Sunday, September 23, 2012

Future of Uhuru-Ruto alliance put in doubt



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PHOTO/FILE  Deputy Prime Minster Uhuru Kenyatta (left) with William Ruto (right) during a prayer rally at Ruiru Municipal Stadium in Ruiru on February 17, 2012.
Deputy Prime Minster Uhuru Kenyatta (left) with William Ruto (right) during a prayer rally in Ruiru on February 17, 2012. PHOTO/FILE/  NATION MEDIA GROUP
By MAZERA NDURYA mndurya@ke.nationmedia.com
Posted  Saturday, September 22  2012 at  18:53
IN SUMMARY
  • TNA candidate Jane Wangui Murigi’s landslide victory has created anxiety in the URP stronghold.
  • What has now emerged and is preoccupying most people in the North Rift is whether the much- touted G7 alliance, especially for William Ruto’s United Republican Party and Mr Kenyatta’s TNA, and the talks between Eugene Wamalwa’s New Ford-Kenya and Moses Wetangula’s Ford-Kenya would still hold.
  • But Mr Ruto’s allies say the outcome of the by-election should not be viewed as an indication that URP’s popularity in the area has waned but should be seen in the light of the cosmopolitan nature of the ward.
The three civic by-elections in Uasin Gishu and Trans Nzoia may have attracted little attention at the national level, but the outcome may force key political parties back to the drawing board as the General Election draws near.
The contests saw Uhuru Kenyatta’s TNA take the Eldoret Market ward and rival Ford Kenya and New Ford Kenya share the spoils in Kapkoi and Kaptega wards.
What has now emerged and is preoccupying most people in the North Rift is whether the much- touted G7 alliance, especially for William Ruto’s United Republican Party and Mr Kenyatta’s TNA, and the talks between Eugene Wamalwa’s New Ford-Kenya and Moses Wetangula’s Ford-Kenya would still hold.
TNA candidate Jane Wangui Murigi’s landslide victory has created anxiety in the URP stronghold. (READ: ODM, TNA score big in civic polls)
While the contest for Eldoret Market ward may appear to have been a show of might between TNA, ODM and URP, in the neighbouring Trans Nzoia the battle for supremacy between Ford Kenya and New Ford Kenya played out openly.
But Mr Ruto’s allies say the outcome of the by-election should not be viewed as an indication that URP’s popularity in the area has waned but should be seen in the light of the cosmopolitan nature of the ward.
Ruto ally Caleb Kositany said the voting pattern in the ward has consistently been different from that of the rest of the constituency.
“In the 2007 General Election ODM captured the seat because of the combined force of Kalenjin and Luo voters who supported the party to the last person.
"It is therefore only those who are ignorant of the politics and the nature of the ward who would try to gauge URP’s popularity on the outcome,” he said.
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Mr Kositany said URP did not field candidates in Kajiado North, Ndhiwa and Kangema because the party’s main focus is the General Election.
But the manner in which the parties around the G7 alliance approached the by-elections calls to question the future of a unified front.
“I still hold the view that we should only be talking about post-election alliances when every party will have something on the table. Forming an alliance now will not work,” Mr Kositany said.
Isaac Maiyo, another close associate of Mr Ruto, said URP is still the party to beat in the North Rift.
“I think we messed up in the nomination of the party’s civic candidate, but after all is said and done, TNA’s Wangui was a popular candidate,” he said.
But North Rift Narc-Kenya point man Kipkorir arap Menjo said the one thing that should not be taken for granted is that the new constitutional dispensation has created more democratic space and made people understand politics, unlike previously when political decisions rested on an individual’s clout.

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