Uhuru bid for State House rattled

When deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta pulled three parties behind his presidential bid on August 8, it was thought he had struck a political master piece.

Observers say Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka and Eldoret North MP William Ruto, his colleagues in the amorphous G7 Alliance, smelt a sense of betrayal while United Democratic Forum’s Musalia Mudavadi rushed to the edge of his political seat.

In coalition politics, you only stand a good chance of bargaining if you bring on the table of negotiations a basketful of votes.

Mr Kenyatta had, by getting the support of the Party of National Unity (PNU), Grand National Union (GNU) and the Alliance Party of Kenya (APK), achieved an edge over his colleagues.

At a ceremony held at the Norfolk Hotel in Nairobi, Mr Kenyatta, Cabinet ministers Kiraitu Murungi (APK), Njeru Githae (PNU), Amos Kimunya (PNU), assistant minister Mwangi Kiunjuri (GNU), APK chairman Titus Imbui and Gema’s Stephen Karau sealed the deal.

However, 22 days later, the deal which Mr Kenyatta and his TNA struck is tottering on the brink of collapse. Interviews with key leaders involved in the Norfolk deal point to a number of factors which have placed a sharp knife on bond.

They blame political dishonesty, cross-party interests, arrogance by young TNA officials and unending witch hunt as the causes of the fall-out.

Officials of GNU, PNU and APK are categorical that the recent party nominations for next month’s by-elections in Kangema, Kajiado North and Ndhiwa brought out the war they could face come the next polls.

They argue that the deal they signed to support Mr Kenyatta was confined to his presidential bid — and nothing more.

They hold that they are at liberty to sponsor candidates for the positions of senator, governor, MP, county women representative and county assembly representatives.

Field candidates

Mr Kiunjuri, the GNU leader, insists his party will field candidates from the grassroots to the senate level in the next elections.

“What we agreed was to support Uhuru Kenyatta as a presidential candidate. We have agreed as a party to field candidates in areas where we are sure to win,” he says.

Mr Kamanda, who is the PNU organising secretary, accuses Mr Kenyatta’s TNA and other affiliates, of breaking trust by fielding candidates in the Kajiado North and Kangema by-elections where his party is defending its seats.

“PNU lost two ministers through very tragic circumstances. Political courtesy would have demanded that other friendly parties support us to defend these seats. What is happening now is unfair to us.

"And to blame us for fielding candidates to defend our territory is taking politics too far,” says the former Sports minister of the seats left vacant following the death of Cabinet ministers George Saitoti and John Michuki.

Kinangop MP David Ngugi, who is a founder member of APK, warns that arrogance by some politicians in Central Province was derailing attempts to unite leaders in the region.

“A party like TNA should have supported others in these by elections to enhance their chances of winning instead of making demands to be supported,” he says.

However, TNA officials argue that following the deal, they expected the three parties to throw their weight behind their candidates in the by-elections.

They argue the parties should have presented their strong candidates to TNA. Mr Kenyatta’s party now feels some members in GNU, PNU and APK are out to undermine the Deputy Prime Minister’s bid.

TNA chairman Johnson Sakaja alleges that some of the parties influenced presiding officials in the three constituencies to claim that their nominations were riddled with fraud.

“We are aware of certain forces that are trying to discredit TNA. We have seen their hand in all this and will expose them. They are the ones who have even compromised the presiding officers who are now making such allegations (that TNA nominations were fraudulent),” he says.

Mr Kenyatta insists that he will push to have all the parties supporting him under one umbrella, arguing that parties fielding their own candidates would deny him the majority in Parliament if he wins the presidency.

“No one political party has the capacity to win the General Election,” he said during a recent joint meeting. However, the three parties which he had brought on his side have now either withdrawn their support or are giving fresh conditions to be met by the TNA leader.

PNU has changed its position about supporting Mr Kenyatta’s bid and has called for presidential hopefuls.

Consult widely

This is after it emerged that Mr Kimunya, who signed on behalf of PNU, did not consult widely before committing the party to the deal. A six member team which the party formed to negotiate any alliances, sources said, was not involved in the talks leading to the Norfolk deal.

On the GNU side, Mr Kiunjuri explains that what was signed at the Norfolk Hotel was not yet binding.

“What we signed was not a binding legal document. It was a statement of intent and there is a whole long process before it can be deposited as a binding instrument for the elections,” he argues.

Members of PNU and GNU, who requested not to be named, say Mr Kenyatta’s close links to the APK had made it difficult for them to work on the deal since the DPM was one of the founders of the party commonly known as the ‘Mbus’.