Ruto team in tight spot after failed UDM takeover

By JUMA KWAYERA

Failure by Orange Democratic Movement rebels to take over United Democratic Movement (UDM) leadership heralds a new dilemma for the group that also risks being ‘orphans’ if their original party holds elections sooner.

The group’s highly publicised defection to UDM is in the balance pending arbitration over party leadership by the Political Parties Tribunal, highlighting the ‘locked-in’ constraints presented by the poorly enforced Political Parties Act.

The dilemma is further compounded by chilling of relations between Eldoret North MP William Ruto, the leader of the ODM rebels after he was cold-shouldered by President Kibaki during a military pass-out parade at the Moi Barracks in Eldoret last Friday.

The group’s dalliance with Kibaki’s Party of National Unity is also in question following further revelations that Vice- President Kalonzo Musyoka has been disengaging from the ‘Ocampo Bloc’ to avoid constant sniping by ‘generational change’ leadership in the coalition.

Kibaki’s cold attitude to Ruto was the opposite of a show of closeness the country witnessed during a joint public rally at the Eldoret Stadium in March after the International Criminal Court named the MP among the six suspects of post-election violence. Then the President chatted heartily with the Ruto and other leaders from the Rift Valley.

Last Friday’s cold reception of Ruto exposed a new the icy relationship setting in after the President’s think-tank started feeling sidelined by the ODM rebels. After the handshake and brief photo session, the two hardly spoke up to the end of the parade, following which the President left immediately, sources who attended the pass-out parade say.

Those in attendance say the President’s attitude was unusual given the kind of support he has extended to the ‘Ocampo Six’ since ICC’s Luis Moreno-Ocampo named them.

Rebel group

However, within the rebel group and outside, it echoes the ambivalence the group faces after it was prevented, albeit temporarily, from assuming the leadership of UDM, its vehicle of choice for the 2012 General Election.

Consequently, political activities the Rift Valley have slowed down, complicated further by a recent rejection of a plan by local leaders to resettle IDPs in Chepkoria scheme, for which Ruto has had to field questions from suspicious residents about his perceived co-operation in a plot to populate the region with foreigners.

A member of the local Provincial Administration tasked with the resettlement of the IDPs told The Standard On Sunday of the deep-seated resentment among locals, a position echoed by Chepalungu MP Isaac Ruto.

The MP blames the planners for messing up the resettlement, which he says is pre-programmed to give demographic advantage to some communities.

The threat of a backlash has precipitated a temporary retreat on political activities in the expansive and cosmopolitan Rift Valley.

The political networking that had evolved into KKK Alliance is now under threat, same us the move to decamp to UDM by local politicians.

Isaac Ruto, expected to be among the 34 or so legislators who will cross over to UDM, says they have not put a timeline to their migration to the new home until the tribunal settles the dispute.

The MP also defended the slow political activity in the region that has abandoned the PM and his party, and thrown weight behind Kibaki that the failure by his namesake to attend last month’s Uhuru Kenyatta’s homecoming rally in Nyeri upon return from The Hague did not mean they are drifting apart.

Local leaders told The Standard On Sunday the Eldoret MP organised to have a rally in Turkana to skip the Nyeri rally, where he would have played second fiddle to Uhuru.

Yesterday, Ruto met civic leaders from Rift Valley at his home to discuss his ambitions. Sources said he is breaking away from Uhuru after realising it would cost him politically.

The MP’s allies aver that although the two youthful leaders have been forced by circumstances to work together, deep mistrust colour their relations.

Their ambition to vie for State House next year has put them at a crossroads as the scramble for political parties gains momentum.

Ironically, Ruto and Uhuru, unless they straighten up matters in their parties, look set to be sucked in protracted internal party wrangles.

While Ruto’s bid to take over UDM hit a snag after party chairman John Koech petitioned the Political Parties Tribunal over his ‘unconstitutional’ removal, Uhuru has to contend with a rebellion in Kanu and resistance from PNU leadership in which his party is a partner.

The Political Parties Act’s threshold for party membership before one seeks an elective position is six months, which calls for urgency in plans to defect.

More significantly, the number of politicians who will find themselves in limbo is expected to multiply in the countdown to the next poll, expected in August. In the short term, ODM MPs allied to William Ruto face the risk of being locked out of both parties after their reported ouster of UDM chairman Gen Koech was referred to by Peter Simani, the Political Parties Tribunal chair.

Isaac Ruto says Koech was relieved of chairmanship in compliance with the new Constitution, which bars public officers from holding party positions. Koech is the chairman of the Poverty Eradication Commission.

"We had letters from the Registrar of Political Parties to comply with party leadership. We were simply obeying the law because Koech is a public officer," says the Chepalungu MP. However, lawyer Mugambi Imanyara, who represents Koech and other ousted UDM leaders, says their ouster was not procedural.

"Koech was not given an opportunity to elect whether to retain his public office or party chairmanship. All UDM National Executive Council members are public officers. It is curious that they targeted only the chairman. In addition, other parties have not complied with the same law," Mugambi argues.