Kalonzo Musyoka debunks myth behind his ‘watermelon’ label
By Mabonga Makhanu, September 10, 2025Kalonzo Musyoka has now come out to reveal the events that preceded his lifelong nickname, ‘watermelon’.
While speaking during the Iko Nini podcast on Wednesday, September 10, 2025, the former vice president stated the nickname came as a result of him being misunderstood and not due to him being undecided, as many people have always thought and wrongly accused him.
Watermelon, a name that Kalonzo has always been referred to by critics, came to life in 2010 during the push to have a new constitution.
Kalonzo stated that at that period, late President Mwai Kibaki’s cabinet all agreed that the time was ripe for them to have a new constitution, with the president then seemingly not for the idea, with the country’s spotlight being on Kalonzo, ready to see which side he would support: was it his boss, the president, or Raila, who was pushing for the new constitution?
“That is a very big lie. I was Kibaki’s vice president, and we had taken as a cabinet a decision to support the new constitution. “There is no way, as vice president, I could have opposed that,” he stated.
He went ahead to state that on one occasion, when the country’s mood was all about the new constitution, he attended an inauguration of the now EACC chairman, Bishop Oginde, at CITAM church.
The church, then, according to Kalonzo, had divided opinions and had their own reservations on the new constitution, with them leaning towards opposing it.
“The only thing I came for was the inauguration of a friend of mine, Bishop Oginde, at CITAM Church. When he was being inaugurated, the church were opposed on things that were not understandable.”
Kalonzo, during that service, after reading the mood of the church, proposed that they should be given a chance to air out their concerns and suggestions on the new constitution since they seemed not to be content with it.
Backlash after church sentiments
After calling for the church to air out their views the next day, he was all over the media, with him now being baptised with the watermelon tag just for proposing that the country should listen to the church.
“My idea was to go for a known contestant referendum, and I asked the church to speak out about their issues – ‘wqcha sasa nibandikwe jina’ – and that is how the watermelon thing came about.”
He debunked the narrative then that he was undecided on which side to support, and that is how he earned his watermelon tag, saying that he was just mistaken and that he was vouching for the church to be listened to. According to Kalonzo’s explanation, he was in support of the 2010 constitution
He further laughed at his critics, saying that time has vindicated who the real watermelon is.