The ODM rebel and his allies repeated their threats to decamp to UDM, even as they bide their time in the Orange party that gave them tickets to Parliament.
But analysts have in recent weeks intimated the group is unlikely to resign en-masse so soon from ODM, as there is no guarantee they will retain their seats in the ensuing by-elections. Invoking Ruto’s name may not be enough to lock in support.
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| Eldoret North MP William Ruto at a rally at Moding Primary School in Teso recently. While in Samburu over the weekend, Ruto hinted his group was destined for UDM party. Photo: Benjamin Sakwa/Standard |
Complicating things further, the law states that candidates in any election should have been members of their sponsoring parties at least three months prior to the polls.
Joining another party triggers automatic expulsion and ODM would immediately write to the Registrar of Parties Lucy Ndung’u to ask Speaker Kenneth Marende to declare the seats vacant.
For now, however, the Ruto rebels plan to spark more divisions within ODM to keep its leadership busy, while hanging on to UDM as their option should they be expelled from the Orange party.
Led by Ruto, the group spent time in rallies last week bashing the ODM party leader, Prime Minister Raila Odinga.
Last week the Eldoret North MP while on a tour of Sololo in Moyale, Baragoi, Wambaa and Maralal in Samburu District and Loyangalan, Korr and Laisamis in Marsabit District, claimed it was intolerance of the ODM leadership that was pushing them out of the party.
"There is idol worship in ODM, and if you don’t adore the little gods, you are either threatened with expulsion from committees or are removed from Government," alleged Ruto.
While in Samburu over the weekend, Ruto said his group was destined for UDM in all the three rallies he addressed at Wambaa, Baragoi and Maralal.
Fighting from within"Kuna vyama vingi katika ODM. Kuna UDM ya mama Sambili na Narc ya Ngilu. Mtu akilete kisirani tunaweza amua tuende UDM (There are many parties within ODM. There is Sambili’s UDM and Ngilu’s Narc. If someone brings problems, we can decide to join UDM)," Ruto told the Samburu rallies, accompanied by 12 MPs
Both (Hellen) Sambili and (Charity) Ngilu are ministers serving in the Grand Coalition Government, courtesy of the ODM wing of the coalition. ODM has already expelled two MPs allied to the Ruto camp — Dujis MP Aden Dualle and his Chepalungu counterpart Isaac Ruto.
The two have, however, written to the Registrar of Political
"We have the right to work with affiliate parties like the People Democratic Party (PDP), Narc and Chama Cha Uzalendo (CCU). They should sack Sambili first before telling us not to support UDM," said Duale, one of the ODM vice-chairmen.
The MPs allied to Ruto who have been supporting candidates running on UDM tickets in civic by-elections claim that most of them won, and that this indicates the party enjoys ground support.
UDM Secretary General, lawyer Martin ole Kamwaro, recently attributed what he called the party’s good performance in civic by-elections to prior organisation and free and fair nomination process.
In the recent by-elections, UDM won four civic seats and Kamwaro was eager claim growing popularity of the party in Coast, Rift Valley and Central provinces.
Ruto’s group last week held meetings with their lawyers in Nairobi, where the decision to have the two expelled MPs write to the Registrar of Societies was mooted. The meeting resolved that ODM’s constitution allows affiliate parties to be active.
But in his response to the claim, ODM Chief Whip Jakoyo Midiwo said: "The Political Parties Act 2008 and our internal party constitution offers various avenues for legal action. We opted to apply the former, which states in part ‘a member who acts or colludes with another party that is in competition with his party shall cease to be a member’."
To the ODM leadership, Duale and Ruto (Isaac) have been advancing interests of the coalition rival PNU, other than ODM’s.
New angleIt has also emerged that apart from fighting the ODM leadership over the expulsions, a new angle has emerged in the crisis facing the country’s most dominant political party.
UDM now plans to lay claim to part of the political party funds allocated to ODM on the basis of its being an affiliate of the Orange party.
The party’s top brass said it would be writing to the Registrar of Political Parties to get a slice of the Sh67 million allocated annually to ODM.
Kamwaro, the UDM Secretary-General, has threatened to go to court if they did not get their share this financial year, saying they were entitled to the funds.
"ODM has even nominated a UDM MP, Prof Hellen Sambili, as a minister to the Cabinet and it is time we were given our share just like it happened to Narc-Kenya, an affiliate of PNU," Kamwaro said.
Kamwaro has at the same time hit out at ODM over its move to expel the two MPs. According to the lawyer, ODM broke its own rules, which clearly state how such cases should be treated and dispensed with.
He said the issue should have been handed to the party disciplinary committee and later to the National Executive Council (NEC), instead of the party rushing to the Registrar of Political Parties.
"The ODM NEC should have later handed the matter to the national governing council, which requires a two thirds majority to suspend or expel a member," added Kamwaro.
He said this did not happen and accused ODM of turning out to be a dictatorial party and taking the country back to the dark days when democracy never flourished. Kamwaro was speaking at Sumpurai, Narok County, at a well-attended rally.
The party treasurer Yusuf Abdi wondered how ODM was expected to follow the new Constitution if it was not abiding by its own rules.
"It’s time we stood up and rejected the move by ODM, which is taking us back to the old days when anybody who differed with the top leadership was shown the door," added Abdi.
UDM first national Vice Chairman Julius Ekwenye accused ODM of being scared by the fast rise of UDM.
"ODM is taking us back to the dark days of impunity and we ask those ODM MPs that have been suspended to join us in UDM for us to move ahead," added Ekwenye.
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