Mudavadi upsets politics in Central

Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta will be officially launching the The National Alliance on Sunday against a background of significant shift of political focus in the Mt Kenya region.

Until recently when fellow DPM and presidential aspirant Musalia Mudavadi joined the UDF after leaving ODM, Mr Kenyatta was widely considered the main political player eclipsing Martha Karua and Peter Kenneth, the other presidential aspirants from Central.

For UDF Mr Mudavadi was a major catch and his entry as the party’s presidential candidate gave the little known party, fronted by relatively youthful politicians, overnight recognition nationally.

It is now emerging that in the near future both UDF and TNA will have to carefully tap dance around each other because of considerations of converging interests and realities of regional politics.

This delicate balance is underscored by the visibility of President Kibaki’s private secretary Prof Nick Wanjohi, who has been associated with the formation of UDF, leading to speculation over whether State House was lurking in the shadows.

According to MPs Abidkadir Mohammed and Ndiritu Muriithi, the foremost UDF point men, Prof Wanjohi was never involved in the formation of UDF or its registration but was invited to attend the forum’s meetings as an observer.

“The reality is that we are on the same side of the political divide with the chief executive of this country. We had to let him know what we are doing from the outset. Since we couldn’t possibly invite the President to attend our meetings, we settled on Prof Wanjohi through whom he (the President) would be kept in the picture,” said Mr Muriithi, who is the President’s nephew.

But other sources indicate that although this might very well have been the case, the invitation of Prof Wanjohi could have been a clever plan to give the forum some muscle since most of the MPs in UDF are yet to develop political clout.

Besides Mr Mohamed and Mr Muriithi, the other MPs in UDF are Jeremiah Kioni, Kabando wa Kabando and George Nyamweya. With a few exceptions, most of the UDF MPs come from the President’s backyard.

Registered UDF officials are Hassan Osman (chairman), Petronila Were (chief executive), Abraham Limo (secretary-general), Ali Sawa (organising secretary) and Wangari Martha (treasurer).

While it is unlikely that President Kibaki will name his preferred successor, there has always been perception that he has a soft spot for Mr Kenyatta. This, sources say, means that the UDF had to tread softly as they sought to open a new political front.

Sources say there were other considerations as well. Besides Mr Kenyatta, the other presidential aspirant eyeing the Mt Kenya voting bloc is Internal Security minister Prof George Saitoti. Both men have immense political power and resources.

The emergence of Mr Mudavadi, therefore, will keep relations among the three parties on delicate. UDF will be seeking to market Mr Mudavadi in Mt Kenya while avoiding a confrontation with Mr Kenyatta and Prof Saitoti’s side.

Mr Kenyatta’s spokesman, Mr Munyori Buku, does not foresee any problems. “Everybody is free to form and join parties. Everybody is also free to seek votes everywhere in the country. At the end of the day it is the voters’ decision that will carry the day,” he said.

The other hurdle facing the three groups are claims that Mr Mudavadi and UDF are fronts for the G7 alliance, whose leading lights are Mr Kenyatta and Eldoret North MP William Ruto.

Both men are facing crimes against humanity charges at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, a fact that might later compromise their eligibility as presidential candidates.

Asked whether Mr Kenyatta would at some point work with Mr Mudavadi, Mr Buku said the DPM is not averse to working with like-minded people but added that this bridge will be crossed if the situation arises.