Ruto allies woo Kaparo to lead re-branded UDM

Politicians allied to Eldoret North MP William Ruto are courting former Parliamentary Speaker Francis ole Kaparo to lead the United Democratic Movement (UDM) as part of an aggressive campaign to re-brand the party ahead of the 2012 General Election.

Mr Ruto has sent strong signals that he intends to use UDM as the vehicle for his presidential bid and set in motion machinery to rebuild the party he founded in 1994.

Part of the effort is to attract leaders likely to re-energise the party, give it national appeal and broaden its support base.

Two weeks ago, Mr Ruto advised members to come up with a new party symbol — in place of a milk container said to resonate mainly with pastoralists — and a fashionable slogan that would appeal to the youth.

Initially, UDM had packaged itself as a party for pastoralists. Accordingly, party members are said to have settled on a vuvuzela and milk container.
The vuvuzela, a loud horn. was blown by football fans during the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

Assistant minister Kazungu Kambi, a Ruto ally and one of the politicians who have associated themselves with the party, said they approached Mr Kaparo as “an elder who would offer wise counsel given his wide experience in politics”.

The Kaloleni MP said they were not taking any chances in attempts to rebuild the party.

“We are taking things seriously, and the strategy is to attract people of integrity. We believe the former Speaker can make a meaningful contribution,” the MP said.

Mr Kaparo confirmed he had been approached but said no formal discussions had been held.

“If there are people who think I can contribute meaningfully to stabilise and detribalise our politics, lower political temperatures and give Kenyans an alternative, then that is something worth considering,” he said.

But the man who served as Speaker for 15 years said he would only want to lead the party through an election ans spoke of intentions to give it a national outlook.

“Interesting times lie ahead. I have a choice to take either a boat or a ship. I will take a ship or remain on the mainland,” he said.

Given his interactions with the political elite as Speaker, Mr Kaparo would certainly be an important catch for the party. Significantly, he was a member of Mr Ruto’s delegation to Uganda and Tanzania a week ago.

A party official who sought anonymity because he is not the spokesman said Mr Kaparo’s leadership could be used to lure a section of the Maasai from ODM as the party fights to retain the Rift Valley vote. But UDM official Stanley Rotich described ODM as “history” in the Rift Valley.

“ODM is as dead as a dodo in our region. We no longer talk about it.

UDM was the strongest challenger to ODM in the last election. We have effectively replaced ODM,” said the UDM secretary for labour.

He said Prime Minister Raila Odinga’s spirited campaign to evict settler from the Mau forest and the perception that he supports the prosecution of Mr Ruto and ODM chairman Henry Kosgey at the International Criminal Court had pushed Kalenjins out of the Orange movement.

Mr Rotich, who vied for the Sotik parliamentary seat on a UDM ticket in the last election, said Mr Ruto’s return to the party was long overdue.
“He founded the party and understands its vision.

We welcome everybody, and we’re excited about Ruto’s plans to reunite with us on this journey as we build a formidable force for 2012,” he said.

But UDM officials have lately been engaged in a leadership tussle with a group allied to Mr Ruto filing a case in the High Court to block the political parties tribunal from hearing a case in which Lt-Gen (rtd) John Koech is seeking to be reinstated as party chairman.

The tribunal adjourned the case, awaiting orders from the High Court. The groups will appear in court on July 13 for the hearing.

Lt-Gen Koech was ousted last November by the party’s national executive committee and replaced with former Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) chairman Joseph Chirchir.

He went to the political parties tribunal asking it to declare his ouster unconstitutional and to rescind the decision by the NEC to remove him as chairman.

Lt-Gen Koech chairs the Poverty Eradication Commission in the PM’s office.

Chepalungu MP Isaac Ruto, another Ruto ally, said a UDM meeting last Wednesday discussed plans for grassroots elections.

He said the party would start by recruiting members.