How Kindiki and Mudavadi have been sidelined in Ruto manifesto team

To formally begin coalition talks, the Broad-based Government Naivasha retreat gave rise to a 10-member joint committee. It consisted of five members from both the United Democratic Alliance UDA and the Orange Democratic Movement ODM and were tasked to develop a common manifesto that they will present to Kenyans in 2027.

The committee has been tasked to incorporate and harmonise the shared values and policies of both parties. While this is a very central conversation that would inform the decision of the running mate to be picked by the President, Deputy President Kithure Kindiki and Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi have no representation.

On the flipside bigwigs within the ODM party eyeing the Deputy President seat seem to have their close soldiers in the committee.

The Standard has established the profiles of the members of the committee announced on Monday in Naivasha and the absence of their allies is telling, as it is the President and his would-be running mate who spearhead the execution of the manifesto that will be developed by the committee. For Kindiki, the absence of his lieutenants could be interpreted as an upper hand for his competitors, and it dents his ambition to retain the seat, as he would then be implementing policies that he did not take part in formulating, thus creating the possibility of another disagreement in the Presidency in the future.

The team consists of close allies to National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetangula, Cabinet Secretaries Wycliffe Oparanya and Hassan Joho, Homa Bay Governor Gladys Wanga and Siaya Senator Oburu Oginga are present, raising the question: was Kindiki consulted during the formation of the team?

On the ODM list of nominees, Prof Benard Muok is a name that is familiar in Homa Bay County politics. Muok is currently serving as the County Secretary and Head of HomaBay County Public Service. The climate professor from Ndhiwa sub-county was nominated by Governor Gladys Wanga in October 2022 after she succeeded Cyprian Owiti in the Gubernatorial election.

After  Wanga fell out with his deputy Joseph Oyugi Magwanga, the professor was among the names touted to be picked for the deputy governor position. During the three-day ODM retreat in Mombasa in May this year, Muok gave a presentation in one of the sessions on a blueprint of moving Kenya from a consumption-driven economy to a production- and export-led powerhouse.

Engineer Carey Orege is also on the ODM line-up and he is currently serving as the Council Chairperson of the Great Lakes University of Kisumu. The civil engineer, who hails from Bondo, the home constituency of Oburu, was the permanent secretary in charge of regional development in the Grand Coalition Government.

Orege was a career civil servant before his appointment. In 2019, he was appointed as a board director in Kenya National Highways KeNHA. Orege was on the shortlist of candidates interviewed for the position of Board member of the National Infrastructure Fund but was not appointed. In 2017, Carey contested for Siaya Governor on an ODM ticket but lost in the nominations to Cornel Rasanga. He is the husband of Trade Principal Secretary Regina Ombam.

For one, Maryam Abdillahi Mbaruk was the County Executive Committee Member CECM in charge of Finance and Economic Planning in Mombasa, having been appointed by the then Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho. Maryam served for the entire term and she handed over in March 2023. In 2018, she was sentenced to six months in civil jail for failing to obey court orders.

Isaac Wabuge made headlines on July 15th last month when football club AFC Leopards were hosted by the President at State House, when he boldly asked the President to name Cooperatives Cabinet Secretary Wycliffe Oparanya as his running mate. Wabuge said that Oparanya holds sway over the Western vote. “We as Western will be behind you and the person who is going to hold us to come before you is none other than CS Oparanya, and as we go home, we are saying CS Oparanya should be in the lineup for being considered for the Deputy President seat,” he said.

Wabuge was in attendance as one of the AFC Leopards Professionals. Career-wise, Wabuge is a cryptocurrency guru and currently holds the position of County Manager and Growth Lead at Yellowcard, which is a company that deals with digital assets. In the political space, Wabuge contested for the Tongaren Member of Parliament seat on an ODM ticket in 2022 but came in fourth. He also poses as a political and governance analyst.

Prof. Leonida Kerubo Omosa is also on the list. She is currently the acting Deputy Vice Chancellor in charge of Human Resource and Administration at the University of Nairobi. Before her current role, she was the Acting Deputy Vice Chancellor in charge of Research and Innovation. Leonida has specialised in Chemistry, Botany and Zoology and has had an illustrious career in the Higher Education sector. No official political records exist about her.

Kenya Kwanza's team has been largely populated by President Ruto's men, with one ally from National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetangula's Forum for Restoration of Democracy of Kenya (FORD-K).

Dr Emmanuel Nzai, among the names from UDA, is the current board chair of the Vision 2030 Board. Nzai got this appointment from President Ruto on July 5th 2024 to serve for three years. In 2022, he contested for Kilifi Governorship under his party KADU Asili, but after consultations at the Karen residence of President Ruto in March 2022, he shelved his ambition and subsequently became Aisha's running mate.

After the loss, he was then appointed by the President. Nzai previously served as the first Executive Officer of the Vision 2030 delivery secretariat and will bring his economic policy development expertise to the team. It is also worth mentioning that he was Ekuru Aukot's running mate in the 2017 Presidential General election.

Bramwell Simiyu is another name on the Kenya Kwanza list. Bramwell is currently serving as the Chief Officer for Disaster and Risk Management in the Nairobi county Government, an appointment he secured in December of 2022. Close allies of National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetangula have pointed out that his proximity to Wetangula might have played a role in his appointment.

As a business consultant hailing from Bungoma, Bramwel established himself as a behind-the-scenes politician of the Forum for Restoration of Democracy of Kenya (FORD-K), which is led by Wetangula. He was once appointed as a member of the proposed 2018 joint merger and management committee between Mudavadi's Amani National Congress ANC and FORD-K. He was among those representing his party, but the merger never materialised.

He also played a role in the merger between FORD-K and President Ruto's UDA in 2022 and he therefore has some experience in coalition talks. His FORD-K networks earned him an appointment as special economic advisor to Bungoma Governor Kenneth Lusaka in October 2022 before his nomination by Nairobi Governor Sakaja in December 2022.

Dr.Cecilia Ng'etich is the only lady on the Kenya Kwanza side and she served as the first woman representative of Bomet County elected under President Ruto's party then called United Republican Party URP in 2013. This was after a long illustrious career in the education sector, where she had been a principal at various schools. Additionally, in 2023, President Ruto nominated her as the board director of Lake Victoria South Water Works Development Agency. The agency covers 8 counties of the South Rift and the whole Nyanza region.

Dr.Daniel Mwai on the other hand, is a Health and Environmental economist who was a senior lecturer at the University of Nairobi before he got appointed as President Ruto's advisor on Health and Financing Standards in the Presidential Economic Transformation Secretariat. The appointment was made in 2023. Importantly, Mwai was tapped by Ruto in the run-up to the 2022 General election to help in the formation of the Kenya Kwanza healthcare and economic blueprint. Before his current role, he spent almost a decade in the public service, specifically in the Ministry of Health.

Lastly, Mohamed Hassan is a member of the Presidential Council of economic advisors that is chaired by David Ndii, having been appointed in October 2022. Hassan was a core member of the team that developed the Bottom-up Economic Transformation Agenda BETA, and he brings his vast experience as an economic policy technocrat to the committee.

During the release of the 2021/2022 financial year report on the evaluation of ministries and state corporations on April 11, 2023, President Ruto commended him alongside Ndii and the Energy Cabinet Secretary then for the controversial Government-to-Government deal.

"In a special way, let me just commend some of our performers: my economic advisor David Ndii, Mohamed Hassan, Davis Chirchir and the young man at EPRA for doing something phenomenal in our country. Today as a country, we can buy fuel in Kenya shillings," said Ruto.

The fact that both of them are members of the UDA party might have also played a big role in them not nominating people as Kindiki is one of the two Deputy Party Leaders of UDA while Mudavadi folded his ANC party to merge with UDA.

As is, the composition of the committee has 2 people from the Western region, 2 from Luo Nyanza, 2 from the Coastal region, 1 from the Rift, Gusii, Central and North Eastern regions.

With another team set to be formed after this team to prepare the coalition framework and recommend the Governance structures and leadership arrangements, the work done by this committee might give a true picture of whether the fate of the two is sealed or not. The Executive Directors of both UDA and ODM will serve as ex-officio members for the committee.