Uhuruto secretly form new political party

Kenya: The ruling Jubilee coalition has been transformed into a single party in a development that will shake up the political landscape ahead of the 2017 General Election.

Registration of the new outfit, Jubilee Alliance Party (JAP), was published in a special gazette on Tuesday and the party  unveiled in Nairobi’s Lavington area, yesterday.

The party will not only sponsor a candidate in the upcoming Kajiado Central by-election, but it will also be the vehicle through which the Jubilee administration will seek re-election in the 2017 presidential polls.

On Friday, TNA Secretary General Onyango Oloo and his counterpart from URP Fred Muteti indicated neither TNA nor URP was fielding a candidate in Kajiado Central. Instead, the contenders would compete under JAP.

“We (TNA) are conducting a joint nomination with URP but the candidate who will be unveiled after the nominations will be unveiled through the Jubilee Alliance Party and not TNA or URP. This is a step towards ensuring the two parties work together,” Mr Oloo said in a press conference at TNA offices in Nairobi yesterday.

This means that although the two parties do not stand dissolved before 2017, they are potentially on their death bed because they will henceforth be inconsequential politically.

JAP’s registration was a closely guarded secret and only less than 10 MPs were aware of the development until Thursday this week when the reports started circulating. On Thursday, even a copy of the special gazette was still unavailable at the Government press where we visited twice to make inquiries.

JAP officials are Mombasa businessman Nelson Dzuya (chairperson) who unsuccessfully contested Kaloleni parliamentary seat in the last elections, Nairobi lawyer Veronica Nduati (secretary general) and Kericho businessman Alfred Kipkorir Mutai (treasurer).

Others are former Gatanga MP and President Uhuru Kenyatta’s close ally David Murathe who will be the party’s vice chairperson. Credible sources indicate President Kenyatta requested inclusion of Murathe on the party list.

Others are Pamela Mutua (organising secretary), Fatuma Mahamud (deputy treasurer) and Senator Yusuf Hajji’s son Abdul Hajji who rose to fame during the Westgate attack.

Speaking during the unveiling of JAP, Mr Murathe said the party has countrywide representation.

Secretary general Veronicah Nduati, in reference to Kajiado Central by-elections said: “Today we unveil our candidates who are well aware that whoever wins the nomination will be supported all the way to the ballot.”

Top officials close to the ruling coalition acquired the Conservative Party that was renamed Jubilee Alliance Party through Tuesday’s special gazette notice.

Last Friday, Registrar of Political Parties had notified in a gazette notice: “In exercise of the power conferred by section 20 (l) (c) of the Political Parties Act, 2011, the Registrar of Political Parties gives notice that Conservative Party intends to change or amend its party.”

Through the notice former Conservative Party officials Ruth Njoroge (chairperson), Joseph Ouma Muga (secretary general) and Sarah Wambui Ngatho (treasurer) were dropped. Three days later, the party would be renamed.

President Kenyatta’s TNA and Deputy President William Ruto’s URP are the main partners in the Jubilee coalition.

The parties struck a pre-election agreement in the lead up to the 2013 General Election to form the Jubilee coalition that swept to power after defeating Raila Odinga’s Coalition for Reforms and Democracy (CORD).

The development could be a pointer that ruling coalition could as well have started their strategy for 2017 polls.

Registrar of Political Parties Lucy Ndung’u approved the registration of the new outfit. She was, however, not available for a comment. 

On Thursday, reports indicated that TNA’s Oloo, his URP counterpart Fred Muteti, Majority Leader Aden Duale, Kigumo MP Jamleck Kamau and Kericho Senator Charles Keter attended a meeting at State House, Nairobi, with the President and his deputy that is understood to have discussed the approach to the Kajiado Central by-election.

It is understood that President Kenyatta and Deputy President William Ruto tasked their trusted lieutenants Majority Leader Aden Duale, Kigumo MP Jamleck Kamau and Senator Charles Keter to drive registration of the new party with utmost secrecy until the party is officially unveiled. This, they achieved because up until Thursday this week, MP’s and Senators were still in the dark.

When The Standard on Saturday learnt of the new party early this week and sought more information from various leaders, majority of those we spoke to had no idea of such a move.

When contacted for comment, Duale and Keter promised to call back but they did not. Kamau would not speak further except to say, “I support the idea of forming one strong united party.”  Duale would later say, while attending a function in Laikipia county, he welcomes the decision.

However, in some circles, the development has caused unease especially among some TNA MPs, apprehensive that it kills a party they have worked so hard to build.

Even though they declined to be quoted for fear of being seen as contradicting the top leadership of the coalition, the legislators claimed the move to create a single party for the coalition is an agenda driven by URP in preparation for 2017 general elections.

“We have heavily advised against this decision.  It has been in the offing for quite some time now and we felt we were better off if we remained as individual parties in a coalition. You see, it is in URP’s best interest that we have one party so that after 2017, the Deputy President will inherit one party so that TNA will not have a chance to negotiate as an equal player in the coalition. The benefit of retaining these parties is essentially for each of us to have a platform through which we can negotiate and ensure everybody is fairly represented. That has now been defeated,” said a TNA MP.

Other MPs protested that the process was undertaken behind their backs.

Igembe South MP Mithika Linturi said, “It is unclear if the new Jubilee Alliance Party will gain the support of members because in my estimation over 95 per cent of them were not consulted and are not aware of the proposed merger. Political parties are about interests and what I am concerned about is whose interest is this new Jubilee party serving?”

The move taken by the Jubilee administration is characteristic of past practice where new political parties are formed a year or two to the general elections.

In 2002 polls, several political parties including Democratic Party led then by former President Mwai Kibaki, Ford Kenya under stewardship of the late Vice-President Kijana Wamalwa and Liberal Democratic Movement under Raila Odinga folded up to form National Rainbow Coalition (NARC). It was this coalition that forced an end to 24 years of Moi rule.

However, the coalition would run into problems in the run up to the 2005 constitutional referendum that culminated into sacking of Raila Odinga-led camp in government. Raila proceeded to register a new political outfit, Orange Democratic Movement (ODM).