By Francis Ngige

Some supporters of Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta are quietly voicing the unthinkable behind the scenes.

The Standard has learnt that several MPs are proposing Uhuru sacrifice his presidential ambition and back his colleague Musalia Mudavadi for State House.

The leaders seeking to have Uhuru step down are convinced thatPrime Minister Raila Odinga will beat Uhuru in a run-off for the presidency in the coming elections.

Those behind this thinking see a scenario where Uhuru or Raila will triumph in the first round, but without the requisite 50 per cent plus one threshold, and therefore subject the two to a run-off.

On Thursday, an MP who is a key supporter of Uhuru said he and other leaders were determined to convince Uhuru to temporarily shelf his ambitions and instead support another candidate.

“We want to tell him that he may make in the first round, but when it comes to the run off, there are all indications that most Kenyans would be on the other side since they are not keen on another Kikuyu presidency,” said the MP.

The legislator, who did not want to be mentioned for fear of being seen to be against the Uhuru’s candidature, said all calculations indicated that the run off was likely to be between Uhuru and Raila.

“I’m telling them, let us face the reality. It would be difficult for Uhuru to win a run-off if he is competing against Raila because the entire western (Kenya) voting block will be behind him. It would be a repeat of 2007 when it was the entire country against the Gema. Having had the presidency twice, the Kikuyu will be seen to be very selfish,” said the MP.

He said the best bet to unify the Central Kenya vote and carry the day is Mudavadi, who recently quit the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party for the United Democratic Forum.

single candidate

“He (Uhuru) has the best chance to fight the notion that people of Central Kenya are selfish. He is still young and can rest to fight another day,” said the MP.

He added: “When we look at all the aspirants, it is only Mudavadi who is easy to sell in Central Kenya just in case Uhuru is not vying.”

Another politician privy to the plan says it would be easy for Uhuru to excuse himself from contesting the presidency using the pending trial at the International Criminal Court (ICC) at The Hague, Netherlands as an excuse.

“It is clear that everyone in G7 Alliance is determined to go it alone in the first round and it is therefore inevitable that there will be a run-off. We were hoping that Uhuru and (William) Ruto will form a good partnership and tackle the election as a team, but you recently heard Ruto saying he would pick a running mate from Coast,” said the politician.

He said the game changer would be only if the G7 leaders present a single candidate to run against Raila.

“This would definitely ensure that their preferred candidate would win in the first round.

But Assistant Minister Kareke Mbiuki immediately dismissed the alleged move as false and motivated by people afraid of Uhuru’s candidature.

“What pressure? There is nothing like that. As far as we are concerned, Uhuru is our preferred presidential candidate and his name will be on the ballot,” Kareke told The Standard on phone.

He, however, added an interesting twist to the matter, claiming that all the G7 leaders had agreed to sign a pre-election agreement that would see the losers support the leader who will be in the run-off.

“The agreement will be deposited with the registrar of Political Parties because it is a legal and a binding document,” said Kareke, a close ally of Uhuru.

The Nithi MP said the first round of elections would be used as a nomination process in the G7 Alliance.

“Since every leader in the Alliance is under pressure from their people, it would be unfair to curtail their ambitions. Uhuru will go all the way,” said Kareke.

He said the agreement to be signed by all the presidential aspirants in the grouping would ensure that the rest would support the one who emerges victorious among them.

Subukia MP Nelson Gaichuhie was guarded in his response, saying it would be tricky if Uhuru were pitted against Raila in a run-off.

“It will be a very close contest to call because the two leaders enjoy massive support across the country,” said Gaichuhie.

The MP said it would be tricky for Uhuru if Kenyans were reminded that Kikuyus have ruled the country for 25 years (15 under Jomo Kenyatta and 10 under Kibaki).

“But it will also not be easy for Raila as there several issues which Kenyans are unhappy about. So it will be a very close to call,” said Gaichuhie.

disgruntled politicians

An aide of Uhuru said the claims are meant to “create a debate where there is none” and dismissed them as false.

“There is nothing like pressure, we know there is a group of disgruntled politicians who are trying to create a new agenda for their own selfish gains,” said the aide.

The move comes just after a week an opinion poll showed a neck-to-neck contest between Uhuru and Raila in the event of a run-off.

According to findings released by Ipsos Synovate, a run-off between the two would result in a tie, with both receiving 44 per cent of the votes cast if the elections were held now.

A further 12 per cent said they were undecided on their preferred presidential candidate.