Internal UDA wrangles could scuttle William Ruto’s State House bid

In Mt Kenya, UDA has raised a storm over the Peoples Empowerment Party (PEP) linked to Gatundu South MP Moses Kuria.

In the South Rift, there’s a big fight between Nakuru Senator Susan Kihika and Bahati MP Kimani Ngunjiri, with 2022 county governorship politics at play.

In western, Dr Ruto has moved to thwart a raid by Amani National Congress (ANC) leader Musalia Mudavadi, with today’s UDA meeting in Vihiga expected to calm the nerves of his followers in the region.

In Nakuru, Ms Kihika and Mr Ngunjiri are running parallel factions of UDA, with the latter’s daughter managing an office in the upmarket Milimani Estate, while the senator is in charge of another at Jarika Hotel.

Both have positioned themselves strategically to influence the party’s affairs in the town — the citadel of the Rift Valley — with each seeking to win the DP’s confidence.

Blows hot and cold

Ms Kihika recently claimed on her social media pages that Mr Ngunjiri “is an indecisive and confused politician not sure of which side to support ahead of 2022”.

“Who would dare trust this man who blows hot and cold every other day? For me, it spells an unreliable character, who shamelessly switches sides depending on where his bread is buttered that evening,” stated Ms Kihika on her Facebook page.

Mr Ngunjiri had alleged that some politicians were planning to frustrate President Uhuru Kenyatta upon his retirement.

 “I want to caution some leaders, even those who will be in the Nakuru gubernatorial race, against fighting President Kenyatta. When he retires, nobody should disrespect him. We should maintain our respect because of the peace they created with DP Ruto in 2013. Let’s allow him to take tea at State House with his successor,” Mr Ngunjiri said at a press conference in Nakuru.

Earlier this month, Mr Ngunjiri was among the 235 MPs that voted for the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) Bill in Parliament, a vote he later said was based on the benefits the constitutional amendments would bring to Nakuru residents.

The Kihika-Ngunjiri feud comes three months after the party’s candidate, Anthony Nzuki, won in the charged London Ward by-election.

In Mt Kenya, Mathira MP Rigathi Gachagua, Kikuyu’s Kimani Ichung’wa and Meru Senator Mithika Linturi have moved to cut Mr Kuria’s legs, saying UDA was the only ‘hustler party’ in the region.

Mr Kuria’s PEP won the Juja by-election last week, with Mr George Koimburi emerging as its first MP. The tussle is about the Kiambaa seat left vacant after the death of Paul Koinange.

“The hustler candidate is UDA’s John Njuguna. Any other aspirant is on his own,” Mr Gachagua said. Mr Kuria plans to field candidates in Kiambaa and Muguga Ward by-elections, both in Kiambu County.

 “We are not opposed to him forming his party but let him market PEP without saying he is in the hustler movement. He can field candidates in Kiambaa or any other electoral area, because the law allows him to do so,” Mr Linturi said.

He added that UDA had not considered partnering with other parties. “We have not reached a point where we are asking other parties to join us. We are united behind the hustler movement, which most Kenyans have identified with,” he said.

In Western, Dr Ruto met leaders from Busia, Bungoma, Vihiga and Kakamega at his Karen home on Thursday to reassure them and avert any possible defections.

After UDA’s loss in Matungu and Kabuchai in March, the DP’s camp has faced threats of rebellion after Kimilili MP Didmus Barasa – one of his key allies in the region – threatened to bolt out due to “exclusion”.

Malava MP Malulu Injendi also ditched the Tangatanga camp to join Mr Mudavadi.

“I have not left the Jubilee Party, which sponsored me to Parliament, but I will no longer associate with the Tangatanga camp. I am now with Musalia. Ruto will remain a friend but not a political ally,” Mr Injendi said.

The DP is reportedly concerned with the speed with which he is losing grip of the region. His key men are Mumias East MP Benjamin Washiali, John Waluke (Sirisia), Dan Wanyama (Webuye West), former Kakamega Senator Bonny Khalwale and former Sports Cabinet Secretary Rashid Echesa.

 “I requested this meeting to persuade you that I have a plan worth implementing. It is not complete without the people of Western Kenya. Consider the priorities you think will help Western Kenya move faster, then let us commit ourselves to an implementation plan,” Dr Ruto told them in a past meeting.

Mr Echesa yesterday told the Nation that even though some MPs had abandoned the camp, they had devised a plan to ensure they do not lose another MP. They have also embarked on grassroots mobilisation to ensure the region rallies fully behind Dr Ruto.

“Ruto will sweep the entire Western region. We shall also be approaching leaders in other camps to join us so that we can speak with one voice. We have even approached Governor Wycliffe Oparanya and he tried reaching out to Musalia,” he said.

Mr Oparanya has been defending his meetings with Dr Ruto, which left tongues wagging since he is also a presidential hopeful in ODM.

“Western MPs who joined Mr Mudavadi’s camp do not care about the welfare of their people but playing local politics. We must work on a plan to manage these defections and trust me,” said Mr Washiali, who also attended the Karen meeting last week.

“We will manage them because some are not with Mudavadi because they want him to be President, but they want to protect their seats. The most important issue is to ensure that our candidate is well known at the grassroots level,” he added.

Reporting by Patrick Lang’at, Eric Matara, Onyango K’ongango and Gitonga Marete