Raila, Ruto kick out former close allies to project national images

President Uhuru Kenyatta (2nd left), Raila Odinga and Sen. James Orengo.  The senator, a Raila ally, is less visible in Azimio campaigns. [File, Standard[]

Deputy President William Ruto and ODM leader Raila Odinga are hedging their bets on new allies in the tight race for State House.

And traditional allies of the two leading presidential contenders have taken a back seat as new alliances form. 

New, and some not-so-new faces are taking their place at Raila and Ruto's sides as the contenders court new constituencies.  

Some who were previously inseparable and almost impossible to imagine, are preparing for a tougher make-or-break campaign period with the difference being five years in power in the political cold.  

The choice of allies can be read together with the strategy the leaders are pursuing to succeed President Uhuru Kenyatta. 

DP Ruto is staking his chances on securing the support of President Kenyatta’s constituency in Mt Kenya. 

Analysts say Ruto, who is keen to project the image that he is not just a Rift Valley leader, has shuffled his team such that his old allies have given way to politicians from other regions to take centre stage in his public rallies. 

The chemistry tells it all. [File, Standard]

 

Initially, Ruto's closest allies included Kipchumba Murkomen, Caleb Kositany, Oscar Sudi, Mithika Lintuli, Samson Cheragei, Aden Duale, Kimani Ngunjiri, Susan Kihika, Kithure Kindiki, Rigathi Gachagua, Ndindi Nyoro, Kimani Ichungwa and Alice Wahome. 

But some of these allies have been edged out of the limelight to pave way for new entrants now playing a more central role in the presidential campaigns. 

Ruto has received the backing of ANC leader Musalia Mudavadi and Ford Kenya's Moses Wetang'ula who could be key in claiming the Western vote.  

While Ruto is undoubtedly the nucleus of Kenya Kwanza Alliance, those closest to him are Mudavadi and Wetangula. 

While a number of politicians who support him are usually present in a rally, the ones who Ruto lets speak are deliberate.

Often they are Rigathi, Nyoro, Ichungwa and Kindiki in Mt Kenya. 

Political analyst Javas Bigambo, however, said it did not mean they were relegated to the backwaters. 

He said what Raila and Ruto were doing was creating new mosaics. "You want to make people from other regions feel invited." 

"Having majority members of your own community sounding you would give unnecessary ammunition to your rivals," he said. 

"A president is supposed to be a symbol of national unity. How can you say you want to be a symbol of national unity when you are only surrounded by people from one part of the country?"   

Buddies Senator Murkomen and DP Ruto. Murkomen seems to have assumed a low profile in Kenya Kwanza Alliance rallies. [File, Standard]

 

The faces of Raila's campaign since 2017 have been Junet Muhamed (Suna East MP), John Mbadi (Suba South) James Orengo (Siaya Senator), Edwin Sifuna and Otiendo Amolo, Anyang Nyong'o, Wycliffe Oparanya and Hassan Joho. 

Things have now changed and in the former Prime Minister's camp, easily the pick of the pack is President Kenyatta who has thrown his weight behind Raila at the expense of Ruto, his coalition partner and deputy for the past decade. 

Raila and Ruto’s trips to the UK over the past few weeks are illustrative of how the changes have occurred.  

Raila, on the other hand, was flanked by Kitui Governor Charity Ngilu, Peter Kenneth, Mohammed, Joho and Cotu secretary general Francis Atwoli during a five-day tour of the UK. 

Some like Ngilu, are old allies who have gravitated towards Raila, others like Junet are part of a younger crop of politicians within ODM who have moved from the fringes and nestled themselves at the centre of the party. 

Others come to Raila on the benefit of his Handshake with President Kenyatta which made the ODM leader, who for years undesirable, now an instant darling. 

When setting up his election team, Raila pulled a rabbit out of the hat settling for Laikipia Governor Ndiritu Muriithi.  

For your ears only: Raila Odinga and Uhuru Kenyatta. [File, Standard]

 

But this proximity and the accompanying ability to influence the decisions of the ODM party leader has brought with it friction such as became apparent when the party was discussing the direction it would take to pick its candidates for the August election. 

ODM Director of Elections Junet and deputy party leader Hassan Joho represent a constellation of young politicians who strongly supported direct nomination and consensus. 

While Kakamega Governor Wycliffe Oparanya and a number of senior officials were rooting for universal suffrage, through which ODM members would vote for their preferred candidate. 

Oparanya, a member of the Raila Campaign Board chaired by Governor Muriithi, was forced to assert his commitment to the party and Raila after claims he was considering supporting Ruto. The rumours came after Oparanya was conspicuously absent in rallies in Vihiga County in February. 

During a rally in Butere during Azimio's latest round in Western, Raila promised an appointment for Oparanya in his government, should he (Raila) win the presidency in the August 9 polls. 

That statement of confidence highlighted that their relationship was still solid. 

“Oparanya has stood by me for many years. He has served you as Butere MP and Kakamega Governor. I’m now asking you to allow me to take him to Kenya’s capital, Nairobi. Lift your hand up if you agree with me that it’s time I took Oparanya to the higher level of government,” said Odinga.  

Over at Ruto's United Democratic Alliance, talk is rife that Ruto could have bigger plans for Rigathi. 

However, Ruto has not commented on any plan to have Rigathi as a running mate and the MP has applied to defend his Mathira parliamentary seat. 

The position where the Mathira MP sat during the National Delegates Conference - at the front row next to Ruto's wife Rachel, was instructive of the prominence he has gotten in Ruto's State House campaign. 

He sat on the same row as Ruto and party leaders Mudavadi, Wetang'ula, Moses Kuria, William Kabogo, Mwangi Kiunjuri and Jimmi Wanjigi who have coalesced around UDA to form Kenya Kwanza Alliance. 

"Some of these leaders are red herrings. They are decoys intended for the clueless masses watching who Ruto or Raila is with. At the end of the day, the backbone of the government will be the traditional allies," said Bigambo.