What remains to be seen is whether Mr Sonko will be able to broker a deal for Kananu to meet the president and secure a job in government. Mr Sonko has so far failed to secure an opportunity for his running mate in the 2022 Mombasa gubernatorial race Mr Ali Mbogo who is still in the political cold despite Sonko signing an MoU with Ruto before he decamped from Azimio
The immediate former Nairobi Governor Ann Kananu is rumored to be on her way out of the Azimio Coalition, sources told The weekly Vision. Kananu is set to join President William Ruto’s Kenya Kwanza Coalition in a move that could eventually see her land a top government appointment.
The man said to be pulling strings and pressing buttons for her is former Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko. The two friends turned foes and now friends again have been spotted holding discussions with Mr Sonko even posting videos and photos on his social media platforms.
In one of the posts, Mr Sonko captioned the photo “there are no permanent enemies in politics”. Kananu’s move according to sources is a fallback plan after she failed to secure a nomination slot to the Senate as was promised by the Jubilee Party. Kananu who holds the dubious distinction of being the shortest serving Governor in Kenya is said to have sent emissaries to Mr Sonko through the former Nyeri Deputy Governor Caroline Kiragu.
During her tenure as governor, Ann Kananu was very powerful and was a frequent visitor to State House and even hosted Mr Raila Odinga at City Hall on several occasions. With the blessings of then President Uhuru Kenyatta and Mr Odinga she did not spare senior staff at City Hall who were once her seniors when she held the position of Chief Officer for Disaster, a post which earned her the name “Ann Disaster”.
All officers who stepped on her toes or who rubbed her the wrong way found it extremely difficult to work with her. She was openly on a revenge mission and transferred many of them at will especially female CECs. Kananu was so powerful and influential to the extent that she undermined even Mr Sonko himself, the man who first employed her as a chief officer. Having been assured of nomination to the senate or a lucrative government appointment by Raila, Kananu withdrew from the gubernatorial race and allegedly supported Azimio’s flag bearer for governor in the 2022 elections Mr Polycap Igathe. Those close to Kananu were however privy to the fact that she only supported Igathe during the day but for some reason did not wish him to win.
It should also be remembered that before Sonko joined Kenya Kwanza, president Ruto promised him several positions for his people. According to the MoU, Sonko was promised one CS slot in the National Government, three PSs slots in the National Government, four Ambassadors, three CEC’s Mombasa County, three Chief officers in Mombasa County, two CEC’s Nairobi county and three Chief officers Nairobi County, none of the above has been fulfilled
At one time information leaked alleging that Kananu was telling close allies to vote for Mr Sakaja because a win for Igathe who was once a deputy Governor will subject her to unnecessary queries since Igathe knows all the operations at City hall and was most likely to unearth dirty deals allegedly committed during her tenure. Her prayers were finally answered when Johnson Sakaja was declared the winner.
The new move to secure a government job for Kananu who is currently running restaurants spread across the city is welcome. Sources say she has found it difficult to sustain the lifestyle she was used to as governor. As governor, she used to earn about Ksh.1m per month, allowances and fully paid foreign trips, heavily armed security around the clock and easy access to who is who in the government including State House. Her only, salvation now is for her to land a state job. It is against that background that she is said to have reached out to Mr Sonko to secure an appointment with President Willam Ruto for consideration for a state job. Although it’s not known for now if Mr Sonko has managed to meet the president over the same, Kananu is said to be ready and willing to publicly declare her defection from Azimio to Kenya Kwanza.
Others however claim that her plan to defect is only to be in good books with the power that be to protect her from any form of embarrassment on matters about alleged dirty dealings during her tenure at the helm of City Hall.
What remains to be seen is whether Mr Sonko will be able to broker a deal for Kananu to meet the president and secure a job in government. Mr Sonko has so far failed to secure an opportunity for his running mate for the 2022 Mombasa gubernatorial race Mr Ali Mbogo who is still in the political cold despite Sonko signing an MoU with Ruto before he decamped from Azimio.
It should be remembered that before Sonko joined Kenya Kwanza, Ruto promised him several positions for his people. According to the MoU, Sonko was promised one CS slot in the National Government, three PSs slots in the National Government, four Ambassadors, three CEC’s Mombasa County, three Chief officers in Mombasa County, two CEC’s Nairobi county and three Chief officers Nairobi County. Unfortunately, none of the above has been fulfilled with only four slots for ambassadors remaining for grabs. It could be Kakanu’s golden chance to land one of the diplomatic postings but only time will tell.
