Tuju's big comeback: Will it be Lang'ata or Rarieda?

The return of former Jubilee Secretary General Raphael Tuju into elective politics has caused anxiety in ODM leader Raila Odinga’s inner circle over threat of possibly upstaging the former Prime Minister’s lieutenants.

By virtue of his former position in the ruling party and his closeness to President Uhuru Kenyatta who is backing Mr Odinga’s presidential bid, Mr Tuju is poised to get a bigger role in the ODM leader’s camp.

This, according to political observers, could elevate the former Cabinet Secretary to leadership succession after Mr Odinga at the end of his term should he win the presidency or in August if he loses.

While Mr Tuju last held an elective post between 2002 and 2007—15 years ago—he has remained relevant at the top, including recently as the secretary general of what was Kenya’s largest party by size, boasting of 171MPs, 25 governor seats, and 34 of the 67 senator seats.

Now, Mr Tuju has set his sight on Rarieda or Lang’ata parliamentary seat in the August elections, a position he argues will give him opportunity to “give back to the society.”

In an interview with Nation yesterday, Mr Tuju said he has many options including going for Rarieda seat which he held between 2002 and 2007, vying for Lang’ata parliamentary seat or even consider a county seat in Siaya – either Senate or Governor position.

“Given those options, I don’t want just to say I have decided on a particular seat before we have consultations in terms of what will be of the best interest for Azimio,” Mr Tuju said.

On Saturday during the ruling party’s National Delegates Convention (NDC) at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC), President Kenyatta asked Mr Odinga who was in attendance to help Mr Tuju win a political seat he aspires to.

“Baba (Mr Odinga), Tuju is a member of our Jubilee party and maybe there is a seat he is aspiring to. Please help him, don’t leave him to fall. Joho (Hassan) I leave that work to you. Don’t let him down,” President Kenyatta said.

He urged Mr Tuju to continue serving at the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) even after his resignation as the Secretary General.

The president’s message was loaded and both Mr Odinga and Mr Joho nodded in approval, a move that has already sent shivers down the spines of the former Premier’s key allies, especially those eying the seats Mr Tuju has said were his options.

Should Mr Tuju settle on Rarieda as widely expected, he could end the career of incumbent Dr Otiende Amollo who is serving his first term.

Dr Amollo had apparently fallen out with ODM party leadership last year leading to his ejection as the vice chairman of the Justice and Legal Affairs Committee in the National Assembly.

Lang’ata constituency, currently occupied by Jubilee’s Nixon Korir who has since defected to Deputy President William Ruto’s camp, will also be interesting as Mr Tuju’s entry is likely to muddy the waters for ODM and Azimio aspirants by extension.

Some of those who have expressed interest in running on the ODM ticket are Nairobi Metropolitan Service Director of Health Services Dr Ouma Oluga, Mr Oscar Omoke who lost to Mr Korir by partly 1,493 votes in the 2017 elections and comedian Felix Odiwuor aka Jalang’o among other aspirants.

Mr Korir of Jubilee won the seat in 2017 with 41,086 votes against Mr Omoke’s 39,593 votes.

The ODM loss was blamed on sibling rivalry among National Super Alliance (Nasa) affiliate parties as Ms Judith Sijeny of Wiper got 5,292 votes while ANC and Ford Kenya had 1,274 and 349 votes respectively.

It is however, Mr Tuju’s move to vie for either Senate or Governor position in Siaya that could generate national attention.

Already Mr Odinga’s elder brother Dr Oburu Oginga has claimed the position and has been crisscrossing the county asking for votes, while Senator James Orengo, a key figure in the ODM leader’s strategy team wants to be Governor.

Should Mr Tuju chose either of the positions, which sources close to him however, term as unlikely, he is likely to upset the two leaders, but the move would still excite some of Mr Odinga’s supporters in the region who had wanted Mr Tuju to go for a county position.

The former Cabinet Secretary without portfolio has already revealed that he resigned as the ruling party’s Secretary General and as a CS in January in line with the requirements of the law and the dictates of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) and has set his sight on an elective seat.

“All I want is to go and serve my community. I told the President that it was not going to be fair to run for a political seat at home and at the same time run Jubilee party affairs, that’s gluttony. So I need to serve the community and give back to them,” Mr Tuju told Nation.

Yesterday, Mr Tuju, who sources confided to Nation was keen on making a comeback in Rarieda constituency, said all he wanted is to give back to the community.

“I need to serve the community and give back to them. I just want to give back to a community, change lives of the people because God has been extremely kind to me. I would not even be alive today; I have survived a very horrific accident and a plane crash so what I would like to do is to get a public mandate and be able to give back to the society using the talent that God has given me,” Mr Tuju said.

He went on: “Given my position and good relationship with the president and ODM leader Raila Odinga, I would not want to do anything which is disruptive. I have got too many options and I’m lucky to have these options.”

At the end of the day, he said, the people will decide.

“That’s the essence of democracy which we fought for that Wananchi should have the final say on who to lead them. So I don’t think anybody should panic,” he says.

There are however, high chances that Mr Tuju will not go for either Siaya Senate or Governor seat.
He has in the past revealed that he was not keen on running for a position that would confine him to local politics (Governor).

In Siaya, already ODM has shown indications that it will back Mr Orengo for Governor and Dr Oginga for the Senate position.

“Raph (Mr Tuju) is going for Rarieda seat. He has been doing a lot of ground work but will soon launch his bid. He could not do so before his resignation as Jubilee Secretary General as it could interfere with his work,” a source familiar with the plans told Nation.

Mr Tuju said: “If I go to a constituency at whatever level, I just have to check a few projects which can change lives and give them national and international profile and help. But you can’t do that in somebody’s constituency so you have to be elected and that’s why I’m offering myself.

“If you want to do something and you don’t have a position in that particular area they will question your intentions.”