Silent war in Uhuru camp as teams fight to lead his campaign

President Uhuru Kenyatta’s re-election bid is facing a crisis from within with a simmering battle between the Jubilee Secretariat and a State House team over the control of his re-election campaign.

While there have been tensions between State House and Jubilee House, they have been generally hushed.

However, the rift became public on April 17, when the secretariat, headed by Raphael Tuju, sent out a statement on behalf of President Kenyatta denying that the Head of State had endorsed former Gatanga MP Peter Kenneth for Nairobi governor.

The President had toured Gatanga two days earlier in the company of Mr Kenneth, and had made remarks that were interpreted by some as an endorsement of the former MP’s bid for leadership of the city.

ENDORSEMENT SAGA

Three days after the secretariat’s statement, State House called a press conference, where the President, among other things, also dwelt on the ‘endorsement’ saga.

This might not have meant much to the uninitiated, but behind the scenes, the two teams were pulling as many strings as possible to appear relevant and outwit each other.

People familiar with the internal affairs of the President’s campaign told the Nation that members of the Presidential Strategic Communication Unit (PSCU) feel left out of the bid to have their principal back in State House.

Those at Pangani, on the other hand, believe that they are in the thick of things, and therefore own the campaign.

As such, they reason, they should make key communication decisions and pronouncements regarding the President’s bid.

HIGH POLITICAL STAKES

The battle for space and mettle stems from the high political stakes in the Uhuru camp, which decided earlier to have a separate team handle the campaigns after heads of the coalition were advised not to use civil servants for political communication because of the risk of conflict of interest and negative publicity.

But for those in the PSCU, the secretariat’s emerging powers are a threat to their future and their job security, as they think they run the risk of losing their positions in Mr Kenyatta’s communication circles should he be re-elected.

The fears stem from their route to their current positions; in 2013, Dennis Itumbi and Munyori Buku ran President Kenyatta’s campaign on different fronts, and were rewarded with posts at the PSCU.

TENSIONS APPARENT

“Their fear is that the Pangani team might upstage them and come for their jobs after the elections,” said a source. 

For those in Pangani, however, this is an opportunity to prove their performance and strategically place themselves for whatever may follow after the elections in August.

The tensions and weaknesses were most apparent on the day the party’s nominations aborted. With party members raging and the Opposition jeering, the Pangani team could not come up with a coherent message on what was really happening.

Deputy President William Ruto would later step in and help organise the nominations.

On Sunday, Mr Tuju and State House spokesman Manoah Esipisu played down the conflict.

DETAILED STRUCTURE

“President Kenyatta is our candidate and he lives in State House,” Mr Tuju said of the two teams’ relationship. “We need to, and we do have, a detailed structure and it is easy to get in touch.”

Mr Tuju, whom multiple sources at the party have described as a brilliant strategist with a rare sense of work discipline, termed as “speculation” suggestions that the two teams have not been reading from the same script.

“The people at State House are career civil servants. We are a campaign team at Pangani. It will be impossible to feud over anything. We handle the party and State House handles the President as Head of State. Simple,” explained Mr Tuju.  

“We can only complement each other. State House may sometimes get information before us, and when that happens they share it with us.”

CAMPAIGN PERIOD
Mr Esipisu, on the other hand, described as “seamless” the relationship between the two teams.

“State House Communication is responsible for the Head of State and Government while the campaign (Pangani team) is responsible for the candidate and all issues thereof,” Mr Esipisu told the Nation from China, where he is accompanying the President.

With the nominations now behind them and the campaign period about to officially start, sources within the party said President Kenyatta has reached out to his 2013 team.

His family will also be seeking to establish its role in the campaign and is understood to meet regularly for planning, with execution left to Muhoho Kenyatta, the President’s brother.