Kibaki thwarting Raila's efforts

Prime Minister Raila Odinga is fighting to contain the widening rift in his party and claimed the Party of National Unity (PNU) was fuelling the feud in the orange party.

Raila claimed PNU was bribing some of his allies-turned-foes to bring down ODM.

He said PNU leaders were "giving sweets here and there" to fuel wrangles so that his party can be wrecked from within.

The PM said: "The unfortunate bit is that my colleagues in the party do not realise these are still our enemies. How do you become friends overnight with people you were fighting (politically) the other day."

Speaking during an interview aired on Kass FM last week, Raila termed as unjustified, the feud in ODM, saying it would only serve to give PNU a political edge over ODM.

He also called for a truce and called on ODM leaders to focus on building a stronger party ahead of 2012 General Election.

On the cemetery scandal implicating Deputy Prime Minister Musalia Mudavadi, Raila said he is ready to ask Mudavadi to step aside should investigation show he is a suspect.

"But how can I do that if those I have asked to step aside have been told to stay on. It would be pointless to repeat such an action," he added.

The Prime Minister, however, defended Mudavadi saying investigation into the scam was not targeted at the real culprits but "against the Local Government Minister in a veiled political war against the ODM leadership".

He said President Kibaki was thwarting his efforts to instill discipline in Government. "Right now we have hit a deadlock in the fight against graft," he added.

Elaborate scheme

Raila said the recent transformation of PNU into the Progressive Democratic Movement (PDM), with an acronym close to ODM revealed an elaborate political scheme targeted at his party.

He, however, said the movement would not present a political threat to ODM.

"It is like giving a dog a sheep’s name. It simply cannot work," he told the station.

While asking leaders in ODM to stick together, Raila assured those harbouring presidential ambitions that presidential nominations in the party would be free and fair, adding he is willing to support whoever emerges victorious.

He added: "ODM is still a formidable party. We can still get where we were going if we remain united. Whether it is [Agriculture Minister William] Ruto, Mudavadi or Raila."

Mr Ruto has broken ranks with the PM and has given indications he will team up against Raila in the next elections.

Raila also said leaders in ODM should desist from tribal politics if they hoped to get votes countrywide.

"You cannot be elected President with Kalenjin or Luo votes only. One must endear themselves to all communities. Resorting to alliances such as KKK is like reverting to colonial politics," he said.