Amani National Congress (ANC) leader Musalia Mudavadi will not be on the presidential ballot but will instead back deputy president William Ruto and a running mate selected from the Mount Kenya region, sources close to the duo have disclosed.
DP Ruto and Mr Mudavadi have kept close to their chests the deal that brought together ANC and the United Democratic Alliance, even focus shifts from the Sunday declaration to details of the new political alliance that also includes Ford Kenya.
ANC Secretary General Samuel Gikuru yesterday declined to disclose details of the political detail, stating that discussions between the three parties are still ongoing.
“We are at the preliminary stages of escalating the earthquake,” said Mr Gikuru in a terse text message response.
Sources familiar with the political partnership that was yesterday ratified by UDA’s Parliamentary Group meeting indicate that Mr Mudavadi has agreed to forego the push to be Mr Ruto’s running mate, a position that UDA has reportedly reserved for an individual from the Mt Kenya region.
This could portend trouble for the ANC leader in his Western Kenya backyard, in his quest to project himself as a tough negotiator who came out a winner in the deal with UDA.
According to the source, the ANC leader has been promised the post of a chief Cabinet Secretary, similar the position that Dr Fred Matiangi currently holds in the Jubilee administration.
In addition, the ANC leader will have a 30 per cent share of the government, should DP Ruto win the presidential race in the August 9 polls, which he will share equally with Mr Wetangula.
DP Ruto’s UDA will also not field candidates in the four counties of Western Kenya – Kakamega, Busia, Bungoma and Vihiga – as part of the agreement in what is seen as respecting Mr Mudavadi and Mr Wetangula’s “spheres of political influence”.
Presidential race
The Nation has however learnt that the deal bringing together UDA, ANC and Ford Kenya is still to be refined before it is officially signed and deposited with the office of the Registrar of Political Parties.
“We have agreed to work together as leaders of the three political parties and our word is our bond,” DP Ruto said at Bomas on Sunday.
“As leaders we’re going to match what we say with action. We shall keep our word. There is no other way of judging a leader than ensuring that he keeps his word,” he added.
Former Sports CS Rashid Echesa, a close ally of the DP, argued that what the ANC leader will get in the deal is less important than what the Luhya community stands gain if Mr Ruto wins the August 9 presidential race.
“Negotiations are underway but we’re not interested in what position Mr Mudavadi will get. The most important thing is what the Luhya community will get in the government DP Ruto will form,” Mr Echesa said yesterday, noting that arrival of Mr Mudavadi has strengthened the DP’s popularity in the region.
Lugari MP Ayub Savula, who abandoned ANC after it became clear that Mr Mudavadi was destined to work with the DP, said he was not familiar with details of the deal tying down the three parties.
“What you saw at Bomas is political brokerage fueled by anger of those who want to be endorsed by others. Mr Mudavadi has been destroyed by anger. He joined Ruto to spite the President and ODM leader Raila Odinga,” he said.
Throughout the Sunday political gathering at the Bomas of Kenya neither Mr Mudavadi nor Mr Wetangula in their speeches talked about the deal, choosing instead to direct their fury at the Preisdent and Mr Odinga.
Interviews with ANC-allied politicians paint a picture of a group totally unaware of what the coming together of the parties means.
Details of the deal
A member of the ANC’s National Executive Committee (NEC), who talked to the Nation on condition that he remains anonymous, said that they were made to believe that DP Ruto’s presence was meant to shore up Mr Mudavadi’s candidature.
Yesterday UDA held a Parliamentary Group (PG) meeting in which the deal was endorsed. After the meeting, DP Ruto revealed that the details of the agreement will be made public in “due course”.
“If you followed the statement of our friend Musalia Mudavadi, it was about the status of our country. Those are the issues at the heart of our conversation,” the DP said, adding that the rest of the details of their relationship will be in subsequent documents.
Details of the agreement are by law required to be filed with the office of the Registrar of Political Parties.
“They will be public documents and so they will be available for Kenyans to look at them,” he said.
Dr Ruto revealed that the three parties will henceforth partner inside and outside parliament.
“Our friends will also have their PGs (Parliamentary Group meetings) then we agree on how we are going to conduct parliamentary business,” the DP said.
He said the parties will develop a joint and coordinated approach in tackling legislative issues.
“We shall also agree on a series of rallies beginning Wednesday through to Saturday,” he said.
Garissa Township MP Aden Duale said the parliamentary leadership of the three parties will meet to deliberate on how to tackle issues in the two Houses.
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