President William Ruto with Prime Minister Musalia Mudavadi at the National Executive retreat in Lake Naivasha Resort on February 20, 2024.
Amani National Congress (ANC), the party of Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi, has denied plans of folding and joining President William Ruto's UDA.
The development may complicate President Ruto's plans to form a giant political party ahead of the 2027 presidential elections.
ANC Political Affairs Director Mr Kennedy Omulo Junior said Mr Mudavadi’s remarks in Bomet were taken out of context.
Mr Mudavadi had hinted at another wave of the “political earthquake,” akin to the one that marked his official entry into President Ruto’s political fold ahead of the August 2022 elections.
He also suggested a fresh move he said would help strengthen the UDA party.
According to insiders, Mr Mudavadi sees no problem convincing his ANC brigade to join UDA to strengthen the ruling party ahead of the 2027 polls, and also to give him better bargaining power for his future political prospects.
“I want to make it clear that although I may not be the official party leader today, as a strong member of the ANC party, I must tell you frankly our conversation must be serious about how to strengthen the Kenya Kwanza administration and how to work very closely with the UDA which is the principal party in the coalition and to even engage in deeper debates,” Mr Mudavadi said.
“Don’t ask me which deeper debates. That’s for another day. Another earthquake is in the offing,” he added.
However, Mr Omulo said what Mr Mudavadi meant in Bomet was the need to work together and support President Ruto’s agenda concertedly without internal competition or sabotage.
“He (Mudavadi) meant that leaders must take political responsibility to ensure that all the promises made by Kenya Kwanza to the people of Kenya are fulfilled,” said Mr Omulo.
He said the decision to fold NC would call for the consent of all members in line with the party's constitution.
“If ANC were to fold, then all other affiliate parties within Kenya Kwanza, including UDA, must also fold to form one political party,” he said.
Mr Omulo further explained that President Ruto has from the onset been advocating for a strong political party that is anchored on ideology, programmes, and values that focus on socio-economic and political development.
Last month, ANC chairperson Kelvin Lunani said the party plans to revamp itself as opposed to folding.
“Our party is registered independently, and we have maintained that stance. We have never indicated or said that we will merge with others or fold,” said Mr Lunani.
The party was formerly headed Mr Mudavadi who relinquished the party leadership to Lamu Governor Issa Timamy after being appointed to the cabinet.
President Ruto has openly made it clear that he intends to turn UDA into a political behemoth, in the form of South Africa's ruling party, the African National Congress, to help his 2027 re-election bid.
However, unfulfilled pre and post-election pledges have put paid to the merger plans with silent rebellion by smaller affiliate parties threatening the plan.
The plans to have Kenya Kwanza affiliate parties disbanded was first made public by UDA Secretary-General Cleophas Malala.
But more than a year later, nothing has changed within the Kenya Kwanza Alliance.
Chama Cha Kazi Secretary-General James Nage is also on record for stating that there was no way they were going to fold their parties after UDA reneged on a promise to appoint top officials of the affiliate parties to different positions in the government.
He announced the party would proceed with a mass membership registration starting April 26 to revamp the party ahead of its elections in January next year.
CCK is just one of the several affiliate parties of Kenya Kwanza which have rolled out membership registration drives.
Similarly, Ford Kenya Secretary-General John Chikati who is also the MP for Tongaren, said the party cannot fold since it is an political outfit which believes in strengthenung the coalition as opposed to disbanding the affiliates.
He said funding should go into development and growth of parties and capacity building for each party which then forge stronng coalitions and alliances.
“We are not in favour of folding the affiliate parties in Kenya Kwanza. UDA is free to strengthen itself and as much as Ford Kenya is also strengthening itself, so that we can continue building our alliance as independent parties,” Mr Chikati said.
He also said the party is currently on a mass membership registration drive.
Kenya Kwanza Alliance is made up of more than a dozen parties, including UDA, ANC, Ford Kenya, Maendeleo Chap Chap, Democratic Party, Chama Cha Mashinani, The Service Party, and former Kiambu Governor William Kabogo’s Tujibebe Wakenya Party.
Other parties in the alliance are The Communist Party of Kenya, the Devolution Party of Kenya, the Economic Freedom Party, the Umoja na Maendeleo Party, the National Agenda Party of Kenya, the Grand Dream Development Party and Movement for Democracy and Growth (MDG).
