What Uhuru told Opposition in private talk

Former President Uhuru Kenyatta at a funeral of former Kirinyaga Senator Daniel Karaba. [Courtesy, KMPS]

It is now emerging that former President Uhuru Kenyatta will be actively involved in next year’s polls to oust his successor over what he termed as bad governance and misplaced priorities.

Uhuru, who held a 40-minute meeting with the Opposition leaders on Wednesday after the funeral of former Kirinyaga Senator Daniel Karaba, assured them of his support to unseat President William Ruto in next year’s polls.

The meeting was attended by former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, Kalonzo Musyoka (Wiper), Martha Karua (People’s Liberation Party), Eugene Wamalwa (Democracy Action Party), Fred Matiangi (deputy leader, Jubilee party), Justin Muturi (Democratic party) and Siaya Governor James Orengo.

The leaders who attended the meeting said Uhuru — who had personally rallied the Opposition leaders to attend the meeting after the burial ceremony — urged them to be wary of Ruto’s scheme to divide them and warned any leader who would abandon the team would face the full wrath of Kenyans.

He was clear that their shared vision is to oust Ruto from power and for that to happen, they should always remain united. He said if any of them drifts, they could be ‘burnt’ by Kenyans who want a change in Ruto’s regime.

Uhuru reportedly reiterated his unity calls to the Opposition leaders and told them to solve their differences internally while focusing on the main agenda of unseating the President.

“He maintained that we must always put the interest of the people first while reminding us of the 2002 moment when the late Raila Odinga decamped from Kanu party, leaving him exposed politically. He said such a moment should be replicated as a strategy to defeat Ruto’s administration,” an Opposition figure said.

Uhuru also received a brief on the proposed retreat by the Opposition leaders later this month, when they will get a report from their technical committee that was strategising on the Opposition’s roadmap to the 2027 elections and also a proposal to have the name of their alliance, which will later be registered with the registrar of political parties.

According to sources, Uhuru had not met all Opposition figures at once but had had separate engagements with all of them.

It was agreed that they would be meeting quarterly to assess and evaluate the progress made by the Opposition.

During the meeting, it was agreed that the United Opposition and Linda Mwananchi, which was represented by Orengo, would continue arranging separate meetings for now but would join hands at the homestretch in a bid to boost the Opposition’s strength.

The United Opposition’s task was to appeal to the traditional voting block, while Linda Mwananchi’s team will be focusing on the Gen Z constituency as well as regions such as Western, Coast and Nairobi.

“There have been talks between the two teams and we have not had public meetings as a matter of strategy, but the two teams will produce one formidable presidential candidate who will face Ruto,” a source said.

Already, the Linda Mwananchi team, led by ODM Secretary-General Edwin Sifuna and Embakasi East MP Babu Owino have hinted at a plan to join the United Opposition.

According to Sifuna, the political players in the country need to be one force against Ruto to realise a possible gap of at least five million votes in the presidential contest and hence the need to join forces with the United Opposition.

Speaking on one of the TV stations, Sifuna maintained that Linda Mwananchi’s goal was not to split votes to collaborate with like-minded players to make Ruto a one-term president.

 “If you speak to ordinary Kenyans, there is a general acceptance that we need an overwhelming repudiation of Ruto and everything that he stands for. It has to be overwhelming. We must beat Ruto by at least five million votes so that it is a lesson and a precedent for the entire country that if you ever build a government that does not listen to the people, we will send you home,” Sifuna said.

“That precedent is critical for the future of this country. So for you to achieve that overwhelming repudiation, there is a common understanding amongst the population that we must approach this election as a unit,” he added.

While saying that their movement was not out to split votes, Sifuna stated that Kenyans could not afford an additional five years under the Ruto regime, justifying his pronouncements that they would team up with Kalonzo Musyoka and Rigathi Gachagua formation to put up a solid political base to face Ruto.

“We will not be the problem because I can’t countenance waking up and hearing Ruto has won elections by 100,000 votes or 200,000 like he did last time. So the members of the United Opposition should keep doing what they are doing,’ he added.

According to Sifuna, unseating Ruto would not be a walk in the park, saying they needed to deploy various political formations using a different strategy to rally their supporters against his administration.

“We are not under any illusion that it’s going to be easy. This guy has the State; he has proclivities and inclinations towards violence. It is possible for him to manufacture situations such as we’ve seen in Uganda and in Tanzania to ensure that we don’t campaign. He knows his stuff, we must accept that he has certain strengths and then agree that those strengths that he has do not allow much room for sentiment within the Opposition ranks,” he added.

He explained that all the Opposition leaders must agree on a working formula they will take Ruto home, saying ‘‘ When you are hunting a dangerous animal, you don’t all come in from one direction, you approach it from different areas. All of us must wake up the spirit of the nation and say this is a moment that we need to set that precedent that the people are supreme.”

 Separately, Sifuna’s viewpoint was supported by Embakasi East MP Babu Owino, who dismissed claims that their team should not work with former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua over claims that he was anti-Raila, maintaining that he too was a Kenyan who had been persecuted by the very regime he campaigned for.

 “Gachagua is a Kenyan; he was persecuted and removed from office and that is why I did not vote for his impeachment. I am ready to work with everybody, Raila too worked with Ruto who persecuted him and stole his victory,’ the MP added. 

The move by Uhuru to consolidate the Opposition and especially Gachagua, who has been his political nemesis, has been seen as a larger strategy to lock out Ruto in Mt Kenya region.