Uhuru embrace of fringe parties double-edged sword

President Uhuru Kenyatta’s move to extend an olive branch to small parties in Mt Kenya region opens up space for key politicians in the region, even as their proliferation eats into the ruling Jubilee Party’s turf.

Coming at a time when politicians are jittery over which parties and coalitions to vie through, the President has furthered the push for a grand coalition deal between his Jubilee Party and others ahead of the August 9 elections.

Speaking at the Sagana III meeting in Nyeri on Wednesday, the President conceded to the reasons for the fringe parties’ proliferation when he cited the chaotic Jubilee nominations in 2017, where many politicians blamed Deputy President William Ruto for their losses.  

Apart from defending Jubilee’s political relevance and muscle, President Kenyatta is out to popularise the Azimio la Umoja alliance on which ODM leader Raila Odinga is expected to run for the presidency.

President Kenyatta, who endorsed Mr Odinga’s candidacy at Sagana, told politicians that there was room for a grand alliance that seeks to unite the Mt Kenya region.

The Head of State also said that those with fringe parties will not be required to fold them to join the alliance.

“Many of you have formed your own political parties and I have no problem with them. All I am asking is you bring your party so we can unite as a region, and also with others, so we can form government,” he said.

“I understand why most of you are holding onto your small parties, because you know what befell you the other time,” said President Kenyatta, making reference to the 2017 nominations. 

Read: Uhuru Kenyatta, Raila Odinga hand in new regional parties

This comes against a backdrop of an ongoing debate on whether fringe parties should fold to join much bigger parties, with Dr Ruto under fire for his stance on conditions for joining his United Democratic Alliance (UDA). 

The DP has previously maintained that UDA will not enter into a coalition deal with other parties and that anyone who wanted to join him should fold their party.

The stance has been met with rebellion from his allies, with some opting to start their own parties or join others in a bid to ensure aspirants do not lose their chances during nominations. With smaller parties, some feel the chances of being on the ballot are higher, if not guaranteed.

For Jubilee, even as it rebrands, reorganises and rejuvenates itself, the invitation to small parties presents a major headache, because they are chipping away at its base.

Parties that have mushroomed in the region include Chama Cha Kazi (CCK) of Gatundu South MP Moses Kuria, former Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mwangi Kiunjuri’s The Service Party (TSP), the Democratic Party of National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi, Devolution Empowerment Party (DEP) of Meru Governor Kiraitu Murungi, Nakuru Governor Lee Kinyanjui’s Ubuntu People’s Forum (UPF), Usawa Party, led by Murang'a governor Mwangi wa Iria, and Martha Karua’s Narc Kenya.

Analysts have warned that with these parties out to eat Jubilee’s pie, President Kenyatta’s party has to put up a spirited effort to reclaim its lost glory.

“The history of Kenya seems to suggest that once a party loses its popularity, there is no second coming. My hunch tells me that Jubilee will most likely mutate into another outfit, hopefully more powerful,” said University of Nairobi lecturer X N Iraki.

Political analyst cum governance expert Javas Bigambo said President Kenyatta was only activating his party to counter his deputy’s wave ahead of the elections, but not for Jubilee to survive beyond the end of his regime.

Read: Why William Ruto is upset with small parties

“President Kenyatta as the party leader should have called for a delegates’ conference to as well elect the new leaders who could take office in the year. Him remaining the party leader yet he is getting out of elective politics is to deny other party members opportunities for growth and reinvention,” said Mr Bigambo.

“If President Kenyatta was seriously interested in having the Jubilee Party organised and disciplined, it would be so. As it is now, Jubilee is ill prepared to mount a formidable challenge against its opponents as it did in the 2017 General Election. It is unlikely that President Kenyatta will heavily invest his time, energy and resources in rallying Jubilee's candidates to victory in 2022,” he argued.

However, President Kenyatta’s allies have downplayed the threat from small parties, arguing that it is a perception that was created because the Jubilee Party was still rolling out development programmes across the country.

“The threat of small parties came from the perception that Jubilee was done. Now and in the coming days it’s clear Jubilee was ‘away at the office’. People have seen what we have been doing whilst at the office. Now we will make them understand what it means, politically. In a few short weeks, those who thought small parties were an option will realise they aren’t,” Nyeri Town MP Ngunjiri Wambugu told the Nation yesterday.

Ndaragwa MP Jeremiah Kioni and his Kieni counterpart Kanini Kega said the parties formed are affiliates of Jubilee.

“People like governor Kinyanjui have formed parties affiliated to Jubilee hence there is no mass exodus,” he said.

Mr Kega said the party was not bothered by those who are leaving and joining DP Ruto’s camp, saying they would rather remain few members, but who are committed and loyal to President Kenyatta.

“We have no problem with leaders forming their own political parties and they subscribe to our ideology.”

The rejuvenation of Jubilee comes as a plus to key aspirants in the party strongholds. 

Read: Inside Uhuru’s grand Jubilee Party revival plan

Nakuru County for instance, with over a million voters, is still regarded a Jubilee stronghold despite losing dozens of its members to the United Democratic Alliance led by Deputy President William Ruto.

Jubilee Senior Director Peter Mtumishi and Nakuru Branch Chairman James Karimi have been welcoming aspirants defecting from other parties like the Amani National Congress (ANC) and UDA.

For more than a week now, dozens of aspirants have defected and joined the ruling party, and are usually received with pomp and colour at the rebranded Nakuru branch party headquarters.

The aspirants include those vying for parliamentary, senatorial, gubernatorial and woman representative seats.

"Jubilee is still the party to beat in Nakuru County and in the South Rift region. Its revival will come in a big way and will sweep the county like a bushfire," said Mr Karimi.

Already, Jubilee is shedding its past, and has abandoned its old logo of black hands clasped in greeting over a yellow background -- borrowed from Dr Ruto’s United Republican Party (URP), replacing it with a red dove encircled by white on a red background.

Jubilee offices in various parts of the country have also been rebranded. The Nakuru office has been given a fresh coat of paint and now sports the new logo. The party officials have also been holding meetings to strategise on the party’s revival.

Reporting by Onyango K’ Onyango, Eric Matara, Nicholas Komu and Alex Njeru