership would be forced to turn to Uhuru Kenyatta as the default candidate. In a race between Kenyatta and himself, Musyoka clearly believed he would have a national advantage over Kenyatta, who he thought would be limited to the Kikuyu vote. (COMMENT: A scenario in which the remnants of NARC pick the leader of the official opposition to be their candidate would involve a mind-boggling number of political contortions. We think it more likely Kenyatta will remain with KANU as a candidate. POL FSN points out that, as Moi’s chosen candidate in 2002 (and still today), Kenyatta may be able to draw on that
patronage in 2007, potentially pulling in a significant portion of Rift Valley support. END COMMENT.)
¶7. (C) Musyoka said his biography is in the works, likely to be published before the 2007 elections. Unlike Odinga and Kenyatta, who have pedigrees dating back toindependence, Musyoka rose from humble origins and feels Kenyans need to know more about him. An ethnic Kamba, he hails from a village far enough to the east that he had to worry aboutencountering Shifta rebels on his way to school. His mother received no education and speaks only a few words of Kiswahili; his father received only a limited education. This is the sort of background he wants Kenyans to know as they consider candidates for the presidency.
COMMENT
¶8. (C) Musyoka kept to an ODM script regarding the need to maintain a united front in the Movement. But it was clear from his tone that rumors of trouble within the ODM are well-founded. The Movement will hold together as long as there is an issue around which members can rally – the constitutional referendum which brought them together in 2005 and the Government’s recent media assault serving the purpose nicely. ODM is poised to put forward its own strategy for re-working the constitution, an exercise that may stick the individual members together a bit longer. Ultimately, though, the ODM is a marriage of convenience unlikely to withstand the pull of individual political ambitions. Musyoka, like many of his colleagues, will stay with ODM only as long as it helps advance his prospects for the presidency.
END COMMENT.
BELLAMY
About the Author
Musyoka will never be believed in leadership of Kenya. He has shown us the whole picture of whom he is.Kalonzo Musyoka is a traitor with evil feeling to others.Mt.Kenya group are just using him and dump him in a ditch.
WHO ARE THESE PNU (GEMA) WHO WANTED TO KILL RAILA BY HIRING FOREIGN MERCHINERIES? AND WHAT SHOULD BE DONE HENCE THEY ARE WELL KNOWN RIGHT NOW? WHEN WILL JUSTICE TAKE ITS COURSE?KENYANMS MUST DEMAND FOR THE ARREST OF THESE CROOKS AND BE TAKEN TO COURTS (PERHAPS OUTSIDE KENYA)
You are here: National National Raila could have been killed, says Wikileaks Skip to content.Raila could have been killed, says Wikileaks .
BY FRANCIS MUREITHI . IN DANGER? Raila Odinga
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THAT the American embassy considered it a real possibility that Raila Odinga could be assassinated is among the latest revelations in the Wikileaks cables.
There are a further 2,500 cables from the American embassy in Nairobi still to be released by Wikileaks. Last night, Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka reacted to a Wikileaks cable from 2006 saying he did not expect President Kibaki to stand again. “These are rumours that should be dismissed offhand. It is not in my character to demean anyone, let alone the First Family, even though the President was then my political rival,” Kalonzo said about the cable that was reportedly exclusively in yesterday’s Star.
Before the December 2007 election, Security minister John Michuki told an American diplomat “an Odinga presidency would be ethnically divisive and short-lived, said Michuki, who added that he did not think Odinga would last more than a few months in office. Given Kenya’s history of high profile political assassinations, that is not such a remote possibility”, stated the cable. Michuki also warned the diplomat of Odinga’s dictatorial tendencies and alleged, “his thesis (in East Germany) had been on building nail bombs.”
At that stage, the Americans did “not share Michuki’s view of Odinga as a dangerous radical who would destabilise the region”. However by June 2009, ambassador Michael Ranneberger could tell Washington that Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta about to mount a 2012 presidential campaign and “Odinga is increasingly perceived as feckless, unable or unwilling to govern effectively and move forward the reform agenda.” “Odinga’s being seen as in a weakened position may be wishful thinking given his political resilience and the fact that he could yet emerge as a reformer, but he has clearly lost significant popular support. The ODM seems both directionless and less united than before,” wrote Ranneberger.
Ranneberger assessed Saitoti as “too old, not charismatic, and he is tainted by the Goldenberg corruption scandal.” Ranneberger described former Justice minister Martha Karua as a “Kikuyu dissident” who “has not gained wide support in the Kikuyu Central province.”
Kalonzo’s chances of succeeding Kibaki would only be high if Central Province does not field its own candidate. Earlier cables came from Ambassador William Bellamy.
In March 2006, Bellamy said the March 2 raid on the Standard newspaper might have been promoted by a belief in State House that the paper possessed a dossier on cocaine trafficking. It said “foreign mercenaries” (the Artur brothers) had been brought in to clamp down on corruption investigations.
Bellamy later met Justice minister Martha Karua whose responses he described as “not reassuring” when she refused to condemn the raid.
Last night Karua said, “At the time I did not know that it was a government operation. When I knew later, I remember we quarrelled with the then Minister for Internal Security over what had happened.” Ranneberger took over from Bellamy in 2006.
Sadly from the man who said that he did not know who won the December 2007 election, Electoral Commission chairman Samuel Kivuitu told Ranneberger in November that “If they make it impossible for me to run a fair election, I will not quietly resign and fade away. No. I will hold a mass rally in Uhuru Park and explain to all the world why I had to resign”.
Another cable summarises a meeting between Uhuru Kenyatta and Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Johnnie Carson and National Security Council Africa director Michelle Gavin in May 2009 “Gavin delivered a tough message from President Obama: the US would not do business with Kenyans who obstructed reform or encouraged political violence”, states the cable. “Kenyatta sought to deflect concerns… He blamed an irresponsible media and a slow moving Parliament for the lack of overall progress on the reform agenda”.
In February 2006 Ranneberger sent a cable outlining “severe tensions within the coalition government.” “Based on credible reports from multiple sources, it seems clear that the maize scandal touches the families of both President Kibaki and Prime Minister Odinga, and key members of their teams (although Odinga’s side is likely more culpable on the maize scandal)”.
So, Kalonzo, being a lawyer and having studied in Nicosia, Cyprus doesn’t know that all European countries especially the very prosperous Scandinavia have socialist constitutions and governance structures? Angela Merkel studied in Leipzig, East Germany by the way. So, the shuttle diplomat doesn’t want people to have “accelerated reforms including action against corruption and improved standards of living”?? Judas!!
for those who think Kalonzo is a great man… you just need to find what kind he is from those that know him well. Try find someone from his village and ask them who he really is…and how religious he is. You will be met with laughter. Their is nothing saintly about him.. just a lot of hypocracy. Those that think Kibaki and Raila are bad, better be aware. Kalonzo would shame them… any leader who takes advantage of Religion to further is cause is truly worse than a judas. Have you not wondered why the church did not support his bid… actually most religious leader shunned his bid. There is a very good reason for that. It begins with the word “witchcraft”. He has practiced and consulted since when he was a Mulu Mutisya Protege… and it is no secret in Ukambani. Besides, he has no idea of what to do as a leader… he is more of a follower and borrower of ideas rather than an originator. Look at how he copied the ODM manifesto when he creted ODM-K. This is from someone who knows him pretty well. Seriously, I would rather Kibaki with his indecisiveness than Kalonzo. Mr. Clean is just greedy to be recognised,that’s why he took the VP post.
Nobody will ever vote for kalonzo. He is a cheap opportunist.He promised his people they would see miracles. All he gave them was the same Kibaki he was against. I for one will never vote for a traitor like him and I know most kenyans think the same way. That he is selfish and one nobody, even his own people can’t trust.
talk about the other goof kalonzo. Iknow he is cheap, wether anybody likes it or not. Who in his right senses does what he did? Nothing else but a scam he is…
The name Kalonzo has become a synonymous to traitor or brtrayer. He used to yap how bad Kibaki was more than Raila, then like a sensless fool “You will see miracle” being in Kibaki cabinet is a miracle to Musyoka’s son what a shame!!!
I don’t think Kalonzo was a traitor for taking up kibaki’s offer for VP. However, i do find him truly a hypocrate and in most cases having made his decision in haste and without proper evaluation of his other obvious choices.
It is hard to support an individual who was beating up on the president during the campaigns by declaring him to he a good man surrounded by bad people and yet join the same group of bad people! I think kalonzo’s failure is not of not being patriotic as many would want us to believe, but of merely making bad decisions. May be even too greedy to taste some semblance of power. But then this is every politician’s ambition…. POWER.
Kalonzo may have exposed his true image and lost alot of suppoters, heck, he may have even relegated himself to the Uhuru status of a future non-electable president….
Kalonzo doesnt even deserve to be elected by his kamba people. Simply because he lied to them. He promised his people he would go against Kibaki and raila. He ended up choosing the “sitting” president. Thats why he was not clear in his declaration where he stands before the elections.
At this moment in time, Kalonzo is shitting in his pants. He knows whatever solution the PNU bosses will come up with, he will reduced to his actual stature; Akamba tribal chief. Even if he were to remain V-P, he will be the most toothless V-P in Kenya history.
Kalonzo parted with Raila coz he thought people would vote him after he noticed Raila beating him in ODM Presidential nomination. Kalonzo based his idea by the fact that earlir on opinion poll was placing him above Raila and this was enough to convince Kalonzo that he was electable, hence the phrase “miracule will happen”. I believe had he known that he would get slightly over 800,000 kambas votes in the election, he could have stuck with Agwambo to be the VP. He then fouhgt losing battle by teaming up with PNU to pressure his brother Samuel Kivuitu to announce fake results.
pple are dying of hunger and the idiot is seriously defending rapists and murderers.most useless guy in Kenya.such an idiot.mkundu ya nyani!!! eti shuttle diplomacy
Kalonzo-M-is just a traitor,a go between,one with no political stand in life.He does not know his right and left.When he was Moi´s mouthspeaker,he sang Moi,day and night,he did all whatever Moi desired from him,and therefore he cannot be an expert in Diplomacy.What happened to Dr.Robert Ouko?why was he killed ?and who killed him?.I think this is the only man kenya has had as an expert on diplomatic stage,and world at large.Kalonzo Musyoka is being paid Taxpayers money monthly for nothing.Kenya does not need his Vice Presidency.Its only the two Principals does matter in the running of Kenya today and tomorrow.Ciao odm-Kenya is dead…!
Well,I wonder why some think Kalonzo could after all these years serving Baba & Mama Moi,would be a good ruler for Kenya today?.
Raila is known from start on as a reformer,liberator and a fighter for the real Kenyan on the street,in the slums,in the rural areas,and finally in kenyan cities.
What has and did Kalonzo do since many many years in Moi´s cabinet,where was he during saba saba,during multiparties struggle?Kalonzo is a traitor,selfish,power hungry,and he kalonzo has at no point Kenyan interest at heart.
Kalonzo Stephen Musyoka will never be a kenyan President.
Evil Moi the killer brought Kalonzo Musyoka in the cabinet and made him foreign minister,but he did nothing in the name of change,reform,and second liberation.
Look around and you will be able to see the real heroes of second liberation,but you will never read about Kalonzo. We remember Masinde Muliro, Alexander kipsang Muge, Mukaru Nganga, Raila Odinga, James Orengo, Paul Muite, Gitobu Imanyara, Prof Anyang’ Nyong’o, Kenneth Matiba, Martin Joseph Shikuku, Kijana Wamalwa, Kiratu Murungi, Martha Karua, Charity Ngilu, Charles Rubia, Timothy Njoya, Wangari Mathaai, and many others who were killed by Moi and Kalonzo’s dictatorial regime.
The burden of statesmanship starts with a clear definition of the task and the making of a decision on how it should be done. Then you identify actors and know whom to work with. Kalonzo seems to be floating around, He is not committed to any agenda and easily switches positions and this is politically dangerous.
About leading the country, i think Kalonzo has the capability only to the point that Moi did it for 24 years. He can lead in a Moi like way and the nation can go any direction and maybe ground to a halt one day. Then, we also know that sometimes destiny causes the unexpected to happen and Kalonzo may just be that.
I find him to comment on almost everything in a rather unfocused way. He defends people even when it wont build his image. He jumps in dirty water without any calculation. some times one questions whether he really went to school to learn anything.
In his pursuit for the Presidency, i can only say let him try. God holds each of our futures and he gives leadership to whomever he pleases. Ask me about tact and craftness, i will tell you Kalonzo is like a dead wood floating on an open sea.
Right, the fellow called Stephen Kalonzo Musyoka, is a go-between, a sort of political thief.
He did betray the real good goals and ideals of the Orange Movement by going in partnership with PNU, but kept ODM thinking he was really with them. Therefore, he is a traitor.
what happened to Judas after betraying the liberator,the saviour Jesus Christ?. Kalonzo does not deserve mentioning in any part of kenyan history, since he does not have a stand, nor does he make politics for the kenyan people.
He is self, to an extent that he does not care for the Kamba people, better said the Eastern province masses, who suffer hunger, lack of water etc.
I reflect only mama Charity Ngilu, does think and she has at heart the interest of the Eastern province people, and she understands very well the needs of Kamba people. She is a proven leader, before and now.
Kalonzo is Moi´s follower, nyayo eater…!Let him be open to himself and ask, why is he a VP? for who and for what?…Waste of public funds, taxpayers….!for no doer,but traitor. Where was he in the 80s,90s,and even early 2000?. Such will never be a real leader for poor Kenyans…!
For you to be in politics for that long ,with great experience and in great positions,you must be eager to gain leadership.I mean politics is also a career u must be an opportunist for u to claim leadership
A LAND WOULD RATHER BE IDLE THAN BE INFESTED BY WEEDS THAT CAN NOT EVEN BE USED AS FODDER.THE LIKES OF KALONZO
What is that “honourable” gentleman? A water melon, a Judas, a butterfly between the worlds? No. He is a simple and genuine flower which only can grow up in a swamp of impunity, corruption, undereducation and criminal networks.
Civilized countries with working judicaire system have got a paragraph for that behavior.
High treason.