Fresh start as Uhuru finally unveils his party

Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta will on Sunday unveil the party on which he hopes to run for the presidency in the General Election.

The launch of The National Alliance (TNA), which has been spectacularly fashioned by events organisers and public relations consultants, is expected to be elaborate, with five satellite events in Kakamega, Mombasa, Nakuru, Kisumu, Eldoret and Garissa, from where there will be two-way communication via giant screens.

The organisers were on Saturday putting final touches on the launch plan.

“This is a party unveiling with a difference because it is the launch of a slogan ‘I Believe’ where it is not for politicians to say; it is a forum to let Kenyans express their expectations. That will characterise the event. This will be a message of hope that we can do it if we believe it,” Mr Kenyatta said through spokesman Munyori Buku.

The event has been dubbed “I Believe Experience”.

TNA chairman Johnson Sakaja said all MPs were invited to the event irrespective of their party affiliation. But only MPs who plan to join TNA and political parties and leaders who support Mr Kenyatta’s school of thought are expected to attend the launch at the KICC lawns, Nairobi.

“This event is open to all Kenyans. We have invited virtually all MPs and so far 100 have confirmed and it won’t be surprising if you see the entire (august) House here,” Mr Sakaja said.

A concert stage was set up and a mega tent decorated with the party’s colours – red, white, green and black, which are also the colours of the national flag – was erected to seat 3,000 people.

Due to recent security threats at public functions, TNA has announced an elaborate security plan.

Delegates will be screened by police and private firms hired to provide security.

The delegates will be entertained before Mr Kenyatta’s arrival at midday after a church service.

Religious leaders, business people and politicians allied to the G7 Alliance with whom Mr Kenyatta aims to work ahead of the elections, are also expected at the launch.

The organisers have set up a state-of-the-art podium adapted to facilitate filming of the event by a local production company. The proceedings will be beamed live on local television stations.

Mr Kenyatta will anchor his presidential campaign on the “I Believe” slogan. His countrywide campaign, party officials say, will especially focus on consolidating the youth vote.

In Nairobi, the party has erected billboards with the “I Believe” messages on roadsides and buildings. They also have an online presence on www.ibelieve.co.ke.

Mr Kenyatta is currently collecting views that will form his manifesto.

The DPM has been “party-less” for close to two months after he fell out with Kanu officials who then replaced him as chairman with his deputy Gideon Moi at a national delegates conference in Kasarani in March.

He then took over the former National Alliance Party of Kenya which was changed to TNA. His aides and allies took the Kenya Social Congress symbol of a dove, and replaced NAP-K’s leopard. KSC has since changed its symbol to two handles with a broken chain.

Ahead of Sunday’s launch, Mr Kenyatta has been meeting various politicians. Last Thursday he hosted more than 70 MPs to lunch at the prestigious Crowne Hotel in Nairobi.

During the meeting, he explained to the MPs drawn from PNU, Kanu, UDF and GNU why he had settled for a party run by youthful professionals and not politicians.

On Sunday, Mr Kenyatta is expected to give direction to his supporters and also explain his working relationship with the G7 alliance.

The party on which to contest the presidency has been a headache for the DPM and his allies, particularly after one of his key associates, Eldoret North MP William Ruto, reportedly refused to work with either Kanu or PNU.

A number of politicians associated with Mr Kenyatta are waiting to see the direction he takes and join him.

Late last year, Mr Kenyatta joined Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka and Internal Security minister Prof George Saitoti and signed a protocol seeking to transform the PNU coalition into a political party.

But the new outfit soon ran into trouble after Mr Musyoka and Prof Saitoti retreated to their parties, Wiper Democratic Movement and PNU respectively.

Mr Kenyatta and his allies then went for a Kanu retreat in Naivasha in December and agreed to revamp the party, including changing its name to Kenya Alliance of National Unity. But his rivals led by Gideon Moi opposed the name change.

The United Democratic Forum Party, led by youthful MPs, was soon after associated with the DPM even as the PNU Alliance led by Energy minister Kiraitu Murungi sought him.

But Mr Kenyatta and his allies were apprehensive about joining any of the two parties as they were seen as seeking to be seeking secure the incumbency of the current MPs.

Mr Kenyatta then identified the NAP-K led by Kiambu politician and businessman Nginyo Kariuki.

But Key political players across the country are keenly watching Mr Kenyatta’s moves, especially with the charges that he has to fight at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, where he has been named as one of the four Kenyans most responsible for the 2007/8 post-election violence.

The ICC has set up a status conference – where the prosecution and the defence are expected to disclose evidence and the court set such ground rules as which language will be used – in June.

If he is unable to run for president, it is expected that he would sway his support in favour of one of the other candidates in the race.

And in such an eventuality, it remains to be seen whether his core constituency, the Mt Kenya region, will remain a bloc or fragment and open up to other candidates.

When the ICC trial begins – a date that can only be set by judges – Mr Kenyatta, as with all other suspects, will be required to attend court sessions in person. Should that time come before the elections, it would severely hamper his campaign.

Aside from Mr Kenyatta, the other Kenyans facing charges at the ICC are Mr Ruto, who is also a presidential aspirant, radio journalist Joshua Sang’, who wants to run for the Senate, and former civil service chief Francis Muthaura who has no political interests.

The four face charges which include murder, deportation, forcible transfer of population and persecution committed during the 2007/08 post election violence.

Some 1,133 people died and 650,000 others were uprooted from their homes in the chaos that was sparked by a disputed presidential election.

Some lawyers have said Mr Kenyatta and the three other Kenyans facing trial at the ICC should not run for political office until the cases are concluded.

The other legal school of thought is that the suspects are innocent until proven guilty and may therefore run for office. (READ: Uhuru set to unveil new party)