By Juma Kwayera
One of the erstwhile main opposition parties, Ford-Kenya, is struggling for credibility in national politics, having virtually surrendered its identity in a pre-2007 General Election alliance.
Former Vice-President Michael Kijana Wamalwa is credited with holding the party together after the demise of the doyen of opposition politics Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, internal strife notwithstanding.
The unease in Ford-Kenya is surprising, coming when there is relative political inactivity. Within the party, various explanations are being advanced why Foreign Affairs Minister Moses Wetangula, Nominated MP Musikari Kombo and Saboti MP Eugene Wamalwa — all from the greater Bungoma District — are fighting it out for party leadership.
Factional wars in the party are not new, as they are a microcosm of the broader political landscape teeming with proxies out to do the bidding for their surrogates in major parties.
The emerging trend points to a realignment seemingly triggered by Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka’s template for ascending to power.
Political relevance
Politicians The Standard on Sunday spoke to concur the outcome of the next General Election will be determined by bloc voting, which party leaders would be keen to exploit. This is, says 2007 Webuye parliamentary loser Wafula Wanasi, is a means of maintaining political relevance when the odds are high — the way Kalonzo did by wedging himself between Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga in the Grand Coalition Government.
Kombo’s recent railing against ‘coup plotters’ in Ford-Kenya has a strong ring of the proverb: ‘A frog does not jump during the day for nothing; when it does, somebody is after its life.’
Wanasi says the push for re-energising the party has everything to do with preparations for imminent trade-offs during a constitutional referendum planned for next year and 2012 elections.
He observes the wrangling in the party is being stage-managed by forces in ODM and PNU, who analysts say are attempting to reproduce ‘Kalonzo template’. The VP, despite performing dismally in the 2007 presidential poll, holds the vice presidency after his party agreed to form Government with PNU.
Agriculture Minister William Ruto is said to be keen on the template. Kalonzo used the 15 MPs ODM-Kenya garnered in 2007 to bargain for a stake in the Coalition Government. His party was readily accommodated by PNU to chip away at ODM numerical strength in Parliament.
"The bickering in Ford-Kenya involves people who have declared interest in the presidency. However, you cannot fail to see that they are being pawned by external forces in the hope that they would form alliances at an opportune time," Wanasi says.
He segments the camps in Ford-Kenya thus: "Wamalwa (Eugene) is allied to the Ruto faction in ODM while PNU chairman George Saitoti is fronting Wetangula. Kombo lost out when he flirted with Kibaki and would be glad to find a new formula. The three are clearly not their own men."
Reached for comment, Kombo admitted Ford-Kenya made grave mistakes by teaming up with PNU in the last General Election.
"It is a lesson we have learnt. Partnering with PNU weakened our party and compromised our appeal where previously we were the dominant party," says the chairman.
Euphoric support
"Life has many lessons, one of which was Ford-Kenya’s support for PNU. We did not realise the direction the wind was blowing. In 2002, Ford-Kenya benefited from the euphoric support the party enjoyed in western Kenya. In 2007, the wind blew away and this has elicited finger-pointing and accusations of poor leadership," Kombo said.
He, however, did not rule out perceptions that ‘he who pays the piper calls the tune’ in reference to his rivals being sponsored to press for snap polls. Instructively, PNU, which is desperate for alliances, held polls late last year. In an earlier interview, Wamalwa sais he would not stop at anything to wrest the chairmanship from Kombo. "I have been approached to run for presidency in 2012, which I have agreed. However, there is a strong feeling Ford-Kenya, as my vehicle in the presidential race, must be reactivated from the grassroots to the national level. We cannot wait for next year to hold elections. The party is moribund," said Wamalwa, who conceded he is handicapped financially to run an effective campaign.
In an earlier interview, Wamalwa said: "When Jaramogi died, my brother (Michael) fitted in his shoes. Kombo has failed to demonstrate that he is up to the task, which is why I want to inject new thinking into the party," the Saboti MP had said.
Wetangula, too, did not respond to calls on his mobile phone.
Kimilili MP David Eseli Simiyu is the only lawmaker to have made it directly to Parliament on the party’s ticket. The Political Parties Act outlaws dual or multiple party memberships. The Act, which came into force in January, compels political actors to be loyal to one party as means of promoting intra-party democracy and respect for institutions of governance.
However, Registrar of Political Parties Lucy Ndung’u says she sees no legal barriers if the PNU lawmakers ran for Ford-Kenya party positions.
"The law does not affect agreement entered before the Act came into effect. I do not find anything wrong with anyone of them belonging to two political organisations as the Act cannot be applied retroactively," Ndung’u says.
Kombo, who made it back to Parliament through nomination after losing the Webuye seat, has in the past four months come under a barrage of accusations over ‘moribund’ leadership.
He thinks otherwise: "I have responded to calls for snap party elections and will be lining up to defend my seat. Democracy is about competition. When members call for elections, I just respond by acceding to their wishes," Kombo said when The Standard on Sunday asked him to give details of the polls to be held next month or in October.
