Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Make or break time for Ruto



By Vitalis Kimutai and Peter Mutai

January is a testing month for Eldoret North MP William Ruto who faces the harsh possibility of having to look for a new party to sponsor his presidential bid to avoid having to run as an
Eldoret North MP William Ruto who faces the harsh possibility of having to look for a new party to sponsor his presidential bid [Photo: File/Standard]
independent candidate.
In addition, the former minister is awaiting a ruling by the International Criminal Court’s Pre-Trial Chamber II on whether he should stand trial at The Hague over allegations he was a co-conspirator in crimes against humanity alongside Tinderet MP Henry Kosgey and radio executive Joshua Sang following the 2008 post-election violence.
Despite statements to the contrary by Ruto and several MPs close to him, sources within the United Democratic Movement (UDM) say opposition to his much-touted takeover of the party has grown significantly and the group is now shopping for a new party.
Strong indications that Ruto and allied MPs might ditch UDM became evident on Monday evening during a long meeting at the Palacina hotel in Nairobi.
Dujis MP Aden Duale, a Ruto ally, told The Standard that as many as 47 MPs — mainly from Rift Valley — who have been supporting UDM will hold a Parliamentary group meeting today to chart the way forward.
"We have open options and at least one or two parties to choose from, as we do not want a property (party) that is in dispute," Duale said in regards to the row in UDM.
Ruto and his group have for some time portrayed a sense of entitlement to UDM that now appears to have been shattered.
Belgut MP Charles Keter is among Ruto’s allies stung by the fierce opposition the Eldoret North MP is facing in UDM. Keter claimed UDM is in the limelight due to the tireless efforts of Ruto, whom he said used his resources and time to market it across the country, winning civic seats in by-elections held in Meru and Coast region last year.
Bite the Bullet
But even he appeared resigned to the inevitable, saying it is high time Ruto and his team moved to another party.
"In my own opinion, it is high time that we bite the bullet and moved on since there are a lot of issues which needs to be sorted out in UDM which has proved that the party is not headed anywhere and we should move to something different," he said.
Others fault Ruto for rushing to embrace the party before first securing total control over its instruments of registration and officials, saying the move has left him vulnerable in the presidential race compared to his allies with similar ambitions.
They point out that Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta is still in Kanu, while Kalonzo is revamping his Wiper Democratic Movement party.
However, Chepalungu MP Isaac Ruto said the issue of who holds UDM’s registration certificate was irrelevant saying what matters most in the current dispensation was party membership.
The matter has assumed gigantic proportions for Ruto as his supporters have all along presented him as the main presidential hope for the Kalenjin in the expansive Rift Valley, many of who automatically assumed he would take over UDM.
Ruto’s failure so far to stem opposition to his candidature in UDM might have severely dented such claims, and the urgency for Ruto to have a "Plan B" has grown with a High Court ruling to establish the status of the bona fide officials of UDM due on January 24.
Ruto and a group of MPs from the Rift Valley have all but decamped from the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) the sponsored them to Parliament after falling out with Prime Minister Raila Odinga, and declaring UDM their party of choice.
But they opted to remain ODM members on paper after realizing that formal resignations would force them out of Parliament and trigger by-elections in their constituencies that they are not guaranteed to win.
Their plans to take over UDM ran into a major hurdle after a group claiming to be the bona fide officials filed a case in the High Court blocking Ruto and his supporters from purporting to speak for the party or conducting its affairs, including electing new officials.
Mr Martin Kamwaro and Lieutenant General (retired) John Koech who are listed in the suit papers as ssecretary general and chairman respectively, say Ruto and his team are plotting an illegality by seeking to elect new officials.
A pensive mood has engulfed the Ruto group who on Monday held secret talks on the matter.
Sources privy to the meeting told The Standard MPs present believe the court will rule in favour of Kamwaro and Lt Gen Koech and emphasised the need to shop for a new party.
Sources told The Standard that MPs at the meeting explored the possibility of reconciling the two warring factions in UDM and prevailing on Kamwaro and Koech to withdraw the court case, although this is regarded as a long shot.
The Ruto group had settled on Koech’s rival, a Mr Joseph Chirchir, to be chairman of the party but the former’s decision to go to court has left them stumped.
"The MPs were of the feeling that the rift in the party needed to be sorted out as soon as possible to stem a further fallout among the members (in Ruto’s group) which would be expensive for UDM whose grassroots support has been growing by the day," an MP who attended the meeting, but asked not to be named, told The Standard.
The source said several prominent allies of the Eldoret North MP attended the three-hour meeting at Palacina Hotel in Nairobi’s Kileleshwa area, including Assistant Minister Kazungu Kambi, MPs Aden Duale (Dujis), Ekwe Ethuro (Turkana Central), Charles Keter (Belgut), Isaac Ruto (Chepalungu) and former MP Omingo Magara.
On January 24 Justice Mohamed Warsame will rule on a constitutional reference filed by Koech, who has contested his ouster in controversial elections a year ago that saw Chirchir installed as interim chairman of UDM. Koech told the court the action by UDM’s National Executive Council (NEC) infringed on his fundamental right as a party member.
At the time, those behind the alleged ouster claimed Koech had displayed a conflict of interest because he already on held a public office as chairman of the Poverty Eradication Commission.
Through lawyer Mugambi Imanyara, Koech is also seeking to bar Ruto from being a member, chairman, party leader or official, until the matter is heard and determined by the High Court.
Kamwaro recently led 23 officials of UDM’s National Executive Council (NEC) in accusing Ruto and his allies of plotting a hostile takeover of the party.
He said disciplinary action would be taken against Chirchir for convening an illegal extraordinary NEC meeting at the party’s Lavington offices.
Chirchir led over 25 NEC members to the meeting that sanctioned party elections between February 7 and 22, prompting Kamwaro’s team to hold a parallel meeting at the former Red Card Centre in Upper Hill.
Koech said they (his group) are in "full control" of UDM as the custodians of the party’s registration instruments and elections for national officials are not due until next year.
"Ruto and his allies should know that we have fully constituted NEC members who are in office up to 2013. We will definitely move to court to stop them from interfering with our party as they have no right to do so," Koech told The Standard.
He added: "The Party’s top officials and NEC were elected in December 2008 as per our constitution and they will remain in office until 2013. What we are planning are elections at the county level to conform with the county structures as the rest of the team is intact."
On a non-confrontational and optimistic note, they came up with what could be their last plea: "Let us not enact a constitution that will bring injustice. Our children and future generations are depending on us to make a good constitution.”

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