Top State jobs shackle Jubilee’s ground troops

When President Uhuru Kenyatta made a series of appointments of Jubilee-allied political bigwigs from the Coas to public and diplomatic positions soon after getting into office, he was fulfilling a campaign promise and rewarding loyalists.

He hoped, as anyone would have, to popularise himself and the ruling coalition politically in a region that overwhelmingly voted for CORD in the 2013 General Election. Apparently, the move is returning the exact opposite result.

The appointment of key supporters and point-men, including those who lost in the 2013 polls, appears to have backfired because Jubilee effectively removed from the local political scene, vocal and fiery politicians like Labour Cabinet Secretary Kazungu Kambi, Mining Cabinet Secretary Najib Balala and former Cabinet minister Ali Chirau Mwakwere, who is now away in Tanzania as Kenya’s High Commissioner.

These are the very political lieutenants that the Jubilee coalition relied on to campaign and deliver the presidential votes in the region. The President would, arguably, be depending on the same political bigwigs in 2017 to deliver the coastal region’s vote.

But because of their current positions as state or public officers, they are barred by the law from active involvement in politics.

Other lieutenants of the President who are not on the ground include former Nominated MP and Islamic leader Shiekh Mohammed Dor, a strong Uhuru backer in the last polls who was appointed ambassador to Muscat. Equally “silenced” are Danson Mungatana, a harsh critic of CORD leader Raila Odinga, who was appointed chairman of Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) and former Cabinet minister, Morris Dzoro, who serves as a commissioner of the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC). There is also the vocal former Kisauni MP Anania Mwaboza, who is now a legal adviser in the Office of the Deputy President.

Political vacuum

As a result of the appointments, Jubilee leaders and political commentators concede there is a vacuum and that there are no longer forceful individuals to advance the ruling coalition’s manifesto.

But according to Coast women rights crusader and political commentator Maimuna Mwidau, the appointments have had little political impact in the region. If anything, she says, the appointments have created new problems for Jubilee, with the Mijikenda community protesting at being given a raw deal.

Mwidau, a political scientist, maintains the appointments have not achieved much in cementing unity within the coalition, with member parties getting preoccupied with bickering instead of focusing on selling Jubilee in the region.

Mungatana, however, assures that the President and Jubilee have nothing to worry about. According to him, those who have been appointed to public office will return to active politics by resigning when the next elections are called.

Similarly, Mwakwere argues that those in government are doing a lot to advance the ruling coalition’s manifesto and political agenda in the region.

Mwakwere lost the Kwale senatorial race in the 2013 elections. “When the government is implementing its manifesto, it is in the process advancing the ruling party’s political agenda. The government does not only follow the code of ethics of public servants. Remember, President Uhuru Kenyatta is the senior most civil servant but he is also the head of the political wing of the government,” Mwakwere told The Standard on Sunday.

But Mombasa TNA Chairman Matano Chengo argues that beneficiaries of the appointments have failed to popularise Jubilee in Coast.

“Those appointed have failed because they have been using the positions to enrich themselves instead of strengthening the coalition,” claims Chengo.

Mungatana dismisses the view that their appointments have weakened Jubilee, saying they are still active in pushing the Jubilee political agenda in the region including holding fund drives in aid of the poor.

“Our appointments were well received by the Coast people. It made the region feel closer to the government and for me everywhere I go, I have to tell the people what the government is doing and that translates into votes for the Jubilee administration,” said Mungatana. Mwakwere said in a recent interview that there is a lot of planning going on behind the scenes and that when the right time comes, the ruling coalition will unveil a strategy to counter CORD at the Coast.

“I do not necessarily need to play politics publicly. Former President Mwai Kibaki taught us that politics can be successfully done silently,” he said without elaborating on the plans.

In the meantime, CORD leaders in the region led by Mombasa Governor Hassan Ali Joho continue consolidating support under the Jumuiya ya Kaunti za Pwani (JKP) or Commonwealth of Coast Counties, which seeks economic integration of the six coastal counties – Mombasa, Kwale, Kilifi, Lamu, Taita Taveta and Tana River.

JKP brings together governors, more than County Assembly Majority and Minority leaders, County Executive Committee members and professionals. But its leadership has not ruled out the possibility to politically consolidate the region, isolate CORD rebels and extinguish the Jubilee flame completely.

Political agenda

“When time comes and our people say we need to transform the group into a political party then we will take their word,” says Joho.

JKP has pulled the rag under the feet of CORD rebels led Kilifi North Gideon Mung’aro, who were seen to be leaning towards Jubilee.

Other beneficiaries of the appointments from coastal region include former Cabinet minister Suleiman Rashid Shakombo, who is the chairman of the Kenya Petroleum and Refinery Limited (KPRL), former Malindi MP Lucas Maitha who is the chairman of the Kenya Bureau of Standard (Kebs) and former Mwatate MP Marsden Madoka, who is the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) chairman.

However, these appointments have also been a source of discontent between TNA and URP officials, leading to political posturing within the coalition.

TNA ranks in the region feel their URP partners have been favoured in these appointments.

Jubilee strategy

Chengo said Jubilee’s strategy was to use the appointments to endear the coalition to the region’s masses. He challenged those office holders to state how they would used the positions to strengthen Jubilee’s effort to penetrate the region.

Shakombo, who is also the URP chairman in Mombasa County, said those serving in the government were doing a lot that is not appreciated by the party officials.

“It is every Jubilee member’s responsibility to popularise the coalition. It should not just be left to those who were appointed by the President. Personally, I often meet a group that carries out civic awareness and voter registration in Likoni. Let’s quit this blame game since it will not improve our ratings,” said Shakombo.

However, Mwidau argues that the formation of the Jubilee Alliance Party (JAP) would derail the coalition’s performance in the region due to competition between TNA and URP officials.