Sunday, July 8, 2012

Uhuru downplays supremacy battles in Meru tour


Uhuru downplays supremacy battles in Meru tour

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Updated 7 hrs 10 mins ago
By Wainaina Ndung’u
Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta last weekend excursion in the Mt Kenya East has demonstrated he might still be popular in the region.
Local politicians say the deputy premier appeased his loyal but often provocative lieutenants without antogonising senior Meru politician and Cabinet minister Kiraitu Murungi, who leads the Alliance Party (APK) of Kenya.
Uhuru’s spokesman Munyori Buku says the turnout at the rallies in Tigania and Igembe demonstrated TNA hold political sway in the region.
Uhuru also had a brief rally at Gakoromone market in Meru town. A late evening rally planned for Makutano in the new Buuri constituency was called off on account of time.
His party TNA finds itself in a situation of virtual intra-alliance conflict in the Meru region, characterised by ugly exchanges between Kiraitu and his allies on one side and pro-Uhuru diehards such as Assistant Minister Kareke Mbiuki on the other.
APK had warned in a mobile phone text message shortly before the DPM’s two-day visit that it expected the meetings to respect opinions of the locals.
Uhuru kept off the anti-APK tirade during the rallies but Assistant Minister Mwangi Kiunjuri’s analogy of three wild cows that were divided and finally annihilated by a lion was most striking.
Kiunjuri’s tale repeated in all rallies on day one of the visit had three cows – one black, the other white and another red – being used against each other by a lion interested in devouring them.
“The lion first convinced the red and white cow that it only attacked them constantly because of the black cow. Once the two agreed to let the black animal be eaten, the carnivore approached the white cow convincing it that it would suffer a lightning strike because of the red colleague. Finally, the white cow was alone and easy to strike,” said Kiunjuri.
Opening the Maua TNA office on Saturday, the DPM ruled out direct nomination of aspirants.
Strong ties
Alhaji Mwendia, a key supporter of Kiraitu, said Uhuru’s visit deliberately concentrated in Meru North and avoided Imenti where the Energy Minister is seen as having considerable influence. Mwendia, who is a Nkubu town councillor and APK Meru County Secretary, said Uhuru retained impeccable ties with Kiraitu and they were still working on a formula to unite the horde of parties supporting the Deputy Prime Minister’s presidential bid.
The councillor said a meeting early last week between Uhuru and Kiraitu in Nairobi cleared the initial outstanding issues between the two parties over the visit.
The DPM’s spokesman, however, declined to comment on the meeting but the councillor claimed one of the agreements was that the DPM was to avoid visiting Imenti, which is Kiraitu’s home area and believed to be APK’s support base.
It was the first visit by the DPM to the region since his (Uhuru) decision to launch TNA rather than join the alliance ‘bus’.
Last month, Kiraitu spoke bitterly about his parting with Uhuru, saying he still held the hope that a political pact signed by Uhuru, Prof George Saitoti and Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka would still come to pass.
Councillor Mwendia claimed the problem in Meru was not about competition between pro-Uhuru parties entirely but the popularity of some outgoing MPs who are scared of losing their seats and see likely salvation in the emergence of Uhuru and TNA. “There is a big crowd of politicians in larger Meru using Uhuru’s name and his new party to try and revive fledging political careers,” said Mwendia, without giving names.
Drama had played out in the first rally that the DPM held in Igembe North constituency of Nthoita M’Mithiaru, a Kiraitu ally.
The MP skipped the first stop at Mutuati market and an earlier visit to the families of eight people killed by bandits in the area recently. The MP preferred to instead to wait at Laare market, five kilometres away.
The master of ceremonies at the Mutuati rally was Igembe South MP Mithika Linturi, who took the opportunity to introduce Joseph M’Eruaki who is seeking to challenge M’Mithiaru.
Not surprisingly, gauging from a likely tumulus reception at Laare – the next stop – Linturi declined to speak after an invitation by the area MP. Notable in that rally was that M’Mithiaru also brought the apologies of the Energy minister and warned against anybody attacking any leaders on that podium.
At other rallies in Linturi’s own constituency and the newly created Igembe Central, more TNA leaning aspirants were introduced.
Allied to APK
Of the nine Meru County MPs, M’Mithiaru together with Tigania East MP Peter Munya and Imenti North’s Silas Muriuki are seen to be allied to APK apart from the ODM-leaning Gitobu Imanyara of Imenti Central.
The leaders steered clear of launching direct attacks on their ‘bus’ party counterparts until the Maua TNA office launch on Saturday when an increasingly provocative Mbiuki raised the issue of political deity.
“Some senior leaders in Meru County are seeking to elevate themselves to a deity. We refuse to worship anybody and Uhuru doesn’t require the permission of anyone to visit this county,” said Mbiuki.
The DPM, who flew into the area in a chopper on Friday, was with Assistant ministers Kilemi Mwiria, Kiunjuri, Ferdinand Waititu and Mbiuki and MPs Linturi, Mburi Mwiru, Maishon Leshomo and Gidion Mbuvi ‘Sonko’.
Uhuru’s notable promises to residents included construction of more police posts and allowing members of the Meru community in areas neighbouring bandit-prone pastoral regions of Isiolo to have armed home guards.

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