Coalitions bring together strange bedfellows

Now we have established beyond the shadow of a doubt that our politicians are like-minded. Now we know without an iota of ambiguity what the politicians mean when they say they are looking for like-minded parties to work with.

And, of course, now it is as black and white as a panda: there are neither permanent friends nor foes in the political arena. The only thing that is permanent is the interest of the politicians and that is to get power by whatever means.

By power, I mean that elective office which then opens the way for the politician to get an even more powerful office. Yesterday the means to that desired or coveted office was the party; today it is the constellation or coalition of parties.

These coalitions, which exploded on the scene a week ago today in Nakuru and reached a frenetic climax on Tuesday in Nairobi, have resulted in the most absurd and grotesque political landscape Kenya has seen since the return of multi-party politics 20 years ago.

So we have Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka joining forces with his nemeses Prime Minister Raila Odinga and Water Minister Charity Ngilu to gun for power in something called Coalition of Reform and Democracy (CORD).

I have typified the relationship between the VP and PM as that between a snake and a mongoose – they want to kill each other. Mrs Ngilu’s disdain for the VP is matched only by her derision for his every word and deed. Talk about strange bedfellows!

Before Mrs Ngilu showed up at the CORD event, she had been courted by then G-7 Alliance of Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta and Eldoret North MP William Ruto.

Mr Musyoka had calculated that Mr Kenyatta and Mr Ruto would be his natural political soul mates. After all, he had campaigned vigorously overseas for their cases to be tried locally.

Indeed, were the three not united in their hatred for the PM, who they variously described as a dictator and who Mr Kenyatta and Mr Ruto have blamed for their cases at the International Criminal Court (ICC)?

When Mr Kenyatta and Mr Ruto made clear their preference for Mrs Ngilu, Mr Musyoka left apparently to woo Mr Musalia Mudavadi of the United Democratic Forum (UDF).

But, as the VP courted Mr Mudavadi, his lieutenants and money men, Kangundo MP Johnstone Muthama and Education Minister Mutula Kilonzo, set off to chart an alliance with Mr Odinga, a man Muthama has had nothing but antipathy for since 2007.

The Wiper Democratic Movement was split down the middle, with some party MPs demanding that Mr Musyoka signs a deal with UDF, others clamouring for a UHURUTO pact and yet others favouring the marriage with ODM. Mr Muthama and Mr Kilonzo carried the day.

But how on earth did Mr Mudavadi end up with UHURUTO? He was expected to team up with Mr Raphael Tuju of the Party of Action and Mr Peter Kenneth of the Kenya National Congress. Mr Musyoka was wooing him to follow him into CORD.

Mr Mudavadi would rather have jumped into the duvet with Mr Kenneth and Mr Tuju than return to Mr Odinga’s side. But Mr Kenyatta and Mr Ruto needed a big catch for three important reasons.

They feared they would be easily dismissed as a coalition of the angry and hate-driven ICC accused whose communities – Kikuyu and Kalenjin – are keen to keep the presidency to themselves to the exclusion of other communities.

Third, Mr Mudavadi had to be kept away from Mr Odinga. Mr Mudavadi was preferred to the peripatetic Justice Minister Eugene Wamalwa of New Ford Kenya as a Luhya counter-weight to Trade Minister Moses Wetang’ula of Ford Kenya.

Mr Wamalwa ended up with the most bizarre arrangement yet. He teamed up with Mr Nicholas Biwott of New Vision Party and Mr Cyrus Jirongo of the Federal Party of Kenya. Something tells me alliances may yet shift and shift again.

Kwendo Opanga is a media consultant [email protected]