Jubilee Party’s rebranding plans divide Kenyatta’s camp

Jubilee leaders’ proposal to change the party’s colours, logo and slogan to mark its severance of ties with Deputy President William Ruto has divided opinion in President Uhuru Kenyatta’s camp.

A majority of members say it’s unwise and unnecessary despite the irreconcilable differences between the President and his deputy.

Jubilee deputy secretary-general Joshua Kutuny, a former political adviser of the President, said they would shed off colours associated with the DP’s defunct United Republic Party (URP), which merged with The National Alliance (TNA) and 10 other parties in 2016 to form the coalition.

Dr Ruto’s allies have since shown interest in the United Democratic Alliance (UDA), which could be his political vehicle in the 2022 General Election.

Jubilee party colours are red, yellow, black and white. Red was conspicuous with TNA while yellow and black were associated with URP, something Mr Kutuny said should be changed as part of their rebranding plan.

The party’s slogan is ‘Tuko Pamoja’, with a symbol of a handshake that portrayed the union between Mr Kenyatta and Dr Ruto after the merger. Jubilee leaders now want to change the symbol “since the DP has decided to chart his own political path”.

However, Nyeri Town MP Ngunjiri Wambugu, an ardent critic of the DP, said it was unwise to change colours and symbols whenever an individual leaves the party.

Unity

“Our party is about unity, which is what the two clasped hands signify. The colour works for us. A party logo and colours cannot be changed every time some members leave or join. Our parties must now be bigger than any individual. Unless we are saying that we will be changing our party logos and colours every time someone leaves or joins the party. Let’s not fall into the trap of making some people look bigger than they are,” Mr Wambugu said yesterday.

Dr Ruto has been promoting UDA, making it necessary for Jubilee to rebrand ahead of a coalition agreement with ODM. Mwea MP Wachira Kabinga said red, yellow, white and black remain the legitimate colours of the party and were not adopted because of certain individuals.

“Those are Jubilee colours. If the DP, or any other person, wants to form their own party, it is up to them to choose their colours. We should not change our colours because others have left. When another person leaves, shall we also change colours and symbols? We should focus on stabilising our party,” Mr Kabinga told the Nation.

The Mwea MP urged members to focus on their leaders, who are responsible for the wrangles and dwindling fortunes of the once vibrant party.

Party’s leadership

“Instead of changing the colours, we should be thinking about the leadership of the party. Some of the people have outlived their leadership, they should step back and let others take the mantle. We have a lot of goodwill from our party leader but we have let him down. He has delegated everything to us but we have failed him,” he added.

Maua MP Kareke Mbiuki, an ally of President Kenyatta, said such changes should come from members, not a few individuals, adding that the Jubilee Parliamentary Group (PG) should meet to discuss the proposals.

“The party leadership should call a PG meeting to present the proposals. I’ll consider them based on their presentation,” he said.

Limuru MP Mwathi Mungai said there must be public participation before any changes are adopted because the party “does not belong to a few leaders”.

“We must seek views from our supporters the same way they were engaged when Jubilee was being formed. They have to be involved when restructuring the party and when reaching out for alliances,” he said.

By-elections

Stung by recent losses in by-elections, Jubilee leaders have formulated a plan that will see the party changing its logo, symbol and colours associated with Dr Ruto.

Mr Kutuny said a retreat would give members an opportunity to share their ideas on how to revitalise the once vibrant party that was just less with 62 MPs from the two-thirds majority in the House.

“A party retreat is urgent because we want our embers to approve some of these issues. Some of the proposals aimed at strengthening Jubilee must be spearheaded by the elected leaders because the party belongs to the people,” Mr Kutuny told Nation.

The party seeks to revive its countrywide offices, establish county coordinators and launch a mass recruitment drive to add to its acclaimed 8.25 million members.

The party also seeks to establish offices in 25 counties to register new members, among other activities, aimed at giving people at the grassroots a say in its operations, a strategy already employed by UDA.

Supremacy battle

It’s also planning to take the battle for political supremacy to Dr Ruto’s doorstep in a strategy that seeks to boost its strength in the vote-rich Rift Valley region and the Coast ahead of the 2022 polls.

“We are going to refurbish offices in 25 counties, including Trans Nzoia, Uasin Gishu and Mombasa,” said Mr Kutuny.

To avert a possible mass exodus of members, Jubilee is also restructuring its secretariat to put in place “a robust body that will coordinate activities of the party”.

The establishment of county offices are meant to counter UDA’s strategy, which has been putting up offices across the country to register new members.

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