Raila backers play hardball

By OSCAR OBONYO

Supporters of Prime Minister Raila Odinga plan to keep up a campaign of “political harassment” against his former ODM deputy Musalia Mudavadi.

They believe his decision not to leave his party-sponsored position in Cabinet when he defected to UDF party is a stick they can use to beat him. However, some aides to the PM and his allies in Western Kenya worry about a possible backlash and whether this is the right time to go on the offensive.

A meeting of the party’s National Executive Committee resolved last Tuesday to keep Mr Mudavadi restless.

One of the party’s officials has since confided to The Standard on Saturday this is “purely political harassment”, meant to repeatedly remind Mudavadi he got to where he is “riding on ODM’s back”. If the Deputy Prime Minister can be pestered into leaving the post voluntarily, the party would have a huge political chip that can be cashed in with leaders from other regions (see related story).

Some leaders within and outside ODM concede this is the party’s only credible option.

Last week, Raila appeared to step back from the fight to unseat the Deputy Prime Minister, which his aides say was not helping the party’s man. Instead, ODM’s NEC and the informal Friends of Raila (Fora) lobby group took the initiative.

While the NEC directed Mudavadi’s immediate replacement, Fora sought to achieve an ouster in court, along with the annulling of the parliamentary careers of about 100 representatives who, like the Deputy PM, have abandoned the parties that sponsored them to the National Assembly.

Political harassment

The chorus of calls for the Sabatia legislator to quit or be removed as Deputy PM is meant to harass him politically and portray him as someone who does not respect the law, The Standard On Saturday has reliably established. However, Mudavadi is believed to be planning to counter this strategy with a surprise announcement, expected at the public rally in Mombasa tomorrow.

ODM’s approach is partly informed by the fact that compelling Mudavadi to relinquish the seat through legal avenues, including initiating a Vote of No Confidence, may be a mountain too high to climb for the Orange brigade.

ODM support in Parliament has shrunk considerably following the departures of Mudavadi and another former deputy leader William Ruto.

“It is generally agreed that the DPM post is not worth fighting over and should instead be treated as a manifestation of Musalia’s continued support for impunity,” says one ODM insider, who declined to be named.

These sentiments resonate with a position taken by Barrack Muluka, the National Communication Director for the Raila For President secretariat. In an article published just after Mudavadi decamped from ODM, Mr Muluka argued that Mudavadi’s decision not to resign as Deputy PM was a reflection of his “support for impunity and lack of democratic ideals”.

He even described Mudavadi as “a freeloader” and “a man who likes easy options”.

Sports Minister Paul Otuoma admitted the issue presented a dilemma for the party. Pushing Mudavadi out would be a challenge, he said, due to the way in which the National Accord was worded and ODM’s loss of numbers.

“The position is ODM’s,” the minister said. “Recognising the situation in Parliament now, however, it may be difficult to uproot him.”

Problems in Parliament

Belgut MP Charles Keter also says ODM would face serious difficulty in the House if the matter surfaces there.

“This position is constitutional. Though Mudavadi has left ODM and the seat is truly theirs, the Constitution has given guidelines on how to remove the PM and his deputies,” Keter said. “Since ODM has (problems) with almost everyone here. I foresee a situation where Mudavadi will get some sympathy in the House.”

Gem MP Jakoyo Midiwo, an ally of the PM, insists no parliamentary action is needed to get Mudavadi out of the Deputy PM position.

“This is not an issue for Parliament to decide,” Midiwo said. “His case is very different from that of (Deputy PM) Uhuru Kenyatta. The seat belongs to ODM and Mudavadi is not a member now.

The PM will be nominating someone else. We expect the President to formalise the appointment once it is done.” ODM officials had called for Uhuru to quit all Cabinet posts after being committed to trial by the International Criminal Court for international crimes. However, he only gave up the executive docket at the Ministry of Finance, keeping his seat as one of two Deputy PMs.

ODM’s strategy is to keep attacking Mudavadi’s choice to hang on to the Deputy PM slot as a sign he likes to receive everything on a silver platter. Says East Africa Community Minister Musa Sirma: “Mudavadi should realise the time of inheriting power is long gone.” Not all ODM leaders are comfortable with the confrontational approach. Many from western Kenya support Mudavadi’s call for a ceasefire, which was echoed by Westlands MP Fred Gumo. Some like Budalang’i MP Ababu Namwamba are warning about the dangers of “the exchange of friendly fire”.

The MPs are hesitant to burn their bridges with the Deputy PM just in case a UDF-wave sweeps the region or it later becomes necessary for ODM to work with Mudavadi in a run-off.

Others within ODM’s top organs oppose the hardball approach because they believe Mudavadi has more to gain from the fighting.

“If the party keeps attacking or responding to Mudavadi’s team, it is at expense of Raila and the party,” says a source that attended the NEC meeting. “The talk at party’s NEC (about pushing for the Deputy PM’s removal) was just politics and trying to harass him. It is not anything that the party leadership supports.”