The Jubilee coalition will next week move amendments on the Political Parties Act (PPA) in a move aimed at clipping the wings of rebels within its ranks.
The move has elicited varied reactions across the political divide, with pundits terming it a short-sighted strategy to ensure politicians do not lack political parties after December 18, when the coalition will dissolve its affiliates to form a single party.
Elgeyo Marakwet Senator Kipchumba Murkomen says the plan is to ensure all members of Jubilee coalition parties automatically join the new outfit by default.
Under the proposed changes, United Republican Party (URP) rebel MPs will, for example, automatically become members of the new outfit.
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“It is a move that we shall support and ensure it sails through because for sometime, members have always had a right to decide whether to join or not. That is a matter that ought to end,” he said.
Under the current Act, parties can merge but members have a choice to remain in parties that choose to dissolve without being coerced to jump ship.
President Uhuru Kenyatta’s The National Alliance (TNA) and Deputy President William Ruto’s URP want to dissolve all member parties in the Jubilee coalition and build an alternate party to contest the 2017 general election with.
‘Dictatorial move’
Most jubilee affiliate parties — including TNA, URP, United Democratic Forum (UDF), Jubilee Alliance Party (JAP), the Alliance Party of Kenya (APK) and New Ford Kenya — have agreed to join a new party as the coalition’s vehicle in the 2017 polls.
On Thursday, URP became the first party to announce it would dissolve to join the proposed Jubilee Party of Kenya (JPK) by December 18. Secretary General Fred Muteti said the URP National Executive Committee made the decision to dissolve the outfit in favour of JPK.
“Forming a mass party is an implementation of the Kriegler Report that recommended dissolution of multiple parties formed on tribal lines,” said Muteti.
However, few members perceived to be rebels like governors Isaac Ruto (Bomet, URP) and Peter Munya (Meru, APK) have refused to jump into the bandwagon, terming the amendment a dictatorial move that will deprive party members freedom to join a faction of their choice after the dissolution.
Muteti though observed; “The PPA gives members the freedom to join any other political party but we want them to move with us to the next house. We have rebels among us and we want to tame them.”
The Jubilee NEC backed the amendment fronted by Ainabkoi MP Samuel Chepkonga and agreed that members of parties to be dissolved will become automatic members of JPK. Uasin Gishu URP Chairperson Samuel Rutto said such an amendment is the only way members will have their place in the new party to be unveiled in December during the national delegates conference.
United front
“We want to have a united front to ensure reelection of our current leadership. We agreed as members to shed off our differences and work as one towards the 2017 elections,” he said. Marakwet East MP Kangogo Bowen lauded the proposed amendments, saying it will bring sanity into the coalition by trimming rebels that have made unity elusive.
“We want to ensure that those who do not want to toe the line will have no otherwise. They can either seek fresh mandate on different political parties but not cause ripples within the house,” he said.
Law Society of Kenya (LSK) North Rift Chairman Zephania Yego said an amendment of the Act is possible and will only require a two third majority to sail through in the National Assembly. “The Jubilee administration is working towards cushioning its members because they want to avoid a situation where the public will take the advantage of the dissolution to challenge their legality as elected members,” Yego said.
But ODM National Devolution Secretary Kipkorir Menjo disagreed with the amendment, saying it will rob members the freedom to move to parties of their choice.
“It is a dictatorial way to tame objective individuals in the faction,” he said.
Kanu Secretary General Nick Salat termed it a shortsighted attempt that his party will never align to, since the process will benefit few self-centred individuals in Jubilee Coalition.
“This move marks the end of our association with Jubilee because we have realised that they have gone against the agreement signed after the 2013 elections. We cannot enter into another covenant when the first one could not be kept,” he explained.
According to Salat, Jubilee’s sole tyranny of numbers weapon will not work in this case because Kanu is non-partisan to it.
-Additional reporting by Ian Omondi
