Sunday, June 10, 2012

Uhuru move shatters Kiraitu’s kingmaker dream


By WAINAINA NDUNG’U
If political realignments in Mt Kenya region would make one man bitter, it would be Energy Minister Kiraitu Murungi.
In the earlier days when some key players had not identified political vehicles for their presidential bid, Kiraitu was riding on a wave and looked set to be an influential kingmaker in the next General Election.
During the hotly contested Kirinyaga Central by-election in which the winner Gachoki Gitari was pitted against Narc-Kenya candidate Daniel Karaba, Kiraitu warned the flower party leader and presidential aspirant Martha Karua that the Uhuru Kenyatta wave would relegate her into political oblivion.
The minister was also instrumental in organising the signing of a protocol last year between Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka, Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta, and Internal Security Minister George Saitoti where they pledged to support one of them for president.
During the launch of the Alliance Party of Kenya (APK) in Nairobi two weeks ago, Kiraitu spoke fondly of the pact.
The Imenti South MP also played a key role in organising Uhuru’s prayer meetings in the region prior to his appearance at the International Criminal Court for confirmation of charges hearing last year.
An MP associated with APK says then it was apparent that Uhuru faced a rebellious Kanu faction and lacked a secure political party to launch his presidential bid.
Abandoned the party
The Party of National Unity (PNU), which Kiraitu was Secretary General and most Mt Kenya MPs belonged to, was marred with confusion as party leader Prof Saitoti had presidential ambition and was obviously not keen to give up.
A former MP associated with PNU say they were surprised when Kiraitu abandoned the party to launch APK.
But a Mt Kenya MP allied to Uhuru’s camp says the Energy minister was specifically tasked to form APK as an insurance against Saitoti’s hold on PNU.
Interestingly MPs who stuck with Kiraitu and ended up in the APK like Mathira MP Ephraim Maina were most enthusiastic when the party last year called, but later postponed the recruitment drive.
APK was seen as the region’s preferred vehicle for the elections. Indeed that was the origin of the ‘bus’ symbol.
The recruitment drive was called off several times after differences emerged on whether the proposed alliance was to have individual, political party membership, or a combination of both.
Kiraitu’s allies were taken aback when it became apparent two months ago that Uhuru was going to launch a brand new political outfit –The National Alliance (TNA) – completely disregarding the groundwork that had been painstakingly laid by APK.
An MP who is allied to Kiraitu told The Standard On Sunday when it became apparent TNA was to be launched, they had two options – to stick with their own alliance or troop to the new outfit.
“Kiraitu literally saw his dream of playing regional kingmaker dissipate.  He did a lot of bitter lobbying to convince his key allies not to join the new outfit,” says a politician who has stuck with the Energy minister. 
According to another key ally of Kiraitu, many of his supporters felt frustrated by the TNA surprise entry because they could not go back to Saitoti’s PNU, which they left in a huff. Key players in PNU have never forgiven Kiraitu for leading a mass walkout that substantially weakened their outfit.
Expecting to gain
One of the earliest pointers that the APK family was bitter with the entry of TNA was a press conference called in Nyeri on the Sunday after TNA was given an interim registration certificate on Thursday.
Assistant Minister Mwangi Kiunjuri, Maina and former minister Christopher Murungaru, who is the Democratic Party (DP) Secretary General, were present.
Kiunjuri’s party – the Grand National Union (GNU) – as well as DP were some of the parties that were expecting to gain a major political foothold if Uhuru Kenyatta had decided to launch his presidential bid on either of the parties ticket.
An insider who attended the conference confided that a big section of the Mt Kenya region felt let down by Uhuru and claimed that TNA had its roots in Kiambu, but one of the DPM’s ally said he had settled for the party with a national outlook.
Kiraitu spoke of the frustrations early this week saying he was not doubtful the original dream of G7 Alliance would be realised.
The minister’s bitterness first appeared to explode into the open last weekend when he told APK Meru Delegates Conference that he was tired of being taken in a merry go round.
“I am not a water tap, robot or electric light to be switched on and off at will,” he said.
Kiraitu’s key ally added that the Ameru with 1.5 million votes would only vote for a candidate who gives the running mate post to him (Kiraitu).
Speaking at a ceremony attended by MPs Silas Muriuki (Imenti North) and Peter Munya (Tigania East), the minister urged G7 leaders to tour Meru and inform residents of their manifesto.
The complication is that it would hardly be feasible for Kiraitu to be a running mate to Uhuru and Saitoti and even Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka given Kenya’s delicate ethnic balancing.
Having experienced bitter falling outs with some of the Meru-Embu MPs like Kareke Mbiuki (Nithi) and Cecily Mbarire (Runyenjees), and archrivals like Gitobu Imanyara (Imenti Central) and Mithika Linturi (Igembe South) it will be interesting to see whether the minister would effectively play regional kingmaker.
Rivalry
He had told the meeting that APK was an outfit, which would bring together the Ameru to push for common interests, but Mbiuki dismissed the idea.
“Where will a Meru party take the entire community unless we team up with others to come up with one formidable force to battle it out with the ODM during the General Election?” posed Mbiuki.
He claims the two MPs sticking with Kiraitu are doing so because of personal reasons.
The rivalry between APK and TNA MPs in Meru is likely to build up into a storm. TNA MPs in the region, for example, worked overtime to dissuade their leader from making an appearance at Bomas of Kenya, Nairobi, when Kiraitu launched the “bus party”.
According to one MP from the region, if Uhuru had attended the APK launch it would have put them in a precarious political position because it would have been mistaken as an endorsement of Kiraitu.

Central Parliamentary Group Chairman Ephraim Maina, who is in APK, says they were content with the messages of goodwill sent by three key G7 leaders during the party launch.
“Launch of parties is not an end in itself,” said Maina adding that Kenyans must never forget the country is in one of its most dynamic political interlude, “I would personally not be surprised if politicians changed parties between now and end of September to conform with the existing laws, which bar last minute party hopping.”
One headache for political anchors in this region is creating a united parliamentary group capable of strongly influencing legislative agenda after the General Election.
But Maina said while the vision of a Narc-like umbrella (in the first Kibaki presidency 2002-2007) was ultimate dream of the G7; a one-party parliamentary group was not an automatic guarantee the MPs would speak in one voice.
“People should never forget that MPs are free to exercise their freedom. Even if they belong to one party, they can revolt and be a nightmare,” said Maina.

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