Uhuru, Raila set for fresh showdown in epic battle for Kajiado Central seat

President Uhuru Kenyatta and political arch-rival Raila Odinga are preparing for yet another epic political duel in a parliamentary by-election in Kajiado Central next month.

The President wants to use the by-election to sell his new outfit, the Jubilee Alliance Party, while Mr Odinga wants a victory to give a boost to his planned political rebranding after three failed attempts at the presidency.

The Cord leader goes into the race hot on the heels of a morale-boosting victory in Homa Bay where ODM easily retained its Senate seat after the victory of candidate Moses Kajwang’ firmly cemented Mr Odinga’s dominance in Nyanza.

Both camps have been consulting extensively with their lieutenants in an election where Mr Odinga is also attempting a comeback in Maasai politics after losing out in the 2013 election.

A loss in Kajiado Central would be a humiliation for President Kenyatta who, however, is expecting a massive victory as his party holds most of the seats in the area.

Several factors will influence the battle for Kajiado Central, where clanism comes before political party loyalty.

A number of factors will determine the outcome of this epic battle.

There is the influence of Interior Minister Joseph ole Nkaissery and the stand-off in Narok where a dispute between Governor Samuel ole Tunai and a group of MPs led by Senator Stephen ole Ntutu has led to deaths and injuries.

THE DIASPORA

The question of the diaspora communities in Namanga, Ilbisil, Kajiado and other small trading centres in the constituency of 39,545 is also a factor.

Both camps are desperate to win the seat as the numbers are close — TNA, which had 72 MPs after the 2013 General Election, suffered a blow when ODM won the Mathare seat, raising its tally to 79 from 78.

On Friday, President Kenyatta officially took over the new Jubilee Alliance Party and urged his supporters to join hands with him in building the entity.

He also visited the party’s Lavington offices and met officials and several supporters from Maasailand.

He also officiated at a ceremony where the party’s certificate was presented to Kajiado Central candidate Patrick Tutui.

The same day Mr Odinga, who mainly operates from the Capitol Hill office in Upper Hill, met several Maasai leaders led by Mr Paul ole Kaika, who had defected from ODM but returned.

“We are coming up with this new outfit as the Jubilee family because we want to use it to unite our country further,” President Kenyatta told the JAP supporters.

“We agreed that in this by-election we shall not let our affiliate parties fight and compete, and that is when we decided to come up with this new outfit,” he said.

He called on all Jubilee leaders to support the new party, saying its creation was intended to unite Kenyans under a single formidable entity.

“I will come around to campaign for our candidate, but for now I want you all to go out there and mobilise support for the new party,” President Kenyatta said.

CAUSED PANIC

The defection of Kanchory ole Memusi, described by Maasai elders as very close to Mr Nkaissery, has caused panic in the Jubilee Alliance campaign team.

Mr Memusi was picked to represent ODM in the by-election after his defection.

The Interior Secretary was paraded at the JAP headquarters on Friday where his appearance was expected to send a message back home that he had endorsed his former political rival, JAP candidate Patrick ole Tutui.

The move was meant to quell speculation and rumours that Mr Nkaissery’s key supporters, including close relatives, had refused to back the JAP candidate.

Addressing the crowd, Mr Nkaissery said: “I am not a politician now. I have only accompanied the President to ensure there is peace and security at this event.”

He then switched to Maa and asked voters in his constituency to understand that he was now in government and they should follow him there.

The President had previously met Mr Nkaissery together with Mr Tutui to try to reconcile the two.

Interestingly, it was the third time the same JAP certificate was being presented to Mr Tutui. At a previous press conference, the document was presented by party interim Secretary-General Veronica Nduati and earlier by a nomination official in Kajiado.

Those in the Nkaissery camp are said to have been happy with Mr Tutui’s nomination, accusing Loitokitok MP Katoo ole Metito, who is close to President Kenyatta, of masterminding the victory which was disputed by Mr Memusi.

Area Senator Peter ole Mositet, however, told the Sunday Nation there was no panic in the Jubilee camp over Mr Memusi’s defection.

“All Maasai MPs are in Jubilee. These are our people and we are on the ground talking to them. No one wants to be in the opposition. I can assure you that it is the opposition that will leave Kajiado politically battered on March 16. And I am in charge,” the senator said.

POLITICAL INVESTMENT

On Saturday, ODM Director of Elections Junet Mohammed reiterated that Mr Odinga’s next serious political investment is Kajiado Central.

“This was our seat; there is an unfair attempt to take it away from us. Even the almighty God will sympathise with us as we fight to defend it,” said Mr Mohammed.

He said the party was planning a major campaign launch for the ODM candidate next week after the presentation of nomination papers.

ODM is spoiling for a fight, with party secretary-general Ababu Namwamba saying the Homa Bay contest was a warm-up to the Kajiado duel.

“Homa Bay has given us the right momentum and warning to any person who would have imagined that ODM is a lame duck. Kajiado is a different type of contest, but we are facing it with a lot of confidence,” he said.

Senate Majority Leader Kithure Kindiki, however, sought to downplay the impression that Jubilee was trailing ODM in the by-election campaign.

“We have not even begun our campaigns, so where do you get this impression that we are panicking?” Prof Kindiki said.

The fact that Mr Tutui is a long-time nemesis of the seat’s former occupant, Mr Nkaissery, is also making it hard for JAP to sell him to the people.

“What the people are asking is what detergent he has used to clean Tutui after blackening him so much in the last elections where in each case he trounced him,” said Lemaron Kuyo, one of Mr Memusi’s campaign managers.