Secret talks for senate and governorship

By Standard Team

County leadership is living up to its billing as the next big thing, with the senate and governorship eliciting feverish interest from top public figures.

Serving, retired and youthful politicians in concert with other individuals, groups and communities are retreating to regional cocoons for intense caucusing.

It is barely two weeks after the new Constitution came into force, and the big battle is beginning to shape up into a veritable tale of the county conspiracy. Enquiries by The Standard On Sunday among some leaders, including MPs, are wary that early election could be called once crucial provisions of the new Constitution are in place.

It is in both this context and the race for the influential county positions that public meetings and secretive boardroom negotiations are being held across the country to gauge the public mood and strategise.

However, critics view this caucusing as sidestepping the electorate’s right to make a direct pick of preferred candidates, but it is the elite’s preferred mode as it takes cognisance of the need for delicate balancing to cater for the various interests.

The likelihood of an early election was the talking appoint among some leaders we spoke to.

For instance, Chief Whip Jakoyo Midiwo (ODM) said there might be need to seek fresh mandate from the peole once the new Constitution is in place.

Fresh mandate

Said he: "Some of us think there may not be much else to do after the implementation Bills are passed and new institutions are in place.

"The Tenth Parliament has more or less done its duty by passing the new Constitution. Once the laws are in place, some might want to go back to the people to seek fresh mandate," he said in an interview.

And though the strategies for the politicians may vary from region to region, the flurry of activity rolled out in the last one-week alone is dazzling.

In Nairobi, there were multiple meetings of various regions across the country.

Central Province has also been active, with leading local businessmen and politicians holding a mammoth rally at Ihuura Stadium on Saturday last week to launch Murang’a County.

A similar function was held last Tuesday in Kiambu, the county where Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta calls home.

And on Thursday, Solicitor-General Mr Wanjuki Muchemi and Nairobi Provincial Commissioner Mr Waweru Ndirangu hosted professionals from Nyeri at the Public Service Members Club in Nairobi under the banner Nyeri County Forum. On the agenda was the establishment of the county government.

Similar meetings were held on Friday for the new counties of Nyandarua and Meru, with Energy Minister Kiraitu Murungi attending the latter.

And in the Rift Valley, Information Minister Samwel Poghisio on Saturday held a successful meeting in Lomut with elders, church, civic, women and youth leaders to strategise on the way forward for the West Pokot County.

Sources said the Kacheliba MP was endorsed for senator while Industrialisation PS Prof John Lonyangapuo was proposed for governor.

Tugen professionals also reportedly held a meeting in Nairobi and Eldama Ravine on Friday, and are expected to hold a follow-up one towards the end of this week in Kabarnet town.

In the North Rift region, for instance, leaders from two dominant sub-tribes in Elgeyo/Marakwet County were lobbying for positions ahead of the 2012 General Election.

"We will hold a major meeting in the next few weeks in Tambach to chart the way forward, but we will go by consensus to avoid previous stand-offs between the two communities," said Shadrack Kipkemboi, the Marakwet West Kanu branch chairman.

Keiyo South ODM branch chairman Micah Kigen said it was important for the two communities to amicably pick credible leaders and professionals to take charge of the county affairs.

In the Coast Province, some leaders of minority groups fearing marginalisation are reportedly regrouping to form a bloc to claim one of the seats.

And in Nyanza and Western provinces, leaders various stakeholders — parties, women and youth —said minority communities and their larger neighbours would not wait for the Government to resolve the issue of county leadership.

Strike a deal

"If we are unable to strike a deal, we will resort to Memoranda of Understanding where each group will be allowed to produce one person for the available positions," said an MP in Kakamega.

Leaders in the two provinces have suggested that a give-and-take method be used in the power sharing deal, the way the Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) manages its leadership politics.

Narok South MP Nkoidila Ole Lankas called for tribal balancing in the allocation of seats, saying there was need to accommodate all communities living within the county.

Politicians with deep-rooted rivalry would be forced to work together politically because they would be in the same county.

The case of perennial rivals Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka and Water minister Charity Ngilu, who are grouped together in Kitui County, is interesting.

In Nyanza, negotiations have been hit by protests amongst the politicians.

In Narok, community leaders retreated to an unknown location on Saturday to come up with their line-up in the devolved government.

The meeting comes a day after a group of Maasai leaders met at The Africa Hope Centre in Narok to strategise on how to capture major seats and share out the rest with other communities.

"We were meeting to chart out the community’s future in the face of the changing political and administrative landscape," said Mr Jackson Mpatinga, a nominated councillor.

"What we have is very far from the Nigerian or American federal system of government, but it is a good starting point that can be developed," says constitutional law lecturer, Mr Mutakha Kangu.

—Reporting by Oscar Obonyo, Biketi Kiketi, Gakuu Mathenge, Anderson Ojwang’, Kepher Otieno and Willis Oketch