Succession tops Uhuru, Raila talks in Mombasa

President Uhuru Kenyatta and ODM leader Raila Odinga met in Mombasa this weekend with succession politics said to be top on the agenda exactly a year to the next General Election.

The meeting of the “handshake brothers”, as they refer to each other, comes days after Deputy President William Ruto hosted tens of MPs allied to him at Karen home and left little doubt that there was any reconciliation chance between him and his boss. He accuses the president of veering off the Jubilee agenda the moment he had a truce with Mr Odinga, their main challenger in the last polls.

The Head of State has been operating from his private home in Nyali with sources confirming that his mother, Mama Ngina Kenyatta, also the former First Lady, is at the Coast.

“I don’t know whether they eventually met but I can tell you they were supposed to,” Jubilee vice-chairperson David Murathe told the Sunday Nation last evening.

Rebellion

The next 12 months will be crucial for Mr Kenyatta who is facing a wind of rebellion in his central Kenya backyard as sources suggested the Coast tour that has seen several Cabinet secretaries summoned also tackled the issue of completing most of his legacy projects before he quits.

Mr Odinga’s spokesman Denis Onyango was yet to get back to us on our enquiry about details of the meeting by last evening although he confirmed that his boss was indeed in Nyali.

Mr Odinga, insiders say, is expected to declare his intention to run for the top job later this month. Some of the President’s men like Mr Murathe are rooting for his ticket and say they will pitch the tent in central to woo votes for him.

The succession game plan initially crafted by the duo was largely anchored on the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) but was punctured when the High Court ruled that the whole push was illegal. They are banking their hopes on the Court of Appeal that will make its determination later in the month. The BBI proposed several changes to the Constitution that included re-introducing the Prime Minister’s position and two slots of deputies.

Secret meetings

At the same time, a new political party realignment is in the offing following secret meetings in Mombasa between Jubilee members and ODM top leadership since Thursday.

Different Coast ODM politicians have met with Mr Odinga, their party leader, where they presented details on their wish for future political realignments.

Sources privy to the arrangements indicate several meetings have been held between President Kenyatta, who has been in Mombasa close to a week now, and Mr Odinga who arrived in Mombasa on Thursday evening.

Some of Jubilee leaders, who are also in Mombasa for talks, which remain a top-secret include Mr Murathe and other ODM leaders.

Mvita MP Abdulswamad Nassir confirmed Mr Odinga has been in Mombasa to meet different people to position the party ahead of next the 2022 polls.

“President is in Mombasa and as a leader, he is free to be in any part of the country. We as ODM members we have met Mr Odinga. I met him for six hours where we discussed several national party strategies to deploy in the coming election,” he said.

“Coast leaders we are ready to meet President who is in Mombasa to discuss different issues affecting the region.”

Ganze MP Teddy Mwambire confirmed there had been meetings between ODM and Jubilee, adding that there are hopes of fresh political realignment soon.

He said apart from political talks, the leaders support President Kenyatta’s push to ensure ongoing legacy projects are delivered before his term ends.

“Coast parliamentarians aligned to ODM and Jubilee are working together to support the President to deliver his promises to the region and this is brought about by handshake. Apart from that, ODM is also negotiating with Jubilee for future realignments considering it ditched Nasa a few days ago,” he said.

“The visit of the President and Mr Odinga in the Coast region this time is critical economically and politically.”

The Ganze MP also said they are awaiting the BBI ruling on August 20, which is also expected to change the political landscape in the country.

ODM senatorial aspirant Hamisi Mwaguya urged President Kenyatta to fast-track the construction of the Dongo Kundu special economic zone to create jobs for the youth.

“His visit to the region is beneficial, we laud his projects, which will revive the region’s economy. The Dongo Kundu special economic zone should be fast-tracked, the Head of State should give incentives to investors to come on board,” he said.

Legacy projects

Some of President Kenyatta’s key legacy projects in the Coast region include turning the Sh1.8 billion Liwatoni fish landing site into a state-of-the-art Fishing port is expected to be complete in three months.

Others include the Sh1.9 billion Likoni footbridge and Sh11 billion phase one 11 kilometre Kipevu-Miritini Dongo Kundu road and Sh6.5 billion Mombasa CBD-Jomvu road, which are both complete, the 28-kilometre Dogo Kundu phase two and three, connecting Miritini and Kwale including two bridges at Sh28 billion (75 percent complete) and Sh4.5 billion Makupa Causeway Bridge commissioned in December.

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Additional reporting by Anthony Kitimo