Jitters as Uhuru readies arsenal

By STEPHEN MAKABILA

Doubts continue to be expressed about the G7 alliance’s plan to rally behind one candidate either before or after the first round of the coming General Election.

The prospects of the informal alliance fielding a joint presidential candidate seem rather slim. Leaders in the alliance are said to be working on independent runs hoping to force a runoff. However, internal competition and jitters arising from recent political realignments are putting the group’s unity of purpose to the test. The alliance’s main rivals, ODM, have long dismissed it as a coalition of political groups without any shared ideological beliefs or strategic goals.

The prospect of ODM defector Musalia Mudavadi eventually bringing his UDF into a deal with the G7 could be the development that tests this theory in the coming weeks.

Tomorro unveil The National Alliance (TNA) as his vehicle to contest the presidency in the next General Election.

The formation of the party, expected to draw support from his allies countrywide, will step up internal competition within the alliance. Tensions among competing factions forced the recent cancellation of two rallies scheduled for Kisii and Busia. They also prompted a crisis meeting a week ago to smooth things over.

Mr Mudavadi has previously indicated his willingness to work with Mr Uhuru and Eldoret North MP William Ruto. Mr Ruto is said to be worried about the political dealings between the two.

To counter any deal that might undermine his bargaining power, Ruto has resorted to an aggressive marketing of his United Republican Party (URP) to shore up his presidential bid. He has already named Environment Minister Chirau Mwakwere as his preferred running mate.

Justice Minister Eugene Wamalwa, another G7 presidential hopeful who is reportedly not comfortable with Mudavadi orbiting towards the alliance, has joined Lugari MP Cyrus Jirongo in plotting how to slow down the Deputy PM. It is understood the presence of Uhuru and Ruto’s allies at the meeting at which Mudavadi formally declared he had dumped ODM for UDF upset Wamalwa.

The Saboti MP’s camp reportedly felt slighted by the show of support, coming days after Wamalwa’s homecoming party in Kitale to celebrate his elevation to the Cabinet. Speakers at the event crowned him the G7 point man in western Kenya.

While Uhuru and Ruto were said to have reprimanded their supporters for attending Mudavadi’s event, the tongue-lashing has been interpreted in some quarters as an attempt to placate Wamalwa. An aide allied to the Justice Minister confirmed the turn of events had sent alarm bells within their camp.

“We asked Wamalwa whether they are genuine with him and told him to be politically flexible,” Dr Eusebius Mukhwana, one of Wamalwa’s advisors, told The Standard On Saturday.

Crisis G7 meeting

It is against this backdrop that the crisis G7 meeting took place at a hotel in Westlands in Nairobi last Friday. At the meeting were Eldoret North MP William Ruto, Belgut MP Charles Keter and Assistant Minister Lewis Nguyai, who represented Uhuru Kenyatta.

Wamalwa allies — Tony Gachoka and Bungoma politician Majimbo Kalasinga — also attended.

“There was a problem because as Wamalwa was in Lugari, a meeting took place at a Westlands hotel on Friday (May 11) to discuss the friction that had emerged in G7,” another source, who did not want to be named, said.

It was at the Lugari meeting, also attended by Planning minister Wycliffe Oparanya, where Wamalwa and Jirongo declared they would fight Mudavadi’s influence. The following day, Wamalwa hosted the two in his Saboti constituency. This was after the cancellation of the G7 rallies and Wamalwa appeared to use the rallies to show he could host his own. The cancellation of the Busia rally was blamed on reports that Wamalwa was not impressed with the goings on within the G7.

And a tussle between Foreign Affairs Minister Sam Ongeri, an ally of Uhuru, and former MP Omingo Magara, a key Ruto ally, had earlier scuttled the Kisii meeting. Leaving nothing to chance, Wamalwa on Wednesday moved to consolidate his hold on New Ford-Kenya. The party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) endorsed Wamalwa as its presidential hopeful.

Curiously, New Ford-Kenya leader Soita Shitanda and Director of Elections Bonny Khalwale were the only ones of the 40-member NEC team who skipped the meeting. Mr Shitanda, the Malava MP, and Ikolomani’s Khalwale appear to have abandoned Wamalwa to prop up Mudavadi’s presidential bid.

Ironically, the two had wooed Wamalwa to the party after he fled Ford-Kenya following a leadership tussle with Trade Minister Moses Wetangula.

“I am not going to let down my supporters who believe in my presidential bid. I will be in the race to the end and as a party we are fully prepared for the bruising battle ahead,” Wamalwa told The Standard On Saturday after the NEC meeting. The NEC meeting also endorsed the Secretary General Benjamin Muema as the official party spokesman.

More trouble for Wamalwa emerged when another of his key ally, former Bungoma County Council chairman Julius Bakasa, led a delegation of 20 councillors to Nairobi to meet acting Local Government Minister Fred Gumo.

Mr Gumo was picked by Prime Minister Raila Odinga to replace Mudavadi as Local Government minister. Mr Bakasa while denying their trip was political, said Wamalwa and his group should not burn bridges with other leaders.

Presidential bid

“We had other reasons to meet Gumo whom we know supports Raila’s presidential bid, but our support remains for a Wamalwa presidential bid,” Bakasa said.

Four of the seven members of the G7 — Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka, Uhuru, Wamalwa and Ruto — have all their eyes on the presidency. Other three members of the outfit, include Mr Mwakwere, Dujis MP Aden Duale and Mr Magara, all allied to Ruto’s URP. The ‘cosmetic political harmony’ that existed in the alliance, also seems to have been heavily disoriented by claims made by Mudavadi, that he was ready to work with like-minded leaders like Uhuru and Ruto. Some of Mudavadi supporters have been claiming he expects to ride on G7 support to State House. Two G7 rallies planned by the alliance in Kisii and in Busia have since been cancelled, with each of the four key members now re-strategising and laying ground for the presidential contest on their own. w, Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta shall