DP William Ruto clashes with Raila Odinga over Nairobi seat as Jubilee infighting intensifies

Nairobi Governor Evans Kidero (Left) and Cord leader Raila Odinga at a meeting in Nairobi yesterday. [PHOTO: EDWARD KIPLIMO/STANDARD]

Deputy President William Ruto and Opposition leader Raila Odinga have clashed over battle for Nairobi top seat, which they have signalled has the highest stakes for them outside the Presidency.

Raila yesterday met Orange Democratic Movement’s Nairobi leaders to strategise how to fend off Jubilee’s onslaught to seize control of the management of the capital city, as he mocked Ruto over his declaration the ruling coalition was determined to dislodge Governor Evans Kidero.

“I have heard Ruto say that they will do anything to capture the governor’s seat. I want to tell him that he has never been an elected leader in Nairobi and cannot purport to control Nairobi politics,” charged Raila. He was referring to Ruto’s statement following a meeting last Wednesday at which he rallied Jubilee aspirants warring for the seat to select a sole candidate by consensus.

Raila added: “Yeye ni jogoo wa shamba ambaye hawiki mjini (he is a village cockerel that cannot crow in the city).”

The ODM leaders stressed Nairobi was an important political constituency that the Opposition must do everything possible to gain control of.

He told the Nairobi ODM aspirants for the positions in Parliament, county assemblies and governorship that the only way to win Nairobi politics was through give-and-take.

“I got more votes than Uhuru Kenyatta in the last elections. We also got more votes in the gubernatorial contest than the Jubilee candidate. How come we lost Senate, woman representative and National Assembly seats?” he asked. 

Raila, who will be making a fourth stab at the presidency should the Coalition for Reforms and Democracy pick him as the flag bearer, said there were constituencies in the city that they lost to Jubilee because they lacked the wisdom and intellect to choose a better strategy.

UNDER CRITICISM

In particular, he singled out Roysambu, Kasarani, Makadara and Embakasi West as areas where his Orange party could have won easily but lost because of selfishness and greed.

Nairobi Governor Evans Kidero came under heavy criticism from aspirants and sitting elected leaders for failing to be ‘felt’ on the ground.

Speaker after speaker told the governor to his face that if he did not change his strategy, he would lose the in forthcoming elections.

But the contest for Jubilee’s Nairobi County governorship ticket has sharply divided President Uhuru Kenyatta’s city lieutenants, casting doubts on the promise they made last week that they would resort to a consensus to pick the candidate to face Dr Kidero.

Two camps have emerged since a meeting convened last week by the Deputy President in an attempt to have the five aspirants agree on one candidate.

And yesterday, a group of non-allied leaders, mainly aspirants eyeing positions in Nairobi, warned that unless the warring camps moderated their campaigns, they risked splitting the “Jubilee family” in Nairobi and jeopardising the presidential campaign.

The Standard reliably established the existence of a “unity of purpose” among four aspirants in their bid to prevent former Gatanga MP Peter Kenneth from clinching the party ticket.

Nairobi Senator Mike Sonko, former Starehe MP Margaret Wanjiru, Dagoretti South MP Dennis Waweru and TNA nominated MP Johnson Sakaja have hatched a plot against Mr Kenneth’s candidature, a move that has jolted consensus talks to come up with a single candidate.

On the other hand Kenneth, a presidential candidate in the 2013 polls, has the support of various sitting MPs, including influential Starehe MP Maina Kamanda and Woman Representative Rachel Shebesh.

So vicious is the fight against Kenneth, exemplified by attacks made by Sonko and his team at a church service in Murang’a on Sunday, that one aspirant in the camp told The Standard they were keen to end his candidature prematurely.

“Wait and see, we will run him out of Nairobi like we did Wamalwa (Water Cabinet Secretary Eugene Wamalwa had also announced his plans to contest the Nairobi seat through Jubilee but lately has not been very active),” said an aspirant who declined to be named.

Yesterday, Sonko and Sakaja were at a vernacular radio station making disparaging remarks against Kenneth.
However, Sakaja allayed fears that the bitter contest would split the team, terming the fight for the ticket a healthy one.

The lawmaker promised party supporters that they would eventually present one candidate who would be supported by all other leaders.

“This is a healthy competition, no matter how vicious it may appear to be. I can assure you that there will be no split. It is not about an individual but the best interests for Nairobi,” said Sakaja.

He further argued that the contest would help mop up Jubilee votes to the advantage of the President as each camp would be working to ensure that many people registered as Jubilee members for the purpose of nominations and eventually the August polls.

Mr Kamanda played down the alleged scheme against Kenneth, which first came to the fore last Friday after the former Gatanga legislator missed the Jubilee event at Kasarani, where the four exhibited their unity.

He revealed that Kenneth only missed the Kasarani meeting because he was attending the burial of a family member.

“Peter Kenneth is very much part of the talks and as far as I am concerned there is no scheme against anyone. These are negotiations and before you agree on one candidate, you are bound to have differing opinions,” Kamanda said.

And as Sonko, Wanjiru and Sakaja intensified their campaigns in the populous Githurai area, aspirants were addressing the media in Nairobi, warning the two sides that they risked bungling the Jubilee campaigns with their fighting.