PNU beckons Karua in 2012 game plan

The coalition has resolved to reach out to Narc Kenya leader Martha Karua (above) and invite her to participate in primaries to select PNU’s flag bearer. Photo/FILE 

By MUGUMO MUNENE mmunene@ke.nationmedia.comPosted Saturday, December 4 2010 at 22:10

The PNU coalition has resolved to include all member parties in the process of nominating a presidential candidate as it works to set up a formidable political machine for the 2012 elections.

Consequently, the coalition has resolved to reach out to Narc Kenya leader Martha Karua and assistant minister Peter Kenneth and invite them to participate in primaries to select PNU’s flag bearer.

PNU’s political rivals Kalonzo Musyoka (Vice-President), George Saitoti (Internal Security minister) and Uhuru Kenyatta (Deputy Prime Minister) have agreed that grassroots elections early next year will help them resolve the sticky question of who will lead the party to victory.

Mr Musyoka, Mr Kenyatta and Prof Saitoti have signed an agreement setting out the rules by which they will play to determine who among the frontrunners should lead the quest to succeed President Kibaki.

The 17-point agreement, sources privy to their discussions told the Sunday Nation, was signed three weeks ago on the sidelines of the Cabinet retreat in Diani, South Coast.

“They signed the document, and the President was briefed about the developments,” said a party official who requested anonymity because he had not been authorised to make the information public.

A follow-up meeting was held last week at Fairview Hotel in Nairobi that was described by three independent sources who attended it as “a beginning”.

As part of the secret arrangement, the leaders are also hoping to reach out to suspended Higher Education Minister William Ruto for cooperation. As part of the game plan, Mr Musyoka and Mr Ruto held a meeting in Karen last Friday.

Aides confirmed the hour-long morning meeting to the Sunday Nation.

Brainstorming session

Subsequently, the VP will visit Nandi ton Sunday. Last Tuesday’s meeting was convened by Energy minister Kiraitu Murungi and attended by Mr Musyoka, Mr Kenyatta, Safina leader Paul Muite, DP secretary-general Chris Murungaru, assistant minister Mwangi Kiunjuri representing GNU and other party leaders.

Others present were Cabinet ministers Sam Ongeri, Njeru Githae and Chirau Ali Mwakwere. The media were kept away from the closed-door brainstorming session.

“We held frank discussions and said any protocol that has to be signed has to involve everyone. You can’t go aside as three people and sign an MoU and then call others.

“In any case, each of the three who has signed a protocol is individually running their own shows,” said one of the leaders who attended the meeting but who requested anonymity as he didn’t want to be seen to breach their confidentiality agreement.

The dinner was held the same week that Mr Kenyatta and Mr Ruto met in Mr Murungi’s office where they discussed, among other things, “working together politically”.

National and political issues

A close ally of Mr Ruto said political and national issues were on the agenda. But he was noncommittal on details, adding only that more would be seen in the coming days.

“Yes, the meeting took place ... we were discussing quite a number of other issues,” Cherangany MP Joshua Kutuny told the Sunday Nation.

Mr Kutuny said the two politicians have agreed to continue working together. Details of how the two would “worktogether politically” would be discussed at a later stage.

Quit, rebels told

“We are currently concentrating on the issues that affect the country right now, including the row over the constituencies and the commissions on the implementation of the Constitution,” Mr Kutuny said.

Others at the meeting included Belgut MP Charles Keter and Chepalungu MP Issac Ruto. The meeting was held at a time when Prime Minister Raila Odinga dared rebels in his ODM party to quit instead of antagonising the rest.

The group that met Mr Kenyatta is perceived to be the breakaway faction of ODM allied to Mr Ruto, who is also a deputy leader of the Orange party. Mr Kutuny added that Mr Kenyatta wanted to “understand” what the issue was with the constituencies.

“You are going to see more meetings taking place with Isaac (Ruto) chairing a caucus to find the way forward on resolving the controversy,” he said. PNU has been involved in a flurry of activities in the last two weeks.

Last Saturday, the party held a national delegates conference in Nairobi on the same day former Cabinet minister Njenga Karume was hosting a group of leaders styling themselves as Gema delegates in Nakuru where they resolved to find a Central Kenya leader to back in the 2012 contest.

Prior to that, Mr Kenyatta hosted councillors from central Kenya at his late father’s home in Gatundu on Monday where he declared he was going to seek the top seat.

Speakers at the meeting challenged the DPM to declare if he intended to run for president in 2012 elections, and he said he did.

Mr Kenyatta urged all interested candidates within the region to agree to a free, fair and open nomination process to determine the community’s flag bearer who would thereafter be supported by the rest in order to forge a formidable united challenge to ODM and other candidates.