Now Kalonzo hints at new political deal

A nascent political alliance was in the offing on Saturday as a group of Cabinet ministers and MPs opposed to Prime Minister Raila Odinga held a fundraiser with the echoes of a major campaign rally in Mombasa.

The rally was designed to deliver a political body blow to the PM in response to the one he held at the Tononoka grounds a fortnight ago to demonstrate his political might in the face of battles centred on the quest to conserve the vital Mau forest.

Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka described the team attending the meeting as one which would spearhead the “final and true revolution in the Republic of Kenya. No one here is concerned about their political affiliations.”

Tourism minister Najib Balala, who hosted the meeting, described the attendance of the fundraiser by MPs from different parts of the country as a reflection of the “future of the country”.

Mr Balala was broadly hinting at the possibility of a political alliance between the leaders present as they begin to cast their sights on the 2012 General Election.

“We welcome whoever wants to join us, politics is a matter of actions,” said Mr Balala saying current politics was not a matter of fighting people.

For the Tourism minister, the meeting was an important political booster given that Mr Odinga had recently chosen his Mvita constituency as the platform for promoting his popularity.

Others at the meeting were deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta, Agriculture minister William Ruto, nine assistant ministers and several MPs.

Out of the 21 elected MPs from the Coast only Special Programmes minister Naomi Shaaban, Education assistant minister Calist Mwatela and nominated MP Shakila Abdalla attended the fundraiser.

The move by the region’s MPs to skip the event was highly anticipated as some of them have in the recent past accused Mr Balala of being “a lone ranger”.

At one point, the fundraiser was nearly disrupted by some youths waving anti-Balala placards before they were dispersed by the anti-riot police who later received reinforcement from the GSU personnel.

Mr Balala said he did not have any ill feelings towards anybody and that he was ready to serve the people.

The Vice-President said should the country get a new constitution its image would be highly improved.

Mr Musyoka said all contentious issues will be resolved and that he was optimistic the country will have a new constitution.

“If Parliament approves the draft constitution, then it will be easy for the people to vote for it,” said Mr Musyoka.

Mr Ruto said he was not at war with anybody and instead aimed to unite the country.

He called on leaders to work together without pointing accusing fingers at each other.

Mr Ruto noted that campaigning for 2012 was premature, saying a lot of promises made in the run-up to the last election have not been fulfilled.

On Mau, the ministers said all leaders from the Rift Valley knew the importance of conserving the environment but were against the government using its machinery to leave mothers and children in the cold.

Mr Kenyatta said the country can achieve great development if leaders worked together regardless of political affiliations. He accused the media of covering the country’s political situation in a manner that could make people think the country was on ‘fire”.

Mr Kenyatta said leaders should stop going to rallies to “bash” others but to foster development instead.

“Politics is not a 24-hour job,” Mr Kenyatta said in an apparent attack on their political rivals.

Significantly, Mr Musyoka flew from Eldoret, where he was attending a burial, to give the coast fundraiser much more than a cash boost.

Mr Musyoka is associated with the declaration that he, Mr Kenyatta and Mr Ruto were crafting a political alliance along the lines of the Kikuyu, the Kalenjin and the Kamba, popularly referred to as the KKK alliance.

The announcement drew harsh criticism from those who viewed this as an tribal alliance, prompting Mr Musyoka to seek to explain that the alliance was meant for promoting national healing.

In the new political alliance are MPs from ODM unhappy with Mr Odinga’s leadership.

The differences in the party have been partly traced back to the Cabinet appointments last year when the grand coalition government was formed.

MPs from Mr Ruto’s Rift Valley backyard complained that Mr Odinga, the party leader, had shortchanged them owing to the support they had marshalled for the party in their constituencies.

“We want to walk together without blaming each other. The politics of them versus us is gone,” Mr Ruto said.

Mr Balala apparently fell out with the PM after the national party elections during which he did not get a national post.

He had been widely expected to get one, having been a member of the Pentagon, the supreme political organ in the party. Although the meeting was dubbed a fundraiser for elders, it was not lost on observers the high number of MPs – estimated at 60 – who had been invited.

The organising team had pulled all stops to ensure that the Mvita rally stamped their political might on the coastal and national political psyche.

A fortnight ago, Mr Balala and Mr Ruto skipped a national delegates council Mr Odinga had called in Mombasa and explained that they had a prior engagement.

It turned out that the ministerial engagement Mr Balala was referring to in Kapenguria – the opening of a tourism cultural centre – was more of a political rally.

Also in attendance at the Kapenguria meeting was Information Minister Samuel Poghisio, who is the chairman of ODM-K, the Vice President’s party.

Weeks to the Kapenmguria meeting, leaders in the nascent political alliance held a fund-raiser at the KICC, which turned out to be more of expressing displeasure with Mr Odinga’s handling of the controversial efforts to conserve Mau forest.

Sports minister Hellen Sambili said people want politics of development and respect for each other.

She described the fundraiser as showing the “face” of the country in reference to the number of legislators from across the country.

“We want unity of diversity led by young people,” said Ms Sambili, urging Coast residents not to be divided.

Chepalungu MP Isaac Ruto said leaders ought to understand the problems facing the people.