I’m ready to work with Raila, DP Ruto says

Deputy President William Ruto yesterday hinted at working with Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) leader Raila Odinga as the two railed at the One Kenya coalition.

Criticising the alliance formed by Amani National Congress (ANC) leader Musalia Mudavadi, Kanu chairman and Baringo Senator Gideon Moi, Kalonzo Musyoka of Wiper party and Ford Kenya’s Moses Wetang’ula, Dr Ruto said ODM is the only national party after Jubilee and that he shares certain goals with Mr Odinga.

“Some people think I have problems with Raila. I don’t. These differences are political. Raila is agreeable on the need to form national parties. He faces similar issues that I face,” he told Radio Citizen yesterday.

“If anybody wants to partner with us to bring up the ‘hustler’, we have no problem. We will work together.”

Dr Ruto’s statement was immediately followed by remarks from ODM chairman John Mbadi and Secretary-General Edwin Sifuna, who said the party is working on new alliances.

“Nothing is impossible in politics. They can work together,” Mr Mbadi said, adding that the General Election next year would likely feature two major alliances.

Mr Sifuna said ODM wants to build a new coalition.

“The post-Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) alliance the ODM is working on will be fresh, strong, vibrant and packed with people who can stand on their own,” he said. 

Rangwe MP Lillian Gogo, however, told Dr Ruto to approach the ODM leader formally for a coalition.

“Raila has never changed his position on peace and national unity. Raila’s ideology has always been empowering the poor. If Ruto is comfortable working with Raila, let him say it,” she said.

Lawmakers allied to Dr Ruto supported the decision by ODM to remove Kakamega Senator Cleophas Malala as deputy minority leader on Wednesday.

“ODM was magnanimous in giving leadership positions to other member parties of the National Super Alliance (Nasa),” Kericho senator Aaron Cheruiyot tweeted.

Sidelined by handshake

However, some analysts said Mr Odinga needs to be careful if he intends to form an alliance with Dr Ruto.

“An Odinga-Ruto team will likely lose to the One Kenya Alliance but it’s too early to handicap any races,” law scholar Makau Mutua said.

Dr Ruto and Mr Odinga have been political opponents since the formation of Jubilee party.

The rivalry intensified with the March 9, 2018 handshake between President Uhuru Kenyatta and the ODM leader.

The handshake led to the sidelining of the DP in government.

ODM and Dr Ruto reserved their toughest words for the One Kenya alliance yesterday.

“We are done with the fading breed of tribal politicians whose singular focus over the years has been on what they can extract from our sweat and from the country,” Mr Sifuna said.

The DP said the group is made up of tribal chieftains “who believe in the politics of the past”.

“People like Wetang’ula run village parties. I believe in national parties like Jubilee and ODM,” Dr Ruto added during a second interview with comedian Jalang’o.

The DP said he is ready to leave Jubilee and join the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) as his vehicle of choice in the 2022 elections.

He said those allied to him in Jubilee have been ostracised.

While he has let his supporters run UDA and avoided campaigns in the recent by-elections, Dr Ruto came out in support of the party, saying it is the next big thing the country needs.

 “If it gets to a point they do not want us to be in Jubilee, we must have a different plan. You cannot wait to hit a wall,” he said.

“We have built UDA in partnership with Jubilee. It is not us starting afresh. We are going on with what we already have.”

In a separate press briefing, Mr Mudavadi, Mr Musyoka, Mr Moi and Mr Wetang’ula criticised Mr Odinga and announced plans for countrywide campaigns to market their coalition.

 The four leaders said Mr Odinga suffers from the big brother syndrome, adding that he has resorted to bullying and intimidation “to cover up for the losses his party suffered in the by-elections”.

Mr Mudavadi said the removal of Senator Malala as minority House leader “indicates the fear that had gripped ODM after the loss in the March 4 Matungu by-election”.

He added that it was because of the Kakamega senator’s central role in the campaigns that ANC candidate Peter Nabulindo trounced his ODM rival.

Withdraw from mini polls

Mr Mudavadi said his party would stand with the Kakamega senator.

Read: Storm in Uhuru camp as Malala kicked out

“I did not know the Matungu victory was a bitter pill to some people. We must move away from the politics of blackmail,” Mr Mudavadi said.

“What we are seeing in what has happened to Mr Malala or what Senator Wetang’ula experienced many months ago is somebody trying to backmail Kenyans. This will not work. Let us be prepared as a Kenyan people to compete.”

The One Kenya leaders said they resolved to withdraw from the Garissa, Juja and Bonchari by-elections in support of Jubilee, setting stage for another confrontation with ODM in Kisii County.

Report by Patrick Lang’at, Ibrahim Oruko, Onyango K’Onyango and Silas Apollo