Death of a President’s party

President Kibaki at a PNU event in 2007. The party on whose ticket he contested is no more. [PHOTO: FILE/STANDARD]

By Jacob Ng’etich and Abdikadir Sugow

At 3pm last Thursday, the Party of National Unity (PNU) gave a last sigh before it went into a comma after signing pre-election agreement with The National Alliance at their office in Lavington, Nairobi.

PNU chairman Gideon Konchella signed away the last of PNU breath in an agreement that not only bars the President’s party from fielding candidates for elective positions in the General Election under its banner but also directed its supporters to register as members of TNA before the October 17 deadline.

In the agreement, PNU officials agreed that party’s candidates will, however, battle it out with those from TNA in nominations meaning they will contest the General Election on a TNA ticket, which means PNU colours will be missing at the ballot box.

According to the pre-election alliance, PNU will surrender its members and candidates to TNA led by Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta.

The pact commits PNU not to field candidates for positions at the national or county levels and any party members wishing to participate in nominations for the election shall do so under the banner of TNA and according to its nomination rules. An hour after the signing of the deal, the party chairman took up a new membership of the United Republic Party together with his treasurer and former Regional Development Minister Mohamed Abdi.

Handed back

“I have handed back the party to what looks like its home and I have also secured myself a position in where I feel politically comfortable. From now on, I am a staunch member of URP it is now my political home,” said Konchella.

Konchella admitted that after the death of former Internal Security Minister George Saitoti in a helicopter crash in June, PNU has been rudderless because top party officials were pulling in opposite directions, with the question of which presidential candidate to support in the forthcoming elections.

“The party became a divided house and it became unlikely to jointly agree on which presidential candidate to back. This was a big problem within the party and I think we will never have resolved anything and the best thing was to allow everyone to go to where they felt comfortable politically. URP and TNA have become the beneficiaries of the dead party,” said Konchela. Former minister Mohammud Mohammed Abdi said former top officials are deeply divided on whether to back TNA candidate Uhuru Kenyatta or URP’s William Ruto’s for the top seat.

“Now the two parties have shared it equally. The chairman, Chirau Mwakwere his deputy, I the treasurer and Ekwe Ethuro and other officials have shifted allegiance to URP while our Secretary General Amos Kimunya, and Organising Secretary Maina Kamanda have joined TNA,” said Abdi.

 “Before the ‘handing over of the party’ most of the officials had taken sides in joining TNA or the URP and it was just a matter of time. Whereas the national chairman rooted for Ruto for the presidency together with us, Kimunya sided with Uhuru,” said Abdi.

Forging alliance

Prior to the defections, Konchellah had indicated that PNU was in the process of forging an alliance with “like-minded political parties” and that he had no objection offering his support to Ruto or Kiyiapi.

His move appeared to downplay PNU’s links with Uhuru’s TNA. For Kimunya, his Kipipiri constituency is already under the influence of TNA wave hence he appears to have little choice but to be compelled to plead with his top party organs to support Uhuru.

TNA has stamped its authority in Central, forcing former political heavyweights like of former Kanu Secretary-General Joseph Kamotho and former minister GG Kariuki to decamp without batting an eyelid. On Friday at the TNA aspirants convention, Kamotho went back to the Moi International Sport Centre Complex, Kasarani, the venue he notoriously baptized ‘Kasarani Kichinjio’ (slaughterhouse) in his heyday when he was minister in the Moi regime.

Gachoka MP Mutava Musyimi, who ditched the Democratic Party, was also at the Kasarani venue where he announced that he was abandoning his candidature to support Uhuru. Kimunya was forced to throw in the towel too and jumped from the sinking PNU ship to board the TNA vessel. Also caught-up in TNA euphoria is Kamanda. 

By ditching their parties, Kamanda and ODM nominated MP Rachel Shebesh (an aspirant for the Nairobi Women’s Representative post) believe they will easily get the support of the sizeable TNA voters who are sympathetic to Uhuru’s presidential candidature.

Konchellah, who initially declared support for Uhuru’s presidency and even attended the function at which PNU capitulated to TNA, appears to be a man in a political dilemma. Sources claim Konchellah is playing his political cards close to his chest while seeking to please Ruto and Kiyiapi of the Restore and Build Kenya (RBK) because of the votes associated with the two leaders.

Kiyiapi, like Konchellah, is a Maasai from the same Transmara County, where the latter is Kilgoris MP, while Ruto has some influence among the Kipsigis, who have substantial votes and reside in the cosmopolitan constituency. 

Influential Wajir politician Mohammud Mohammed Abdi has also left PNU to join URP. URP also received immediate former Australia Ambassador Stephen Tarus who is seeking to be Nandi Governor. Marakwet East MP Lina Chebii Kilimo joins TNA from KENDA.

Safina MPs Kabando wa Kabando (Mukurweini) and Abdikadir Mohammed (Mandera Central) have abandoned Musalia Mudavadi’s United Democratic Front (UDF) and are reportedly leaning towards Uhuru.

Cabinet ministers Sam Ongeri, Mohamed Yusuf Haji, Assistant ministers Wilfred Ombui, Kilemi Mwiria and a number of Kanu MPs have also announced their intentions to join TNA.

However, Kanu Secretary-General Nick Salat says MPs sitting on party tickets while defecting to others were committing an injustice, noting that a number of Kanu MPs have so far defected to different political parties with majority going to TNA.

True scenario

According to Youth and Sports minister Ababu Namwamba who leads the ODM Reloaded team: “Sections of the media are misinterpreting the true picture regarding the ongoing defections on the political scene. The Fourth Estate should not be used as a propaganda tool.”

He said all those defecting to TNA were part and parcel of the same outfit. “The media should stop distorting history at this time of the electioneering period. PNU is the same as TNA. It is the same people, but in different attire…PNU members donning TNA colours,” says Namwamba.