Uhuru’s game plan

By Alex Ndegwa

Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta has pushed his campaign to succeed President Kibaki into overdrive, despite his scheduled trial at the International Criminal Court.

He and his political allies are advancing a game plan to ensure he is a formidable candidate for State House, even as ICC officials in The Hague plan for trials in the cases against him and three other Kenyans.

Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta with Eldoret North MP William Ruto at a prayer rally in Letein, Bureti on Saturday. [Photo: BONIFACE THUKU/STANDARD]

The plans are hinged on the calculation the trials will not start this year, a development that might have had serious practical repercussions for a presidential campaign.

Recent signs of this road map to the big house include last week’s Cabinet changes, which saw allies of Uhuru appointed to key positions, his heightened search for a preferred election vehicle, and plans to firm up his alliance with Eldoret North MP William Ruto with a statutory pre-election agreement.

Two weeks after the so-called ‘Gema nation’ meeting at which Uhuru pledged to name his preferred party later this month, Cabinet minister Kiraitu Murungi has invited central Kenya MPs for a meeting on Tuesday at the Landmark Hotel in Nairobi to chart a roadmap.

"This will be a follow-up to the Limuru II meeting, where we will discuss further the political party and direction we will take," reads a phone text message Kiraitu sent to MPs on Saturday.

And in a well-choreographed plan, Kalenjin leaders will also be meeting in Eldoret on Tuesday to declare their support for Ruto.

Uhuru’s statement at the Gema meeting left no doubt he is set to dump Kanu, of which he is chairman and which his handlers felt is not "saleable". There had been talk of turning the independence party into a coalition-ready vehicle, the Kenya Alliance of National Union, but this foundered on opposition both within and outside the party. Uhuru must choose his party before the April 30 deadline for compliance with registration requirements.

Top seat

Although a trial chamber for the two Kenya cases was constituted on Thursday, ICC accused Uhuru and Ruto still have a slim chance of gunning for the top seat if the trial begins after the General Election.