TNA, URP wrangles over public sector jobs jolt Jubilee in Coast

Wrangles between The National Alliance (TNA) and United Republican Party (URP) over plum public appointments have jolted Jubilee leadership at he the Coast.

Differences typified by discontent among candidates who lost in the March 4 race last year and the perception that URP got the lion’s share of key parastatal board appointments continue to derail the unity of the coalition in the region.

On Thursday, during a training and unity-building meeting at Voyager Hotel in Mombasa, Matano Chengo, the Mombasa County TNA branch chairman, seemed to differ with TNA Executive Director Joseph Mathai over appointments to parastatal boards. 

Mr Mathai maintained there was no discontent in the party over board appointments, and downplayed claims that TNA members in the region got a raw deal. He said the appointments were approved by President Uhuru Kenyatta (of TNA) and Deputy President William Ruto (from URP).

In a move viewed as an attempt to quell the disquiet among party members in the region, he said those who had been loyal to the party would be rewarded.

Internal challenges

“Let those from this region who laboured for TNA in the last elections know that their efforts were noted and will be rewarded in due time,” said Mathai.

He, however, admitted that the party was grappling with internal challenges in some local branches, including parallel leadership that he said had derailed TNA’s prospects in the region.

He asked agents who worked for the party during past elections but had not been paid to forward their appointment letters for payment.

But speaking to The Standard on Sunday after the press conference, Mr Chengo maintained that TNA members from the region were not satisfied with the appointments.

“This is an officials’ meeting. We’ll soon call a meeting with all aspirants in the region, where they are likely to state their concerns on this matter,” said Chengo.

The training meeting attended by, among others, the party’s national organising secretary, Birya Chande, is one of the strategies aimed at uniting TNA leaders and coordinators at the Coast. It is hoped that this will translate into support at the grassroots level ahead of the 2017 polls.

In a separate meeting held on Wednesday, TNA losers in last year’s election met to chart the way forward and forge unity in the party that did not clinch any seat in Mombasa County.

Those who attended Wednesday’s meeting included those who vied for ward, gubernatorial and parliamentary seats.

“Kenya Ports Authority chairman Danson Mungatana, Abdalla Mwaruwa and about 30 candidates who contested on a TNA ticket in the 2013 elections attended the meeting,” Chengo said after the meeting.

Chengo said the Mombasa meeting agreed on, among other things, the formation of a shadow cabinet. Members of the National Rainbow Coalition (Narc), Republican Congress Party of Kenya and URP will be included in the shadow cabinet meant to check the administration of Governor Ali Hassan Joho, who was voted in on an Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) ticket.

The meeting also focused on the way forward for the party, notably how to prepare a campaign war-chest ahead of the 2017 elections.

He further downplayed claims the coalition was dormant at the Coast, saying Jubilee did not want to create an election mood with vigorous posturing.

Chengo’s meeting came at a time when a section of contestants and agents in the last general election were accusing Jubilee officials of neglecting them.

Some said they had used their resources to campaign for the party but have not been refunded, almost two years later.

Janet Mirobi, who contested the Ganjoni Ward seat on a URP ticket, says Jubilee will have a hard time winning seats in 2017 in the region if leaders do not sit with members to iron out the problems that ensued before and after the last elections.

There are also concerns that URP members and some ODM supporters have had easier access to the President and DP, compared to TNA members.

A number of Jubilee agents from TNA and URP who spoke to The Standard on Sunday said they had not been paid their dues for the elections held on March 4, last year.

“We gave our best during the elections but it seems nobody valued our work. All I can remember is the packet of milk and water that was offered on the day of the polls. Who would want to be associated with a party that doesn’t pay its agents?” said Simon Kiplang’at Kibet, who was a URP agent at Chief’s Camp, Shimanzi, in Mombasa.

Chengo confirmed that indeed, TNA agents had not been paid.

In a telephone interview, Jubilee Candidates 2013 Mombasa County chairman Peterson Mittau admitted that all was not well with the ruling coalition in Mombasa.

“The truth is that TNA candidates in the last General Election have not been rewarded. But it is not good to start bickering as that will embarrass the President, who is our party leader. The best way is to solve problems is in a manner that will not hurt the coalition’s unity,” Mittau said last week.

However, he downplayed allegations that the President and his deputy were shunning meetings with the former contestants.

“The President has a diary which he sticks to. He is president of Kenya, and not TNA,” said Mittau.

Former Malindi MP Lucas Maitha has been appointed head of the Kenya Bureau of Standards. Sophie Kadzo Kombe from Kilifi County was appointed ambassador to Zambia, while Mwalimu Digore from Kwale was appointed the Kenya Maritime Authority chairman. Former Kisauni MP Mwaboza Mwasambu is the legal advisor in the office of the Deputy President. Marsden Madoka from Taita Taveta heads the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) board.

Former Likoni MP, Suleiman Shakombo from Mombasa heads the Kenya Petroleum Refineries limited (KPRL) board, and Mrabu Chaka from Kwale heads the Kenya Ferry Services board. Chirau Ali Mwakwere from Kwale is Kenya’s ambassador to Tanzania. Except for KPA chairman Danson Mungatana, the rest are allied to URP.

Herculean task

Jubilee coordinating chairman Ali Mwatsahu, who is from URP, has called for unity in Jubilee ahead of the 2017 elections. “This is not a time for bickering, but to join hands and work together as a coalition. We have a herculean task in the next polls, and we need to be united,” says Mwatsahu.

Mombasa-based political analyst, Maimuna Mwidau says it is too early for TNA to conclude it has been shortchanged, given that there are pending appointments in parastatals and commissions.

Jubilee lacks a vibrant and vocal politician to push the coalition’s popularity in the region. Kwale, Taita Taveta and Kilifi counties are dominated by Cord affiliate, ODM.

In Kwale, Gonzi Rai, the Kinango MP is the only Jubilee MP among Cord senators, MPs and ward representatives. Jubilee’s only leader in Taita Taveta is Naomi Shaaban of TNA while Tana River has TNA’s Ali Wario in Bura.