Talk rife on Mudavadi, Uhuru ticket

By OSCAR OBONYO

Friends Re-united? Deputy Prime Minister Musalia Mudavadi to announce new election vehicle on Wednesday as G7 allies hint at joint campaign strategy with fellow Deputy PM Uhuru Kenyatta [Graphic/Standard]
The political paths of the two Deputy Prime Ministers are set to merge, even as they make separate plans to get to State House.

Strategists working for Mr Uhuru Kenyatta and Mr Musalia Mudavadi want them to approach the General Election as a team, like they did a decade ago. But, unlike in 2002, when Mudavadi was Uhuru’s running mate on a Kanu ticket, this time the two will run against each other, with a likelihood of converging at the ballot and, hopefully, in the next government.

Deputy Prime Minister Musalia Mudavadi at Muliro Grounds, last weekend. Mudavadi is expected to lead the way with the choice of a new political party. [PHOTO: BENJAMIN SAKWA/STANDARD]

Those involved in the plan say an Uhuru-Mudavadi merger is the goal at the end of a long, winding and discreet path. The G-7 group’s scheme will rely on a network of political leaders from various regions in different parties. The ‘friendly’ parties will merge into new units that will eventually focus on the two.

Uhuru, 50, and Mudavadi, 51, are expected to come together months before the presidential race.

The Standard On Sunday has reliably established there are high-level talks on the matter. The talks focus on how to ensure the Uhuru-Mudavadi ticket evolves "naturally", with the position each takes making itself evident during the campaigns. This time around, Mudavadi is opposed to playing second fiddle and wants a fair shot at the top of the ticket.

One of the architects of the plan, who asked not to be named, claimed he, and others, were making progress on the Uhuru-Mudavadi ticket.

"We are building a team of like-minded politicians who will jointly face Prime Minister Raila Odinga’s ODM machine," he confided. "Mudavadi is very much in the mix."

Housing Minister Soita Shitanda, a key Mudavadi backer, says such a union must take "an obvious dimension" in which Uhuru supports Mudavadi for president.

The New Ford-Kenya leader says he cannot confirm or deny whether Uhuru and Mudavadi are working on a political power deal.

"Even if they have been engaged in a series of meetings, that is not strange," Shitanda says. "They could be consulting on issues other than political marriage."

Youth Affairs and Sports minister Paul Otuoma, who is in ODM, says he has heard talk of the match-up.

"At this stage we can only treat it as a rumour," Dr Otuoma says. "We do not have evidence that the Deputy PMs are consulting over a political union that isolates our party leader (Raila). Besides, we are still hopeful that all is not yet over for Mudavadi in ODM."

Mudavadi is expected to lead the way with the choice of a new political party. Addressing a convention attended by more than 10,000 women on Saturday, the Sabatia MP said he would reveal the party this week.

"I will announce my next vehicle to State House," he told the meeting at the Pentecostal Assemblies of God Church at Nyangori, Vihiga County. "My announcement will end anxiety and guessing amongst Kenyans. Pray for me as I unveil the party."

Hidden meaning

Mudavadi was accompanied by his wife Tessie, Housing minister Soita Shitanda and MPs Yusuf Chanzu and Bonny Khalwale.

Assistant minister Manyala Keya and Shinyalu MP Justus Kizito confirmed an announcement is planned for Wednesday May 2, 2012 in Nairobi, at an event including representatives from all 47 counties.

"This party will have a national outlook," said Kizito, an ally of Mudavadi. "We have many party offers. Our choice is a guarded secret."

Credible sources revealed Uhuru Kenyatta, William Ruto and a host of other leaders will attend the function. Many of the G7’s leaders also attended the launch of Raphael Tuju’s Party of Action earlier this year.

That Uhuru and Mudavadi have been warming up to each other politically is an open secret. The former Kanu chairman hinted at the possible union in February this year, when he was master of ceremonies at the burial of former Cabinet minister Njenga Karume. While introducing VIPs at the former Kiambaa MP’s funeral, Uhuru drew attention to the fact that his wife, Margaret, and Tessie Mudavadi (Musalia’s wife), were seated next to one another.

He followed this by saying pointedly: "Na tunasema hivyo ni vizuri sana na muendelee kupendana hivyo hivyo (I think this is a good thing and you should remain close)." With former President Moi and other leaders of the Karume generation having called for unity among younger leaders, this statement was taken to have some hidden political meaning.

Uhuru and Mudavadi share a curious history. The two, who teamed up in a doomed presidential campaign one decade ago, are not only age-mates, but after walking separate paths following their 2002 General Election waterloo, ended up in a shared Grand Coalition as Deputy PMs. Their planned political alliance is unlikely to surprise: Some Members of Parliament from central Kenya have kind words for Mudavadi and can see him as a presidential candidate, but would rather keep their thoughts guarded for fear of possible political consequences.

Contemplating the absence of Uhuru, owing to his impending trial at the International Criminal Court, could be politically costly. Nonetheless, there are those who have not forgotten Mudavadi’s sacrifice in 2002, which cost him the Sabatia parliamentary seat.

"Unlike other leaders with extremist tendencies, Mudavadi is a safe bet," says an MP, who declined to be named. "He has few, if no political enemies. If accorded the opportunity to steer this country, people would feel secure because he is a safe pair of hands."

The preference for Mudavadi, whose recent defection from ODM has left many guessing about his next move, is informed by both what he brings to the G7 team and what he takes away from his former party. The political calculation is that, besides his general acceptability, his entry into the Uhuru-William Ruto camp with a clear shot at the top of the ticket will take away the Western vote from key rival Raila Odinga.

Proposed strategy

Contacted for comment, both leaders’ spokesmen denied the existence of any joint strategy between Uhuru and Mudavadi.

Munyori Buku and Kibisu Kabatesi insist the two are advancing their presidential bids separately.

"Mr Kenyatta is and has been busy preparing his presidential bid. He will not be distracted by those who peddle rumours for sport," was Mr Buku’s reaction.

"The act of appreciating (Mudavadi’s) personal qualities does not translate to the notion that central Kenya politicians support his presidential bid and planned reunion with Uhuru," Kabatesi said.

But Shitanda insists Mudavadi’s candidature is partly persuaded by developments outside western Kenya. "We are getting very positive signals from the Rift Valley and even Central. If we fail to take the cue, we shall forever miss out."

The proposed G-7 strategy involves assembling regional political leaders, including Uhuru (Central), Ruto (Rift Valley), Kalonzo Musyoka (Eastern), Eugene Wamalwa and Mudavadi (Western), Aden Duale (North Eastern), Chirau Mwakwere and Najib Balala (Coast), and Sam Ongeri and Raphael Tuju (Nyanza).

Party of Action

To unite all these politicians, joint party nomination primaries will be held where winners for various elective seats will be given tickets to run under a new umbrella party. Alternatively, parties will enter a pre-election pact to remain distinct, but join forces after the General Election and form the Government or Official Opposition.

Although registered separately, most of the parties share a common political goal and co-ordinate their operations. Their leaders have been sharing campaign platforms and trying to chip away at the Raila lead.

Observers point to the similarities in their slogans as evidence of thinking forward to a time when different parties need to appear united. The slogans revolve around two words — action and execution.

Cyrus Jirongo’s Kaddu party, for instance, has a Luhya slogan ‘Bola Nokhola’, whose Kiswahili translation, ‘Kusema na Kutenda’, is the slogan of Ruto’s URP. This running thread in G-7 allied parties is summarised in Tuju’s Party of Action.

Although Mudavadi has already announced he will decamp from the Orange party, Otuoma is among the few ODM-allied legislators who remain optimistic the differences between Raila and Mudavadi can be resolved.

The Funyula MP, who has remained neutral in the ODM feud, stayed away from Mudavadi’s recent breakfast appointment with Luhya MPs and a parallel press conference in support of Raila led by Planning Minister, Wycliffe Oparanya. He and others are working to keep Mudavadi in ODM, he said, believing it is the party best positioned for victory.