DP Ruto’s options as Jubilee Party split widens

The battle for the control of the ruling Jubilee has escalated with factions allied to President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto daring the other to leave the party.

Jubilee Vice Chairman David Murathe has told Dr Ruto to leave, vowing to derail his presidential ambitions.

But the DP says it is Mr Murathe and his group, who are selling Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) leader Raila Odinga’s presidential bid, who should decamp to Orange House – the party headquarters.

That the party is over for the dynamic duo is not a secret, with Dr Ruto – President Kenyatta’s heir apparent now turned spectator in a party he helped form – made decide to fight from within or take a shot at the top seat on a different ticket.

Support base

If Dr Ruto stays, he would have the advantage of inheriting a party with an already established support base, name, recognition and structures.

This choice, however, means he has to contend with the mistreatment of his allies who take positions that are contrary to Mr Kenyatta’s team.

And he faces a formidable opposition in the ruling party from Mr Murathe.

Should he opt to bolt out, he would need to build a party from scratch, a huge financial and logistical undertaking.

Some of the DP’s allies like Kapseret MP Oscar Sudi insist he is not out of options, including forming a political party ahead of 2022.

Auction house

Mr Sudi calls Jubilee an auction house run by cartels and brokers.

“Just like any other party, Jubilee can be folded and another formed. As the boss said, we will try to sort out Jubilee issues but we have other alternatives,” Mr Sudi said.

“Jubilee is a paper and we will come up with other papers at the right time. Even if Ruto will contest on a party known as Sufuria (cooking pan), that is where we will head.”

Dr Ruto has given indications of ditching the party if the wrangles are not addressed.

“The party has been hijacked by busybodies, conmen and brokers – people like Murathe and company. People who have no clue about our philosophy,” he said last week.

“They are running the party in an unbelievable way. They are running it through fiat, where people are told: ‘adopt this position or we will kick you out’.”

Last option

Belgut MP Nelson Koech said leaving Jubilee is the last option should the Jubilee National Delegates Council – the party’s highest decision making organ – fail to address “pertinent” issues.

“We have no plans of abandoning Jubilee. By all means, we will ensure we take the party because we have invested it. Why would we pull out of a party which we identify with, all success and failures of it we associate with it?” Mr Koech asked.

“When we meet as NDC, we will reverse the current issues. This party belongs to the people of Kenya.”

“When that opportune moment for the people to have a say in the party comes, that is when we can leave if we feel that it is not tenable to be in Jubilee. For now, we are in Jubilee and we will be the last to leave.”

Strategically positioned

Jubilee deputy secretary-general Caleb Kositany, another Ruto ally, called it a “very dysfunctional party”.

He added that Jubilee has not had formal consultative forums since 2017.

“Jubilee senior officials, including Murathe, are campaigning for a person who is not a member of the party. Let them know that Dr Ruto has enough supporters. We should not be trying to outdo one another in asking the President to support the DP,” Mr Kositany said.

“Let the President make his choice. He may choose to endorse him or not. The President has things to do and he should not be bothered with what Ruto is doing. Let him build his legacy.”

The Soy MP said Mr Murathe’s cannot be considered a personal opinion “as he has in the past voiced what has then happened”.

“Murathe has some power though we do not know where it comes from. The DP had been positioning his people strategically,” Mr Kositany said.

For his part, Mr Murathe blames Dr Ruto for the problems in the ruling party.

Grassroots elections

“They were going to organise some sham grassroots elections like they rigged the party nominations, install their people all the way from constituency to county levels so that once national party organs are convened, they endorse him as the candidate. We had to rescue the party from such machinations,” Mr Murathe said in a previous interview.

Mr Kositany, the DP’s de-facto spokesman on political matters, yesterday demanded Jubilee elections.

“Jubilee must hold credible grassroots elections now. With the Covid-19 curve starting to flatten, it is time for us to hold the vote so that the people can own political parties and get rid of brokers,” Mr Kositany told the Nation.

“We will sweep everything and this might be the reason they do not want to call for elections. They know the results already. The law will take its course if they refuse to call the Jubilee elections.”

The March 9, 2018 Handshake between President Kenyatta and Mr Odinga split Jubilee, pushing Dr Ruto to the periphery as the ODM leader’s influence in government grew.

Dr Ruto and his allies say the entry of Mr Odinga into the government was the cause of the internal rift, insisting that the Handshake created new dynamics.

Unifying the country

But ODM insists that the partnership between Mr Kenyatta and Mr Odinga is about unifying the country and improving Kenya’s governance and leadership structure through the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI).

The “opposition” party says the Handshake had nothing to do with the internal affairs of the ruling party.

“We’re not interested in what is happening in Jubilee. But when you say you appointed someone to your party and you later complain that he has hijacked it, that raises questions about your judgment,” ODM secretary general Edwin Sifuna said, adding that his party is only an observer.

Mr Sifuna’s statement was supported by Nyeri Town MP Ngunjiri Wambugu.

 Allegations fictitious

The lawmaker said the allegations by the DP team about Jubilee being hijacked are fictitious, insisting that no changes have been made in the party.

“Things are as they were. The same officials who were appointed on an interim basis are still around,” Mr Ngunjiri said.

“They are angry because they wanted to direct the party towards a particular candidate and it has not happened. That is Kenyans are being treated to all these allegations.”

Reported by Patrick Lang’at, Silas Apollo and Onyango K’Onyango