Deputy President William Ruto’s allies have embarked on a fresh push for Jubilee’s Parliamentary Group (PG) meeting to iron out “pertinent and thorny issues” tearing the ruling party apart.
Even though the two Jubilee Party leaders — President Uhuru Kenyatta and Dr Ruto — have not been in direct public confrontation, some of their words illustrate the tensions between them as their foot soldiers engage in toxic public spats.
The DP has been clear about his intentions to be the Jubilee flag bearer in the 2022 presidential race, but key allies of the Head of State say they will ensure he fails in his bid.
Cold wars in Jubilee escalated this year when the party’s secretary-general Raphael Tuju published a notice of the party’s intention to change its officials.
In the gazette notice, Ms Nderitu lists the new National Management Committee (NMC) officials as Lucy Nyawira Macharia, Prof Marete Marangu, former Kitutu Masaba MP Walter Nyambati, Jane Nampaso and James Waweru.
The team is in charge of the day-to-day management of the party, alongside the National Executive Committee.
The DP protested the intended change of Jubilee NMC, which he has termed illegal and fraudulent.
“Please take note that the National Executive Committee has never been reconstituted by the party nor have we ever convened NEC to constitute or reconstitute NMC,” the DP said in a protest letter to Ms Nderitu.
It is for this reason that Dr Ruto’s allies and some Jubilee leaders yesterday demanded for a PG to relook into the future of the party and read from the same script on the Big Four Agenda and the just-unveiled BBI report.
Jubilee deputy secretary-general Caleb Kositany, who is also DP’s de-facto spokesperson, told the Saturday Nation that it is only the National Executive Council (NEC) or the PG that will solve the push-and-pull in the party, occasioned to what he termed as “how Tuju and David Murathe are running the party affairs” .
His sentiments were echoed by Konoin MP Brighton Yegon, who said there is urgency for the two meetings to iron out issues trying to split the party.
The DP, while speaking on Wednesday in Uasin Gishu County, said the process of looking for constitutional consensus must be free from threats and blackmail.
Before the BBI launch, Dr Ruto was readying his arsenal to shoot down proposed changes to the Constitution when the vote is called, in what will likely be a repeat of the 2010 referendum, when he owned and led the ‘NO’ camp.
Kimilili MP Didmus Barasa, another Ruto ally, accused the President of playing a role in killing the party instead of building it.
“It’s becoming clear that the party leader is not keen to build Jubilee and soon we will join him to destroy the party completely if he cannot convene a PG. Uhuru is killing JP,” he said.
But lawmakers allied to the President said the DP’s Tangatanga brigade is insincere and speaks out of ignorance.
“We know where we are and we know where we need to go,” said Nyeri Town MP Ngunjiri Wambugu.
“Those asking about it are just feigning ignorance because they don’t want to support the BBI report, and that is okay too.”
Mr Javas Bigambo, a political analyst, argues that the political intrigues within the Jubilee Party will suffocate its internal growth in the lead up to 2022, and hence put Dr Ruto’s bid to succeed his boss in jeopardy.
“Such squabbles inhibit the liberal growth of the internal democracy within political parties as institutions and amount to slowing the growth and performance of those parties as enablers of progressive democracy in the country,” he said.
Prof XN Iraki of the University of Nairobi said no party can thrive for decades with indiscipline, hence DP Ruto will have to face the uphill task of bringing sanity back to Jubilee if he wants to vie for Presidency using it.
“Kanu was in power for many years because of party discipline. You cannot get power without good party machinery,” said Prof Iraki.
However, the Tangatanga faction told the Saturday Nation that the electorate will vote for Dr Ruto based on his performance and not because he will vie on a Jubilee or any other party ticket.
“Kenyans vote for manifestoes and a plan to turn around their economic wellbeing, and that is why DP Ruto will be voted in come 2022,” said Kimilili’s Barasa.
Political analyst Prof Edward Kisiang’ani said “disbanding Jubilee Party is not easy as some are putting it” as both the President and his deputy have stakes in it.
“Mr Kenyatta is retiring and he will have a little influence on the political lifeline of the party, and he can even decide to walk out with his people to form a coalition, perhaps with ODM, but DP Ruto has the majority at the moment.”
