BY JUMA KWAYERA and VITALIS KIMUTAI
Independence party Kanu today holds a meeting whose political significance is, perhaps, only rivalled by its ouster from power in 2002.
Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta will cease to be Kanu’s chairman when its top decision-making organ meets at Kasarani to decide on the party’s future. He is seeking to abandon what he terms a "sinking ship" and move to a new party he can use for his presidential bid. The challenge is how to do so gracefully after a decade presiding over a weakened party without taking the blame for its failures and problems.
Uhuru Kenyatta (right), Katana Ngala (centre) and Chris Okemo at a past Kanu meeting. [PHOTO: FILE/STANDARD] |
Once the dominant party in the country, Kanu is now at risk of failing to meet the April 30 registration deadline for the next General Election. It may also be unable to field a presidential candidate having all but run out of time.
The agenda for today’s special National Delegates Convention is to ratify proposed changes to the party’s constitution and set dates for grassroots election. Some of the focus, however, will be on whether Uhuru or his allies attend. The Gatundu South MP’s departure from the party’s membership roll is expected soon, with talk he will announce his new party next week. However, he has also expressed hopes Kanu will survive its current crisis, which he blames on Secretary General Nick Salat.
Incessant wrangling
The special NDC follows incessant wrangling that pit Uhuru against Salat and Vice-Chairman Gideon Moi. Mr Salat and Mr Moi have been distressed at Uhuru’s apparent neglect of the party, leading to battles in and out of court over its property, membership recruitment and future plans. The Deputy PM, on the other hand, argues it was Salat who ensured the party ground to a halt with his pursuit of control.
Friday, during a briefing after a National Executive Council meeting attended by the Vice-Chairman, Salat said Uhuru is free to attend today’s meeting.
"His position on the high table will be reserved," Salat said, with the added warning that should the Deputy PM announce plans to join another party, he should surrender Kanu’s old registration certificate by Monday.
"This is because it’s among the documents required while seeking full registration by the Registrar of Political Parties," Salat said. "In the event Uhuru does not surrender it, we shall consider it lost and apply for a police abstract to enable us get a new one in accordance with the new laws."
He added: "We are ready to forge ahead with the revitalisation of the party with or without him. Uhuru has always shown indications he was seeking a new home. We saw it coming, but we did not want to be seen as keen on pushing him out."
Although Uhuru has made it clear he will ditch Kanu, he is reluctant to be seen as having deserted the party. Friday, his spokesman Munyori Buku said the DPM had done "all that he could to take Kanu where it should be" but had failed because of obstacles presented by other officials.
Today’s convention is in some ways a rescue mission for a party facing troubled times. It must overcome the legal hurdles arising from two lawsuits that could limit Kanu’s chances of avoiding de-registration. The first, filed in a Mombasa court, questioned whether Uhuru could remain Kanu chairman and hold a State office at the same time. The second, heard in a Nakuru court, briefly secured an injunction barring Uhuru from presiding over party affairs.
The court orders barred Uhuru, Kanu Organising Secretary Justin Muturi and their agents from recruiting members to the party until the case was heard and determined. A copy of the orders was deposited with Registrar of Political Parties, Ms Lucy Ndung’u.
Muturi says he has no power to allow or cancel the NDC as long as the court orders are not lifted. The former magistrate, however, insists today’s assembly at Kasarani is illegal.
"It will be interesting to hear what the Registrar of Political Parties will say because she was served with a copy of the injunction," the Siakago MP says. "The order has not been vacated and is still binding."
Legal challenges
Uhuru has also pointed to Salat’s refusal to withdraw the legal challenges as one of the reasons Kanu is at risk of not complying with the law. The Kanu Secretary General disputes this interpretation, telling The Standard on Saturday the orders he obtained in June last year expired ages ago.
"The (reference to the) two cases is an escapist way Uhuru is using to water down the concerns of other party members," Salat says. "The cases have nothing to do with the NDC. The injunction expired after three weeks while the other case questioning the constitutionality of Uhuru holding a public office while chairman of a political party has nor been determined."
The latter case, being heard in Mombasa, stalled when Justice Jactone Ojwang was promoted to the Court of Appeal. It comes up for hearing on April 18.
Salat claims he obtained the orders to prevent the misappropriation of party funds. The former Bomet MP says his fears the party would fall afoul of public procurement regulations prompted him to move to court.
"As the accounting officer of the party, I was alarmed when Uhuru, without a resolution of the national office, gave a tender to print membership cards to his friends. The matter was, however, discussed and settled at the meeting we had in Naivasha last year (with Uhuru to resolve differences in Kanu)."
In a recent interview, Muturi said Salat and Moi’s efforts against Uhuru arose from the desire by the Moi family to ensure Kanu has nothing to do with Eldoret North MP William Ruto, an ally of Uhuru in the informal ‘G7’ alliance. Kanu and Ruto-led United Republican Party have been holding talks to form a pre-election coalition. Should it materialise, Kanu leadership in Rift Valley would play second fiddle to Ruto, who is widely expected to be Uhuru’s ‘running-mate’ despite their pending trials at the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity.
