Join me or perish, Uhuru tells rivals

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Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta. Photo/FILE  NATION MEDIA GROUP

By JAMES KARIUKI jakariuki@ke.nationmedia.com
Posted  Monday, November 12  2012 at  00:30

IN SUMMARY

• Presidential hopeful warns Karua, Kenneth and MPs of losing their political clout in Central if they oppose his TNA

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Presidential hopeful Uhuru Kenyatta on Sunday asked his rivals in Central Province to join his party to save their political careers.

He said Ms Martha Karua and Mr Peter Kenneth, Mr Mwangi Kiunjuri, Mr Nderitu Mureithi and Mr Jeremiah Kioni would be swept away by The National Alliance wave if they stuck with their parties.

He said his mission was to bring all politicians in central Kenya to his party to avoid going to the next elections as a divided house.

“Jeremiah Kioni (Ndaragwa MP) Nderitu Mureithi (Laikipia West), Mwangi Kiunjuri (Laikipia East), Peter Kenneth (Gatanga) and our heroine, Martha Karua (Gichugu) should be told forth that they are one of us and must join us now,” he said during a meet-the-people tour of Mr Mureithi’s Laikipia West constituency.

Ms Karua, the Narc-Kenya party leader, has vowed to have her name on the ballot box in the next elections. Mr Kenneth of the Kenya National Congress has also made a similar declaration.

Even though Mr Kiunjuri has said he supports Mr Kenyatta’s presidential bid, he has made it clear that he will field candidates for the positions of governor, senator, MP and county assembly representative through the Grand National Unity (GNU) party, which he heads.

Mr Mureithi and Mr Kioni are allied to the United Democratic Forum, whose presidential aspirant is Mr Musalia Mudavadi.

But in a rejoinder, Mr Kenneth said Kenyans were looking for a leader who would unite the whole country and not one relying on regional back-up.

Mr Kenyatta declared that all MPs seeking re-election in areas he enjoyed mass following must be in TNA “and if they are not known, they are not one of us and must be shown the door”.

Accompanied by 28 MPs allied to his party, he said not even Mr Kiunjuri would be spared in the clean-up purge since he had declined to join TNA.

“They are either in TNA or nowhere and must be given total blackout by voters. We are busy seeking ways of uniting Kenyans and it has to start here at home,” he said.

Mr Kenyatta’s strong position has been prompted by Mr Mureithi’s assertion that the UDF candidate was best placed to “take care” of the interest of the Kikuyu community.

The outburst on the issue clearly pointed to a widening gap between him and the UDF flag bearer and his supporters, who hoped that they could benefit if Mr Kenyatta and Mr Mudavadi joined forces to face their opponents.