Who is rocking former Deputy Prime Minister Musalia Mudavadi’s ‘amani’?

Washing dirty linen in public in the name of searching for unity is their stock-in-trade, but the Luhya community, which demographics show is currently the largest in the country and more populous than the Kikuyu and Luo, has become the laughing stock for their inability to resolve the smallest of disputes quietly.

 Factional wrangling in the United Democratic Forum (UDF), which is seeking the Registrar of Political Parties’ nod to transit to Amani National Congress (ANC), has re-awakened the ghosts of the 2013 presidential election.

In the countdown to the March 4 date, UDF party leader and candidate Musalia Mudavadi was tossed about by Jubilee rivals Uhuru Kenyatta and William Ruto, creating an impression among voters that he had been “bought” to divide the Coalition for Reforms and Democracy (Cord) and mortgage his electoral bloc in exchange for placement in the Jubilee government.

Outside influence

While Mudavadi does not rule out the possibility of Jubilee stoking the catfights we are seeing, the ANC top leadership quietly accuses Deputy President William Ruto as the invisible hand throwing spanners in the works to stall efforts aimed at rebranding UDF.  The application to change to ANC has been deferred by the Registrar of Political Parties pending the determination of an appeal filed by ousted chairman Hassan Osman by Political Parties Dispute Resolution Tribunal.

 And here is how DP Ruto is caught up in the UDF/ANC crosshairs: First, for as long as Mudavadi is kept busy in his political backyard, Jubilee will find it easy to win over a constituency that has recently shown disinterest in the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) following the latter’s aborted February 28 elections at Kasarani. Secondly, ousted party chairman Hassan Osman narrowly lost the Garissa Township seat to National Assembly Majority leader Aden Duale, whose total vote tally was 5,000 against the former’s 4000. To mollify Osman, it  is said Duale, an ally of Ruto, has rallied behind his political adversary to keep him (Osman) in good humour politically.

 Interviewed on KTN Prime News on last Thursday, UDF leader Musalia Mudavadi just fell short of naming Ruto as the cause of the bickering.  

Mudavadi, a former deputy prime minister in the last government said it is “possible” the rebels are acting at the behest of external forces, but declined to name the deputy president directly. However, it is an open secret that there is no love lost between the two, especially given that the former Sabatia MP enjoys good rapport with President Uhuru Kenyatta.

 Against the backdrop of the impasse, The Nairobian sought out the views of Webuye East MP Alfred Sambu, who chaired both the National Governing Council and Special National Delegates Conference at which decisions were taken to eject rebels from UDF and rebrand the party as ANC. The meetings also resolved to withdraw the party from the Jubilee coalition, which has reportedly upset the governing alliance.

Resonating with people

 “Let me correct the impression that I am the chairman of ANC. Mudavadi is. The true position is that I was unanimously elected to chair the governing council and the national delegates convention meetings because the party leader and the chairman had court orders restraining them from presiding over party activities until the maters in court and the tribunal are disposed of,” says Sambu.

 The MP, who has been at the heart of efforts to solidify the former Western province as an electoral bloc, explains that transiting to ANC is informed by the need to have a party name that resonates with the people and UDF lacked such a pull, hence the decision to change the name to  ANC.

The name, one of the three that have been deferred until the matter is resolved in court, has elicited quite a bit of controversy with critics saying UDF leaders are attempting to parody Nelson Mandela’s African National Congress. Another point of criticism has been the failure by Mudavadi to register an independent party and cease relying on structures of UDF that are rooted in Central Kenya.

 Charles Welangai, until the last presidential election a diehard Mudavadi supporter, questions why his former party leader cannot come up with original ideas and subject them to the test.

Welangai also says there are reservations about some of the leaders accompanying Mudavadi to ANC as they did not market their presidential candidate even in their own constituencies.

Ignored supporters

 “Mudavadi should not hide in structures established by other people. His tactics give room for buck passing. He has to do what Uhuru did after he was trounced by Mwai Kibaki in 2002.  Uhuru learnt from his mistakes and went on a sabbatical. During the sabbatical, he consulted with elders from Mt Kenya. When he re-emerged on the national scene in 2007, he was stronger and better prepared to handle the rigours of running a presidential campaign, but decided to stand down for Kibaki. ODM leader Raila Odinga also tested his mettle. When his stay in Ford Kenya became untenable, he moved to the National Development Party. He also bolted out of Kanu and joined the Liberal Democratic Party, which he left for ODM-Kenya and later ODM,” Welangai points out.

Mudavadi’s critics further point out that after failing to win the presidency, he did not bother or organise even a single rally in his strongholds to thank supporters for standing by him and mend fences with those who were opposed to his candidature.

Instead, the former deputy prime minister, through proxies, roundly lambasted his community for betraying him by voting for ODM en masse.