Retired President Uhuru Kenyatta was initially opposed to Martha Karua's nomination as Raila Odinga's running mate, a new book reveals.
The memoir, Why Baba is not the 5th by Raila's chief agent in the last presidential election Sabatao Ole Kanchory, shows that Uhuru never preferred Karua.
Kanchory also said that Raila's own secretary-general to the Azimio La Umoja One Kenya Coalition Party Junet Mohamed was also opposed to Karua's nomination.
By picking Karua, Kanchory recounts, Raila defied Uhuru's position on the running mate position.
''Picking Martha Karua was, to my knowledge, the only time Baba defied Uhuru Kenyatta and Junet Mohamed, both of whom were strongly opposed to the idea of the iron lady deputising a mellowed Raila Odinga,'' Kachory says in the book.
Although Kanchory does not exactly disclose the person Uhuru preferred to deputise Raila, he says Karua's only closest challenger was Wiper boss Kalonzo Musyoka.
There were, however, reports that Uhuru had preferred former cabinet minister Peter Kenneth to be Raila's running mate.
''Kalonzo Musyoka had been predominantly managed by Uhuru Kenyatta with Gideon Moi as the principal handler,'' he says in the book.
The book narrates that Uhuru would later accept Karua following the countrywide effect that her nomination did on the Raila campaigns.
''Realising the effect Martha was having, particularly in Mt Kenya and among most the womenfolk, President Kenyatta grudgingly accepted her nomination and even tried to belatedly claim credit for her selection,'' Kanchory says.
Before Raila unveiled Karua, a selection panel chaired by Noah Wekesa had been formed to interview potential candidates.
A total of eight candidates were interviews including Karua, Musyoka, Sabina Chege and Peter Kenneth. Chege and Kenneth were nominated by the Jubilee party.
Others interviewed were Moi, Ali Hassan Joho (ODM), Stephen Kipkiyeny Tarus (National Liberal Party) and Charity Ngilu (Narc).
The panel later submitted a sealed envelope to Raila that had three final nominees.
June Chebet, daughter of former President Moi, is dead