Former bigwigs run to OKA, Ruto and Raila camps

**Deputy President William Ruto (left) talks to former Mombasa Senator Hassan Omar Sarai.** [Omondi Onyango, Standard]

They are back with a resounding bang that cannot go unnoticed as they position themselves strategically in the 2022 political matrix.

Most have predictably jumped onto Deputy President William Ruto’s United Democratic Alliance (UDA) bandwagon, some in former Prime Minister Raila Odinga’s ODM and others in the One Kenya Alliance.

But what value will they add to the fortunes of the presidential aspirants and their political outfits and furthermore, will they mount a successful political comeback?

These are politicians who lost elections and some have stayed in the political wilderness for more than two election cycles while making unsuccessful comeback attempts.

Others who were either hibernating or were being kept relevant by being given government jobs are now also seeking a lifeline.

Others kept themselves busy in either the Kieleweke and Tangatanga political outfits by siding with either President Uhuru Kenyatta or Deputy President William Ruto in the Jubilee divide.

They include the likes of former senators Hassan Omar Hassan and Bonny Khalwale (Tangatanga) who have stuck with Ruto since he began his campaigns about four years ago.

Also to be watched are politicians who were appointed as Chief Administrative Secretaries like Ababu Namwamba, Rachel Shebesh, Linah Jebii Kilimo and Patrick Ntutu.

Apart from Ntutu, who has boldly declared interest in the Narok governor’s seat on a UDA ticket, the rest are treading carefully waiting until February next year to start their campaigns.

Pundits say Ababu’s choice is limited to UDA because Raphael Wanjala has ODM in his grip unless he pulls a surprise by joining Musalia Mudavadi’s ANC.

In 1999, Ruto, Jirongo and Kirwa, all Kanu MPs, ganged up and attempted to register the United Democratic Movement (UDM) party but were frustrated by President Moi’s government.

Both Jirongo and Ruto joined Parliament representing neighbouring constituencies of Lugari and Eldoret North respectively on a Kanu ticket in 1997 using the same campaign slogan Ukweli wa Mambo.

The DP and Jirongo later joined hands and registered the United Republican Party (URP) whose slogan was Kusema na Kutenda with Cabinet Secretary Charles Keter listed as the founder in 2012.

Later that year, Jirongo complained that he had been sidelined in party affairs and together with Kirwa headed back to their former party, UDM. He has since joined the Okoa Kenya Alliance.

Political analyst Prof Amukoa Anangwe says Jirongo, Magara, Kirwa and Owalo could add some political mileage to their new suitors while others like Prof Gitile Naituli argue that some will disappear further.

“They are like retired generals who to the extent that they have been recalled have a lot to offer and should not be taken for granted,” says Prof Anangwe.

So, what impact will these politicians have as they seek to rejuvenate their careers?

Cyrus Jirongo

Prof Anangwe says Jirongo has a history with DP Ruto and therefore understands him well and that could have informed the reason why One Kenya Alliance went for him and gave him an opportunity to speak at the Mountain Kenya Foundation (MKF) meeting.

“He must have been prompted by the system to play that role and it must be something to do with uniting Raila and the OKA group but if not, then it could be his brokerage at play,” says Anangwe.

He further argues that Jirongo could have jumped at the opportunity to rebuild his profile as a Luhya leader and a vicious defender of Luhya community interests.

But he is also not sure if Jirongo will “hang around” in OKA if Gideon Moi decides to leave because he could be the person who invited him.

Prof Macharia Munene of USIU says Jirongo has a big role as was the case at the MKF meeting where he spoke harshly and reprimanded the Mt Kenya region for not reciprocating what the Luhya community has offered them in the past.

Kipruto arap Kirwa

The former Minister for Agriculture was not among those who were in Ruto’s Kusema na Kutenda URP outfit that later joined The National Alliance (TNA) to form the Jubilee government but is now chanting Kazi ni Kazi, Ruto’s new slogan for UDA.

He was on the list of interim party officials which was presented to the Registrar of Political Parties and hastily withdrawn when it created a furore after it was published in national dailies.

“Once you take leave from the political scene, your value tends to wane and it takes a bit of time to rebuild your gravitas but Kirwa normally resurfaces when elections are around,” says Prof Anangwe.

Prof Gitile, however, argues that he has made a smart move by joining UDA, because it will win many seats in the Rift Valley region.

But Anangwe’s view is that “like all Kalenjin politicians”, they will be trooping to UDA for purposes of survival.

Kirwa will, however, be the UDA point man in Trans Nzoia where he was a darling of the electorate, earning himself the moniker Makokha.

Omingo Magara

His relationship with Ruto dates back to 2007 when he was the National Treasurer of ODM while the latter was a member of the Pentagon, its top decision-making organ.

He developed a close bond with the DP and later sided with him and other Rift Valley renegades in creating a sustained rebellion in ODM.

“It is a deliberate move by Ruto to go for Magara because he needs a tested but loyal politician to give UDA more clout in the larger Gusii region,” says Anangwe.

Ruto’s team is convinced Magara’s support will be handy because he was with him in past battles with the former Prime Minister.

In 2007, Ruto expressed discontent over alleged ill treatment in ODM when he was the Agriculture minister in President Kibaki’s grand coalition government.

With Magara who was an assistant minister and others, he became a confidant of Kibaki and his inner circle as the crack between Prime Minister Raila and President Kibaki widened.

Although Magara later joined the People’s Democratic Party while Ruto formed URP, the DP knows his old friend is more valuable than the likes of a deputy governor who was UDA’s senior most politician in Gusii region.

As for the rest like Owalo, Prof Naituli says they are expressing interest in the political dispensation to gain some relevance but they will most likely make an impact.

Reuben Ndolo

The former Makadara MP is back and has been on Raila’s campaign trail with other big names like Cabinet Secretary John Munyes.

In the prime of his political career, Ndolo was a key pillar in Raila’s campaign team in Nairobi where he also served as the ODM chair.

Ndolo has returned with a bang and was part of Raila’s campaign team in Lodwar two weeks ago where the ODM leader was selling the party’s new Azimio la Umoja declaration.

“Ndolo is a seasoned politician who understands Nairobi politics and he can easily mobilise his support base in Eastlands but it is not clear how he will regain the ground he lost while in the political cold,” says Geoffrey Givendi Asutsa of Moi University.

John Munyes

The Cabinet Secretary is another seasoned politician who began his career in Ford Kenya and was an ally of former vice president, the late Kijana Wamalwa.

He is Raila’s point man in Turkana County, where almost all MPs and the outgoing Governor Josephat Nanok are in DP Ruto’s UDA.

“He is capable of marshaling support for Raila in the region because chances are high that he is going to be the next governor,” says John Wanyama, a teacher based in Lodwar.

“But he will face a very tough challenge from the UDA candidate.”

Peter Kenneth

The former presidential candidate is actively campaigning in the Mt Kenya region for the ODM leader.

“He approached me at the airport and pleaded that ANC leaders support Raila because we all have one common enemy in Deputy President William Ruto,” says Lugari MP Ayub Savula.

Jebii Kilimo

Raila’s ODM party will be watching her moves keenly because she has a firm grassroots support and lost narrowly in the last election.

“Kilimo is a popular politician who knows how to play her cards and expect her to pull a surprise by joining either formation or running on a new party,” says Asutsa.

Anangwe says Ruto will be offer positions in the UDA party to appease some disgruntled leaders: “If you don’t reward them with an office whatever it is worth, they become unstable and unpredictable.”

In Western, Ruto appears to be bringing on board new catches, the latest being Seth Panyako, the secretary-general of the Kenya National Union of Nurses.

The DP has in the past had very close friends like Namwamba before they fell out and is now relying on MPs like Benjamin Washiali and former CS Rashid Echesa.

At some point, former Kakamega Senator Bonny Khalwale was touted to be the UDA deputy party leader although it is not clear if such a position exists in the party that is largely under Ruto’s grip.

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