A storm is brewing in Deputy President William Ruto’s political camp.
The DP, who has bolted from the ruling Jubilee Party to support the United Democratic Alliance (UDA), has insisted that he will not sign any pre-election agreements with his allies who subscribe to different parties.
Dr Ruto has demanded that the allies join UDA, but the politicians will not heed his call.
Former Bomet governor Isaac Ruto’s Chama Cha Mashinani (CCM) is the latest to make calls for political aspirants to register with it ahead of next year’s elections, with a rider that they will back the DP for the presidency.
This kind of political arrangement, first pushed by Gatundu South MP Moses Kuria and former Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mwangi Kiunjuri of Chama Cha Kazi (CCK) and The Service Party (TSP), respectively, has angered some in the DP’s camp who insist that UDA should be the only party for Dr Ruto’s famed ‘Hustler Nation’ movement.
Yesterday, Meru Senator Mithika Linturi accused Mr Kiunjuri and Mr Kuria of using their political parties as bargaining chips.
“People from this region have taken advantage of innocent Kenyans by coming up with political parties which they are marketing. The end result is for the individuals to blackmail the biggest political parties or strong candidates when a General Election draws close for their selfish gains, hence I am against the idea of discussing an alliance with them,” said Mr Linturi, a key ally of DP Ruto.
“Kiunjuri had the Grand National Union of Kenya (GNU), he auctioned it to Uhuru and he got a ministerial position. (Agriculture minister Peter) Munya had the Party of Nation Unity (PNU), it got auctioned and he got a position in government,” he added.
Mathira MP Rigathi Gachagua, another hardliner in the UDA camp, agrees with Mr Linturi, insisting that the only coalition pact will be after the election, and will be based on whether the parties will have won any seats in the August 2022 polls. “Moses Kuria. What is his strength? Yes, he is from Mt Kenya, but when he comes, he is just alone, same to Mwangi Kiunjuri. Those who are in UDA are over 60. We are saying let them come on board and no one is asking them to dissolve at all,” Mr Gachagua said.
Keiyo South MP Daniel Rono, another Ruto ally, accused the Mt Kenya leaders who have refused to fold their parties of pursuing “selfish interests”.
Mr Kuria, who with Mr Kiunjuri have started talks with Narc Kenya’s Martha Karua, believes Dr Ruto should learn from the ills of Jubilee, whose merger he believes was rushed, leading to the discontent that he attributes to the ruling party’s downfall.
“The Jubilee Party experiment was very unfortunate and very sad. Jubilee as one grand party was born prematurely. Unity was rushed and it is a lesson to learn,” the Gatundu South MP said on Tuesday in an interview with Citizen TV.
Mr Kiunjuri, on the other hand, urged the Deputy President to embrace other parties and “individuals of interest”, if he intends to win the Mt Kenya bloc in the next General Election.
In the Rift Valley, ex-governor Ruto’s CCM has already started an aspirants’ recruitments drive, keen to reap from the fear politicians have of running in a crowded party nomination, such as UDA’s given its growing influence in the vote-rich region.
Aware of this fear, the DP has promised fair nominations in UDA. His promise, however, flies in the face of Tuesday’s endorsement of Irungu Kang’ata for Murang’a governor, Susan Kihika for Nakuru governor and lawyer Edward Muriu for Gatanga MP.
UDA Secretary-General, Veronica Maina, told the Nation that even though they are not ready to engage in coalition talks currently, they will continue working with affiliate parties because of what she described as ‘mutual interests’.
