Party supporters in frenzy ahead of rallies

Anticipation was rife in Mombasa and Nakuru on Saturday ahead of major campaign rallies to be held in the two towns on Sunday.

In Nakuru, thousands of people arrived at the weekend to attend the TNA-URP joint rally at Afraha Stadium.

And in Mombasa, Transport assistant minister Ali Hassan Joho oversaw the preparations for an ODM rally at Tononoka at which a major announcement is expected to be made on the coalition-building talks with the Wiper Democratic Movement.

By Friday evening, most of the hotels in Nakuru were fully booked by delegations attending the rally to be addressed by TNA leader Uhuru Kenyatta and URP’s William Ruto.

The Nakuru rally is expected to begin the healing of the wounds caused by politically instigated clashes in the region since 1992.

Delegations from far-flung areas in the Rift Valley, central Kenya and Nairobi started arriving on Saturday to witness the political union between TNA and URP.

On the ODM-Wiper side, Education minister Mutula Kilonzo told the Sunday Nation by phone that the pre-election pact between the two parties was awaiting endorsement by its leaders.

But Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka said he would not attend the Tononoka rally but added he was still open to negotiations.

But Mr Kilonzo, the Wiper secretary-general, insisted that the deal was ready for signature by the two leaders.

“Everything is ready, and we are waiting for the party leaders’ signatures for us to appear for the Tononoka rally,” he said.

The minister urged Kenyans not to “be hoodwinked to elect leaders facing ICC charges”.

Mr Kilonzo warned that electing Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta and Eldoret MP William Ruto – who are facing criminal charges at the International Criminal Court in The Hague – would be “fatal mistake” for the image of the country.

“How would the country function with its top leaders shuttling between Nairobi and The Hague?” he asked.

In Mombasa, Mr Joho said ODM was talking to different parties with similar ideologies and Sunday’s rally would shape the destiny of Kenya. The Kisauni MP, criticised leaders using tribal politics to ascend to power adding that this would alienate other tribes.

“Our politics in ODM will not be based on personalities like what our rivals are doing but we will stick to ideologies because we are serious to form the next government,” Mr Joho said.

Nakuru was a strategic choice by TNA and URP because it has been a political flash point due to competing political interests between the Kikuyu and the Kalenjin.

The URP-TNA coalition builders have agreed to distribute seats in the county in a way that would promote their alliance and political and social harmony between the communities.