‘It’s a beautiful fruit!' Kalonzo says on being called a watermelon

Wiper Party leader Kalonzo Musyoka has come out to respond to comments by critics who have labelled him a watermelon for supposedly being politically ‘indecisive’.

Kalonzo, fresh off shelving his presidential ambitions to back ODM leader Raila Odinga’s August presidential bid, attributed the label to Odinga, noting that he is not offended by it because the watermelon is a good fruit.

“It was Raila who gave me the watermelon tag but there is no problem,” Kalonzo said in an interview with KTN News at his Tseikuru home on Monday.

“He is my brother and it’s a beautiful fruit by the way.”

While dismissing the label as unfair, the Wiper leader said that his critics only bring up the ‘indecisiveness’ when he makes drastic political choices which they are opposed to.

“When it doesn’t suit them, I become a watermelon. This country wasn’t made to suit the aspirations of a few people, we all belong to Kenya,” said Kalonzo.

Despite Kalonzo stating earlier that he would never throw his support behind ODM leader Raila Odinga, unless he is “stupid”, he put aside his ambitions and backed Odinga’s bid at Azimio’s National Delegates Convention on Saturday.

This, he says, was an act of selflessness and patriotism.

“I said for the third time, now if people asked me if I would support Raila Odinga 20 times I would, I will if that’s what it would mean to keep this nation together,” he stated.

The 68-year-old has since maintained that he considered the age factor between him and Odinga, 77, before deciding to put aside his own aspirations.

“Kusema kweli, mimi nilikuwa tayari kabisa, na nadhani bado niko tayari. Lakini tunaangalia umri,” he stated on Saturday.

Kalonzo further pledged that his focus from now on will be on popularizing Odinga’s bid across the country.