Cord leaders fear Raila will turn them into flower girls come 2017

The renewed energy being displayed by ODM leader Raila Odinga is breeding anxiety in Cord with his co-principals fearing this could reduce them to “flower girls” as the clock ticks towards the next elections.

Supporters of Wiper party under former Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka and Senate Minority Leader Moses Wetang’ula’s Ford-K interpret Mr Odinga’s act of showmanship as the clearest sign that he is not about to hang up his boots yet.

Mr Odinga has spared no chance to demonstrate that he is the man to beat for the coalition’s presidential ticket ahead of 2017 polls and his supporters want to hear nothing short of this.

Although they cannot publicly concede, the Sunday Nation is aware that both Mr Musyoka and Senator Wetang’ula are deeply concerned about the dilemma that Cord’s 2017 ticket portends with their supporters pushing them to go for the ultimate prize.

Each of them is on record as asking to be supported to run for president when elections are called.

Mr Odinga’s launch of a website as well as an SMS platform through which he interacts directly with supporters are some of the reasons being cited by Wiper and Ford-K to prove their point.

'ONE BULLET LEFT'

To some of them, this is an indication that the former prime minister is not ruling out the option of going it alone as those around him like his party Secretary-General Ababu Namwamba insists he has “one bullet left” in his political rifle that he must put into use in 2017.

Indeed, key confidantes of Mr Musyoka and Senator Wetang’ula told the Sunday Nation that it would be hard for the alliance to hold should their ODM counterparts continue viewing them as junior partners. The former premier’s party has more members compared to the two parties.

Also stoking tension is the zoning strategy that lists Western, Nyanza and Coast as ODM strongholds with all the three counties in Ukambani – Makueni, Kitui and Machakos – considered Wiper’s turf. Both the Orange party and Ford-K stake a claim to Western as their bastion.

Ford-K is the most concerned. Its MPs, who requested not to be named for fear of being accused of rocking the coalition, say their man stands to lose the most if Mr Odinga runs. It would mean he misses out on an opportunity to be either a presidential candidate or at least a running mate.
Self-centred thoughts

But the party’s secretary- general Eseli Simiyu maintains such apprehension is not shared by the majority.

“Some MPs have rather self-centred inclinations that may not be in the interest of the whole. I have always advised them that anyone not comfortable with the circumstances is free to leave and the earlier the better so that we know our real strength without carrying too much dead weight,” he said.

A senior official of the Orange party admitted that they are on a campaign to assert it as the dominant party, signalling a departure from the last two years when most of the activities have been coordinated at Cord secretariat level.

JOINT RETREAT

“There is a feeling that the coalition is slow in reacting or stating its position in matters of national interest. That ODM members have been sticking their necks out more than Wiper and Ford-Kenya cannot be gainsaid,” the MP said.

So grim has the concern become that the three leaders will be hosting their members to a joint retreat in the first week of September to reassure them all was well.

A disintegrated Cord would hand the ruling Jubilee alliance an election bonanza were TNA and URP to stick together like President Uhuru Kenyatta and his Deputy William Ruto have been telling their supporters.

Information from closed-door deliberations at the ODM retreat at Maanzoni Lodge on Monday obtained by the Sunday Nation depicts a party out to avoid being caught up in the crosshairs of its partners in the alliance while at the same time keen to mark its own sphere of influence.

At the meeting, some members wanted House Minority Leader Francis Nyenze (Wiper), accused of a lacklustre performance since he took the key position in 2013, dislodged from the seat and replaced by a more vibrant lawmaker. The Minority Leader is an official position in the National Assembly where opposition positions are supposed to revolve but Mr Nyenze does not appear abrasive enough for the position to some Cord insiders. His equal in the Senate is Mr Wetang’ula.

Picking a cue from former party Secretary-General and Kisumu Senator Anyang’ Nyong’o Mr Odinga had to rein in his troops to drop the matter.

An MP who attended the meeting confided to us that Prof Nyong’o warned that doing so would, to their detriment, rattle Cord.

Despite the storm, Dr Simiyu is upbeat that Cord will storm the weather and remain intact.

OVERSHADOWING ACTIVITIES

“Coalitions of political parties are tricky to manage especially when not in power. That Cord has survived this long is a credit to astute management strategies in a situation where your strategic partner can also be your competitors,” he said.

The same need to preserve the union saw the opposition chief’s lieutenants shelve plans to disengage from the alliance amid concerns that Cord was overshadowing its activities.

Wiper Secretary-General Senator Hassan Omar disputes the “conjecture that the Orange party was more willing to plunge into controversial topics” and called for tolerance.

“That’s out of order,” he said. He, however, acknowledged that cases of Wiper MPs having a dalliance with Jubilee were holding them back. “I appreciate that there are a lot of distractions as some Wiper MPs appear to support Jubilee because they think there are no consequences. The party leader has told Wiper MPs to up their game.”

Mr Namwamba and his counterpart in charge of campaigns Junet Mohamed declined to comment on the subject, a further demonstration of the caution they are taking.

Part of the reason some Wiper lawmakers are now gravitating around Machakos Governor Dr Alfred Mutua is the belief that Mr Musyoka has no chance in Cord unless he continues playing second fiddle to Mr Odinga. 

MPs Vincent Musyoka (Mwala), John Munuve (Mwingi North), Joe Mutambu (Mwingi Central) and Rachael Nyamai (Kitui South) have asked Dr Mutua to convene a meeting of ‘Ukambani leaders’ with a view to determining the community’s political destiny.

The Mombasa Senator downplays the internal rivalry, saying parties should be allowed to popularise their presidential aspirants across the country.

STRONGER AFFILIATES

“Stronger affiliates make a solid alliance. Our principals are within their legitimate rights to plan for the presidential bids. Nothing should stop them from running their programmes,” he said.

Both Mr Musyoka and Mr Wetang’ula have alluded to an existing pact, which reportedly says Mr Odinga would be a one term president and thereafter pass on the baton to the Wiper leader and the Bungoma senator as his running mate.

Mr Odinga’s handlers are, however, of the view that the pact is obsolete and could only be cited had he won the presidency in 2013.

Interestingly, Mr Omar expressed his intention to have the Cord retreat conduct an evaluation of House leadership, a hot potato that ODM avoided.

“People cannot take up leadership positions and operate like Nyayo-era ministers. We need them to deliver on these roles. They are not matching up in terms of neutralising Jubilee, you see Duale and Kindiki (Majority Leaders in Parliament Aden Duale and Kithure Kindiki) running all over, where are our troops?” he said.

Kenya’s political history is replete with fluid alliances, a fact reinforced by last-minute alignments and re-alignments, making it hard to predict who would be in which camp in the next elections.

Some of the lawmakers have acknowledged that to revamp Cord and enhance its chances in the next presidential elections will require attracting new entrants who will certainly disturb the power balance as currently constituted.