Uhuru and Saitoti pull out of launch
Amina Abdallah and Gideon Moi after attending a Kanu NEC meeting on January 5, 2012. Photo/STEPHEN MUDIARI
Presidential aspirants Uhuru Kenyatta and George Saitoti have pulled out of a planned meeting to launch the PNU Alliance, threatening plans by G7 leaders to field a single candidate during this year’s election.
Kanu’s National Executive Council (NEC) announced on Thursday that the party and its leader would not attend the launch planned for Uhuru Park on Tuesday because it was not “formally” part of the alliance and because Mr Kenyatta will be away in South Africa on an invitation by the African National Congress (ANC).
Mr Kenyatta joins PNU party chairman Prof Saitoti in skipping the Tuesday event, raising questions on the future of the Alliance as the political vehicle to be used to challenge Prime Minister Raila Odinga during this year’s presidential election.
Prof Saitoti said that he will be in Mombasa for his party’s recruitment drive.
The two are among principals in the alliance seeking to succeed President Kibaki as he retires at the end of the year.
UDM also distanced itself from the launch with Belgut MP Charles Keter saying that the party is not in the Alliance.
“UDM has never been in the PNU Alliance so why should we go there, UDM is UDM,” he told Nation.
New alliance
After Kanu’s NEC, Nominated MP Amina Abdallah said, “We cannot be at a launch of another party that we are not part of not until we are in a formal arrangement with it”.
Ms Abdallah and fellow vice-chairman Gideon Moi confirmed that the party was in talks with more than 20 parties that want to join Kanu in a new alliance.
They however said that the plan was still in its initial stages and the discussion would be formalised after its Constitution is approved by its National Delegates Conference on January 30.
All the players in the G7 Alliance promised their supporters that they would work together in the up coming General Election in a strategy to lock out Mr Odinga from the presidency.
They have however retreated to strengthen their own parties before coming together as a single unit.
On this note Eldoret North MP William Ruto has called a UDM National Executive Council meeting on Saturday to plan for national elections and recruitment of members.
“You have seen Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka strengthening his Wiper party and Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta has gone to Naivasha to do the same with Kanu. What is wrong with me strengthening UDM?” Mr Ruto asked on Wednesday.
Only last month, the principals in the Alliance were toying with a power sharing agreement which would ensure they go to the 2012 election united against Mr Odinga.
At a meeting held in Dubai they suggested that such an agreement be lodged with the elections team and the Registrar of Political Parties to ensure that they did not manipulate it.
