The ruling Jubilee Party has launched an aggressive campaign to reclaim its lost glory and revive its dwindling fortunes after losing dozens of members to the United Democratic Alliance led by Deputy President William Ruto.
The party has been rocked by waves of defections fuelled by the seemingly irreconcilable differences between President Kenyatta and his deputy since the March 2018 ‘handshake’ that accommodated former Prime Minister Raila Odinga.
Out of 10 by-elections since 2018, Jubilee won just three – Wajir West, Baringo South and Garissa. This is rather unexpected for a party that in 2017 boasted of 171 MPs, just 62 shy of the absolute two-thirds majority in Parliament.
“I asked respectfully that we first work for Kenyans and then play politics. Jubilee went to work. It did not die. Now the time for politicking is here and you will hear from us. I’ll vote for whoever my conscience believes in as I only have one vote. But if there is one, or even two people who listen to me, I’ll not hesitate to explain my choice of a successor,” President Kenyatta said last week.
The party has started rebranding itself, getting rid of some of the colours associated with the DP.
Jubilee colours were red, yellow, black and white. Red was conspicuous with The National Alliance (TNA) while yellow and black were associated with United Republican Party (URP), which have been dropped. The party has now remained with red and white.
At the same time, the slogan, which was “Tuko Pamoja”, with a symbol of a handshake that portrayed the union between Mr Kenyatta and Dr Ruto, has been changed to “Mbele Pamoja”.
The symbolic handshake on the previous crest has also been dropped for a flying dove with an olive branch in its beak. One of the steps geared towards the revival of the party is the confirmation of Mr Kenyatta as its boss beyond his presidency.
Officials hope this will give it clout in elections, with Jubilee being one of the 13 parties under Azimio la Umoja that’s supporting for Mr Odinga.
Jubilee deputy secretary-general Joshua Kutuny, who is also the Cherang’any MP, told the Nation on Sunday that their National Delegates Conference (NDC) will roll out their campaign plan.
“All the efforts are on NDC because it is the event that the party leader will use to give direction. Once the NDC gives us greenlight that is when we will roll out a harmonised programme,” he said. The NDC will be held on February 25-26 at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre.
Jubilee has also started mapping out regions where they are likely to perform well in Mt Kenya, despite an onslaught from UDA, Chama Cha Kazi of Gatundu South MP Moses Kuria and The Service Party (TSP) of former Cabinet Secretary Mwangi Kiunjuri.
Nyeri Town MP Ngunjiri Wambugu said they are determined to reclaim all the seats they have lost to other political formations. “The threat of small parties came from the perception that Jubilee was done. It’s now clear Jubilee was ‘away at the office’,” he said.
“People have seen what we have been doing. Now we will make them understand what it means, politically,” he added.
State House has also been a beehive of activities. It hosted Jubilee’s Parliamentary Group (JP) meeting last week. The President also met delegations from Marsabit, Tana River, Isiolo and Mandera counties.
“You must ensure you are fully involved in the political process. It is the only way to guarantee opportunities and space to drive your agenda in the next administration,” President Kenyatta told over 3,000 youths on Friday.
The party has also formed regional caucuses across the country. “Regional and special interest caucuses and teams will meet with the party leader, through which we will work to achieve our goals,” said Mr Wambugu.
Jubilee will not be fielding candidates in regions where the Orange Democratic Movement, its partner in Azimio la Umoja, is strong.
“We will not be fielding candidates in Nyanza since Jubilee and ODM are working for a common course under Azimio la Umoja. We will only front candidates under Azimio in places where ODM does not have a strong footing,” said Jubilee secretary-general Raphael Tuju.
“We are reclaiming our traditional voting bloc of the mountain, North Eastern, Nairobi, Kisii, Eastern and parts of the Rift Valley. We are confident of our strategy since we have many aspirants who want to run on the Jubilee ticket,” he said.
Eldas MP Adan Keynan, who is also the Secretary of the Jubilee Coalition Joint Parliamentary Group, said they will be targeting Nairobi, Coast, North Eastern, Western and parts of the Rift Valley.
“We have already rebranded. We are happy the rebels have left. With the ongoing activities, you will see red all over the country,” he said.
“Those who thought Jubilee was dead while it was working for Kenyans are in for a rude shock because we are ready for politics. We have accepted that there are people who left us. We shall explain to Kenyans what we have done and what we have achieved,” he said.
Kirinyaga Governor Anne Waiguru, an ally of Dr Ruto, said the revamping of Jubilee will have little impact in Mt Kenya.
“We have moved on and whether they revamp Jubilee or join Azimio is not an issue. Whether Jubilee changes its name, colours or logo, it is a dead horse, flogging it will not change anything,” she said.
“There is no one talking about Jubilee in Mt Kenya and it’s just a matter of time… those still left in the party will come running to UDA. Jubilee is dead and buried. People are supporting UDA because they associate it with the bottom-up-economic model,” she added.
University of Nairobi (UoN) don XN Iraki said once a party loses its popularity, it’s always an uphill task to recover. “History seems to suggest that once a party loses its popularity, there is no second coming. My hunch tells me that Jubilee will mutate into another party,” he said.
He said Jubilee supporters might move to a party that looks more organised, noting that President Kenyatta’s message and choice of successor would determine the fate of the party.
“If the President does not hit the ground, Jubilee followers could get disillusioned and bolt out to other parties. Party building is going to be a big job as we head to 2022,” said Prof Iraki.
Unlike Dr Ruto, who has hit the campaign trail and openly propagated ideologies of UDA, the President has been quiet.
“If President Kenyatta was seriously interested in having the Jubilee Party organised and disciplined, it would be so. As it is now, Jubilee is ill prepared to mount a formidable challenge against its opponents as it did in the 2017 polls. It is unlikely that the President will heavily invest his time, energy and resources in rallying Jubilee's candidates to victory in 2022,” said Mr Javas Bigambo, a political analyst.
