No Mudavadi talks, says Ngilu

Water minister Charity Ngilu has refuted reports she is in talks with ODM deputy leader Musalia Mudavadi as the latter ponders his political future.

The Narc party leader said that her association with ODM was a “political relationship” as partners in their side of the Coalition Government.

Speaking when Narc presented its compliance papers to the Registrar of Political Parties Tuesday, Ms Ngilu said that her party will be fielding candidates for all elective positions and would select its presidential candidate at a National Delegates Conference.

The minister was however non-committal on whether she should be seeking the party’s endorsement for the presidential ticket.

“Those reports that Mudavadi is coming to Narc came from you (media). I am not privy to those issues and may be you should tell me,” Ms Niglu said.

The minister said that she was still part of the ODM pentagon as she “had not been removed or voted out by anyone".

She also described her relationship with ODM leader Raila Odinga as “cordial” and said that her party would be continue working with like-minded leaders.

“Narc started working with ODM in 2007 as part of the Grand Coalition Government. My political relationship with the PM has been cordial and we will continue working with all like-minded leaders. It is not the leadership that makes a party but the structures put in place,” Ms Ngilu said.

There has been speculation that Narc was one of the parties that Mr Mudavadi is set to decamp to having fallen out with Mr Odinga’s allies over the process of nominating a presidential candidate. Mr Mudavadi has been consulting various leaders and Ms Ngilu has been reported as being one of them.

Ms Ngilu’s party became the 28th one to present its compliance papers to the registrar and will know within the next 30 days if it has complied with the Political Parties Act. The Narc leader said that other parties and leaders were welcome to join her party which she termed as “national”.

“Any party is free to join Narc. This was the party that brought change in Kenya in 2002 and it represents the aspirations of the Kenyan people,” Ms Ngilu said.

Present as the presentation was Mutito MP Kiema Kilonzo, who said that he had ditched Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka’s Wiper Democratic Movement which sponsored him to Parliament in the last election.

A united opposition under the Narc umbrella brought an end to nearly two decades of the Kanu rule when its candidate Mwai Kibaki became Kenya’s third president.

Only four parties - Narc-Kenya, National Vision Party, Labour Party of Kenya and Grand National Union - have been awarded compliance certificates.

Other parties that have submitted their papers include National Patriotic Party, Restore and Build Kenya, United Democratic Forum Party, Party of Independent Candidates Kenya, Kenya National Congress, Mazingira Greens Party, Nuru Party, Wiper Democratic Movement and Democratic Party.

Others include , Party of National Unity, Party of Action, PNU Alliance, Agano Party, The Independent Party, Kenya Social Congress, New Ford Kenya, Orange Democratic Movement, Peoples Party of Kenya, FORD-Kenya, FORD-People, Progressive Party of Kenya, United Republican Party and Maendeleo Democratic Party.