By EMEKA-GEKARA MAYAKA gmayaka@ke.nationmedia.com
Posted Saturday, November 19 2011 at 22:30
Posted Saturday, November 19 2011 at 22:30
Eldoret MP and presidential hopeful William Ruto is on the spot over claims he has turned the United Democratic Party UDM) into a one-man show even as the party embarks on a countrywide campaign to recruit members.
The ODM deputy leader has fallen out with Prime Minister Raila Odinga and indicated he intends to vie for the presidency on a UDM ticket.
Though not an official of UDM, Mr Ruto and a group of MPs have been attending UDM meetings as “friends” of the party and have been on a spirited drive across the country marketing it.
But this is causing discomfort within sections of the party.
According to some party officials, there are three issues at stake: the ongoing recruitment, which is seen as controlled by Mr Ruto, the role of sitting MPs in UDM activities and the place of former House Speaker Francis ole Kaparo in the party.
The Sunday Nation has learnt that there is also a strong feeling that Mr Ruto has constantly “side-stepped” the party’s National Executive Council members in making key policy decisions.
Further, some members accuse the Eldoret North MP of hatching a scheme to impose his cronies on the party leadership as well as control its secretariat through the backdoor.
They accuse Mr Ruto of exhibiting the “very same tendencies which he had accused Mr Odinga of practising in ODM”.
“Mr Ruto accused Mr Odinga of turning ODM into a dictatorship and a cult in which adherents were not allowed to raise a finger. We are getting concerned that he also wants to turn UDM into a cult where it is only his voice that matters,” said a senior official who sought anonymity for fear of antagonising the presidential hopeful.
Some party officials are particularly enraged by what they see as Mr Ruto’s control of the recruitment, which they fear might be used to lock out some politicians in the next General Election.
Membership cards
“One presidential hopeful wants to shape the direction of the party through skewed distribution of party membership cards. Everybody should be given an opportunity. Some friends of our party are keen to control the recruitment in order to create a deliberate imbalance,” said UDM vice-chairman Julius Ekwenye, an ally of Mr Joseph Chirchir, the party chairman.
“The same clique has been side-stepping the National Executive Council and wants to run the party through remote control. We are concerned that the printing of party cards is being controlled by the same presidential hopeful,” said Mr Ekwenye.
He also “clarified” that the party had not settled on any presidential candidate.
However, contacted by the Sunday Nation, Mr Ruto denied the claims.
“We have learnt our lessons. We are committed to the principles of democracy and fair competition,” he said and declined further comment.
Notably, the Political Parties Act is strict on the requirement that only card-carrying party members will be allowed to elect candidates at the primaries.
The vice-chairman also raised questions about the distribution of membership cards. “Why print 100,000 cards for one county and 2,000 for another?” he asked.
Mr Stanley Rotich, a member of the party’s NEC, said some members were concerned about the designation of sitting and former MPs as regional party co-ordinators.
The appointed co-ordinators include MPs Aden Duale (North Eastern), Charles Keter (Kericho), Cyrus Jirongo (Western) and former MPs Ananiah Mwaboza (Coast) and Omingo Magara (Kisii).
“It is not our party policy to hand-pick co-ordinators. We respect Mr Ruto and other friends of the party, and we value their contribution in re-energising it. But the MPs should allow wananchi to own the party and its leadership without external influence,” said Mr Rotich.
“The current UDM members are mainly people who were short-changed in the 2007 ODM nominations. We don’t want it to go the ODM way,” said Mr Rotich.
Mr Kaparo has been proposed as party chairman.
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