Migration season as leaders switch political parties
Prominent political figures are ditching their parties in droves as the season of defections sets in with less than two weeks to the March 26 deadline for submission of party membership lists.
According to the law, anyone who plans to run for a seat in the August 9 General Election must be a member of a particular party by that date, unless they plan to contest as independent candidates.
As the date fast approaches, dozens of aspirants are switching to new homes mostly because of uncertainty around the nominations in their parties.
Embu Senator Njeru Ndwiga became the latest high-profile lawmaker from Mt Kenya to abandon the Jubilee Party in favour of the United Democratic Alliance led by Deputy President William Ruto.
He was received by the DP yesterday.
“Thank you for choosing the side of ordinary Kenyans,” Ruto told the senator.
Ndwiga joined UDA a day after his colleague in the Senate, Kiambu’s Kimani Wamatangi, also dropped Jubilee’s red cap and put on UDA’s yellow during a rally graced by Ruto in Thika town on Sunday.
Wamatangi, who is the Senate Majority Whip, said he had not been coerced by anyone but was doing so after consulting constituents and family members.
“My decision was not by chance but a well-calculated move informed by wide consultations with the people, including small scale traders and members of the clergy who told me UDA is our new home. We shall sell our bottom-up agenda to the Kenyan people and I am sure they will elect Ruto as the fifth President,” he said.
Ndwiga and Wamatangi have been among the prominent members who stuck with the Jubilee Party following a bitter fallout that saw Ruto kicked out with a number of his lieutenants in both Houses.
They hold senior positions in Parliament courtesy of Jubilee with Wamatangi occupying the powerful Whip seat previously held by Ruto allies.
He had replaced Murang’a Senator Irungu Kang’ata who was kicked out after he expressed his preference for Ruto.
Kang’ata had replaced Nakuru Senator Susan Kihika, another fierce Ruto ally.
Ndwiga, on the other hand, chairs the House Agriculture Committee and has been overseeing reforms in the sector fronted by the government.
However, UDA’s popularity in Embu County appears to have informed his decision to switch camps
Ruto also received 40 MCAs from Meru County a few days after area Governor Kiraitu Murungi hosted Raila and declared his support for his candidature.
Kiraitu has since quit Jubilee to form the Devolution Empowerment Party, popularly known as the “Bus” on whose ticket he will bid to recapture his seat.
At the same time, Jubilee received a boost after former Manyatta MP Emilio Kathuri joined Kiraitu’s DEP.
Kathuri had been tipped to be the running mate of DEP chairman Lenny Kivuti who is vying for the Embu county governorship.
Kathuri declared he will now run for the governor’s seat on a Jubilee ticket and urged Kivuti to prepare for a fierce contest.
While addressing Jubilee aspirants in Embu town, Kathuri said he had made the decision after realising their chances of winning on the “Bus” party were minimal.
“I alighted from the ‘Bus’ when I realised it was going to take us nowhere,” said Kathuri, who deputised Kivuti in their unsuccessful governorship bid in 2017.
In the Gusii region, defections have become the order of the day with a few days to the March 26 deadline.
Kisii Senator Sam Ongeri became the latest to defect from ODM for Democratic Action Party-Kenya, associated with Defence Cabinet Secretary Eugene Wamalwa.
Both parties support Azimio leader Raila’s presidential candidature.
Ongeri, who is seeking the Kisii governor’s seat, said he had ditched the Orange party because he never wanted to be dragged into “petty and violent” activities associated with some aspirants in the party.
“It is true that I have decamped from the ODM Party to DAP-K but I want to assure my supporters that I could also be taking a front in campaigning for the Azimio candidate Raila Odinga for the country’s presidency,” he stated.
He joined a growing list of defectors in the region. Kisii Deputy Governor Joash Maangi ditched ODM for UDA last week for the second time in as many months, accusing the party of dictatorship.
“In ODM, the word democracy doesn’t have space because the party leader makes all decisions without involving other members,” he claimed.
Maangi told People Daily that he left ODM because Raila had imposed some leaders to contest various seats in the Gusii region instead of subjecting those interested for fair and transparent nominations.
“When I compare the leadership of the Deputy President William Ruto and that of Raila Odinga, I find Ruto accommodative and democratic and that is why I have decided to come back to UDA,” he stated.
Lusaka’s move
Nyaribari Masaba MP Ezekiel Machogu had also ditched the National Agenda Party of Kenya for UDA weeks ago and has become one of Ruto’s pointmen in the region.
Ruto’s party, however, lost Omingo Magara who quit UDA in a huff.
He is, however, yet to declare which party he is joining to vie for the Kisii governorship.
At the weekend, Senate Speaker Ken Lusaka also left Jubilee for Ford-Kenya as he prepares his bid for Bungoma governorship. He lost the seat to incumbent Wycliffe Wangamati in 2017 but he is eager to recapture it.
Ford Kenya is in Kenya Kwanza Alliance with UDA and ANC.
Last week, former Kajiado Governor David Nkedianye also left ODM for Jubilee and is set to fight for the party’s ticket with his successor Joseph ole Lenku.
“We will face all those who want to paint Kajiado yellow and ensure we win,” Nkedianye said.
At the weekend, former Rongo MP Dalmas Otieno also ditched ODM for Jubilee as he seeks the Migori governor’s seat.
Mandera Governor Ali Roba ditched Jubilee for the United Democratic Movement and has been joined by several leaders from the North-Eastern region who defected from other parties.
