NAIROBI,
Kenya
President of Kenya, Uhuru Kenyatta, has escalated his plans to reunite the Nasa principals as he crafts a broad-based political machine to face Deputy President William Ruto next year.
Uhuru,
who has bitterly fallen out with Ruto, has gone flat out to compel the
opposition into an alliance bringing on board ODM boss Raila Odinga, Nasa-Oka
and others.
In a
clear demonstration of his resolve to have Nasa chiefs’ close ranks, Uhuru on
Tuesday held a three-hour meeting with them at State House, Mombasa.
The
President is keen to have Raila his handshake partner and who fell out with his
former Nasa allies join forces with the One Kenya Alliance. The aim is to crush
Ruto's quest for State House.
The Oka
partners of Kalonzo Musyoka (Wiper), Musalia Mudavadi (ANC), Moses Wetang'ula
(Ford Kenya) and Kanu's Gideon Moi attended the meeting alongside Raila and
Kakamega Governor Wycliffe Oparanya. The governor is one of two deputies to
Raila in ODM.
Their
response to Uhuru's entreaties was not immediately known.
Details
of the meeting were scant. But the session was significant coming days after
Ruto was blocked from a trip to Uganda and his Turkish business partner, Harun
Aydin, dramatically deported.
An ally
of one of the principals told the Star the talks centred on 2022 succession.
"The
brief I have is the discussions were around the 2022 succession and the
President opened up his heart on why he wants the principals to unite and work
as a team,” an MP aware of the discussions said.
It is
understood the President cautioned the five party leaders to avoid public
antagonism as witnessed recently and focus on building trust among themselves.
There are
concerns the thorny issue of the presidential ticket came up. Uhuru is said to
have warned the leaders that they risk losing the presidency to Ruto.
The meeting was the first major gathering of the Opposition leaders with the President after they 'killed' Nasa.
In June,
the President also told the Nasa chiefs to unite or forget winning the
country's presidency next year. He even suggested he was ready to support them
if they settled on a joint presidential candidate.
The
President, who spoke when he met a delegation of Ukambani leaders at State
House, Nairobi, insisted the strength of the Nasa chiefs remains in their
unity, not in going their separate ways.
The
meeting was seen as the culmination of the behind-the-scenes efforts by the
President to broker a 2022 deal with the opposition leaders. His goal is
clearly to defeat his now-nominal second in command.
During
the meeting, the leaders also said to have discussed Covid-19 restrictions. The
Opposition has pushed for their lifting. They said they want to open the
economy.
Lifting
the ban on large gatherings would also allow them to hold campaign rallies.
There
were indications the President agreed to lift some containment measures to
allow for a phased resumption of normalcy and salvage the economy.
The Nasa
leaders including Raila, Musalia and Kalonzo have been urging the President to
reconsider some restrictions.
The
President is expected to announce new Covid containment measures on Thursday
during his State of the Nation address.
A
dispatch from State House spokesperson Kanze Dena did not provide much detail
on the President's meeting with party leaders.
“Among
the subjects discussed by the leaders were Covid-19's impact on the country and
how to revamp the economy; and the importance of maintaining peace, unity and
national cohesion,” the statement read.
The
pro-handshake forces are said to be pushing for the resumption of political
gatherings as they gear up for the Building Bridges Initiative ruling at the
Court of Appeal next week.
They have
expressed optimism the court will overturn the High Court ruling that declared
the BBI process unconstitutional, illegal, null and void. That would mean the
return of reggae and likely creation of more Executive posts to share out.
Ruto has
accused the opposition leaders of trying to force the President to endorse
them, becoming a serious thorn in the flesh of Uhuru's 2022 succession plans.
The DP
has recently run roughshod over Kenyatta in his Mt Kenya backyard, winning
crucial by-elections in Juja and Kiambaa constituencies, complicating Uhuru's
plans.
Ruto’s
perceived growing influence in Uhuru’s backyard – according to highly placed
sources - has unsettled the President's inner circle. They want a clear
succession plan developed as soon as possible.
The
President's allies have insisted said that they are ready to market Raila in Mt
Kenya, saying he is the most formidable force to face Ruto.
In
Uhuru’s arithmetic, Raila is emerging as the centre of his plan to isolate
Ruto, and his possible choice for successor, but some Nasa chiefs are also
bidding for themselves.
Raila has
been having a larger-than-life presence in government without holding any
substantive position. Key Uhuru allies already have openly declared support for
the ODM boss.
The
President's men are pushing for a coalition of Raila's ODM, Wiper, ANC, Kanu
and Ford Kenya.
Mudavadi
and Kalonzo have insisted that Raila owes them support since they have backed
the ODM leader — who wants to take a fifth stab at the presidency — in previous
elections.
Mudavadi
rallied behind Raila in 2007 before running on his own in 2013. He supported
him again in 2017.
Kalonzo
supported Raila in 2013 and 2017, when he was his running mate.
Uhuru and
Raila have been at the Coast for a few days, meeting to strategise on 2022.
Ford Kenya
organising secretary Chris Mandu said the meeting was convened to discuss
national matters and find out the former Nasa principal could reunite.
He
expressed doubt that Wetang'ula, Mudavadi and Kalonzo would agree to reunite
with Raila.
“If they
must reunite, then let him [Raila] join us as an equal partner and not be the
first among equals,” he said.
Makueni
MP Dan Maanzo said Mudavadi, Kalonzo and Wetang'ula would agree to unite with
Raila as long as he does not become the flag-bearer.
“If the
candidate is Raila, they will not accept it — if that is what he [Uhuru] called
them for. I can assure you from what I know, they must have had their own
meeting before meeting the President,” he added.
Kalonzo
is also keen on going for the top seat and on Monday he launched his 2022
presidential campaign secretariat at the Wiper party offices.
The
secretariat called the SKM Command Centre will act as the official
communications centre for Kalonzo. He is said to be determined to run.
Raila, on
the other hand, has called for an ODM delegates meeting that would make a
decision on which coalition to join.
The
former Prime Minister is scheduled to have regional delegates meetings across
the country after which he will make his political statement on whether or not
to join with Oka.
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