Kalonzo denies knowledge of Adani financing Raila’s 2012 presidential campaigns

Wiper party leader Kalonzo Musyoka has distanced himself from allegations that Indian conglomerate Adani Group funded former Prime Minister Raila Odinga’s 2012 presidential campaigns with him (Kalonzo) as the running mate.

Speaking during Citizen TV’s ‘The Explainer’ show on Tuesday night, Kalonzo denied any links to the company chaired by Indian billionaire Gautam Adani, reiterating that he neither knew nor met anybody from the group.

The former Vice President pointed out that as a running mate to Odinga, he was not privy to the sources of funds raised by the presidential candidate.

He revealed that although a presidential ticket may be seen as legally one, the candidate and his rubbing mate do not have to disclose their wealth or sources of funds to be used in the campaigns.

“I have no idea who Adani is. I wouldn’t know, how would I know? I have never met them,” Kalonzo said.

“When you have a presidential candidate, how they organise their finances, it is all left to themselves. When it comes to fundraising, for a presidential campaign, it is different. I never asked Raila Odinga how much money you have or have you raised …it was not appropriate.”

Kalonzo seemingly compared his situation with that of embattled Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, stating that the latter may be unaware of where his boss, President William Ruto secured finances to run for the seat.

According to Kalonzo, it is not always black and white when it comes to consolidating resources for a presidential campaign, because for him, what mattered then, was securing victory for Odinga.

“Maybe Gachagua didn’t know how Ruto funded his campaign; it is not always that because you are the running mate you bring all the money in one basket, it doesn’t work that way. A joint ticket doesn’t mean joint finances…it is in law, a joint in law, one ticket…but not finances,” he noted.

“My mind was focused on getting Raila Odinga to become the President of Kenya and I trusted his ability to fundraise, and if he found it appropriate to say I will assist my assistant to pay for so many agents that was okay.”

Regarding claims by Makueni Senator Dan Maanzo that the Adani Group sponsored the Mr. Odinga in 2012, the Wiper leader said he had already asked the Senator to apologise to the opposition chief.

“I have called Dan Maanzo and told him to apologise to Baba because he is still his party leader as of now,” said Kalonzo.

Maanzo on Monday claimed that President Ruto and Raila Odinga had been bribed millions of shillings by the Adani group.

The allegations followed Odinga’s defence ofthe Indian company where he addressed critics' concerns about transparency and investor integrity saying the group had a good track record dating back to 2010.

“When I was the Prime Minister of Kenya, I was introduced to Adani by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was then Chief Minister of Gujarat,” said Odinga.

He described a trip to Gujarat, where Adani had turned a swamp into a bustling port, power plant, and industrial hub.

"In Mumbai, I witnessed how they transformed a collapsing airport into a world-class facility, and their power projects benefit millions," noted the former premier then.