Kenya: The building up of the original ODM begins as Raila calls on Kalonzo to return from the desert
Posted by African Press International on August 20, 2007
A standard.ke story By Dennis Onyango
The Orange Democratic Party begins to rebuild today from the region it enjoys massive support but where it is also likely to face strong resistance.
Presidential aspirants Mr Raila Odinga, Mr Musalia Mudavadi, Mr William Ruto, Mr Najib Balala and Mr Joe Nyagah are expected at the 64 Stadium, Eldoret, for the partys first rally after it was reclaimed early last week.
As part of the rebuilding, Raila sent a bold message of reunion to ODM-Kenya presidential aspirant Mr Kalonzo Musyoka.
The Langata MP said the doors in ODM are open for Kalonzo.
Said Raila: “I am in ODM and Kalonzo is in ODM-Kenya. If he is willing to come he is highly welcome to join ODM and we will give him a (party) number.”
Raila was speaking at the scene of Fridays violence in Kibera where a church compound and private houses were destroyed.
Earlier Nominated MP Mr Mutula Kilonzo offered to arbitrate between the Raila team and Kalonzo camp.
Mutula said he was ready to broker peace between the two parties and give Kenyans a winning team to battle it out with President Kibaki at the General Election due in December.
Kalonzo also sent Raila the same message of reunion. He was speaking at a rally at the Coast on Saturday.
The return of the original Orange, which appears to have surprised even the Government, has sparked off intense national political activities.
Night meetings
In the last week following the return of ODM, MPs from the Rift Valley and Western provinces met separately, trying to strike a common political path.
On Wednesday night, 27 Rift Valley MPs from the Government and the Opposition met, to chart their political future.
Cabinet ministers were also present at the meeting of Western Province leaders, last week.
Agriculture minister Mr Kipruto arap Kirwa, Assistant ministers Mr Stephen Tarus, Ms Alicen Chelaite and former Narc-Kenya chairman, Mr Asman Kamama attended the meeting of Rift Valley MPs on Wednesday night.
Ruto this week explained Rift Valley leaders have been meeting quietly for about a month before the one last that attracted public attention.
He said a number of leaders from the region may be finding it hard to sell President Kibaki and Narc-Kenya and are looking for an outfit acceptable to their voters.
Western Province MPs who met at the Nairobi Club for breakfast haggled over an equation that could lead to a Mudavadi presidential nomination.
Raila said the Government is sponsoring some of the meetings to pressure some ODM leaders to leave the party.
“Why would Musikari Kombo attend a meeting and demand that Mudavadi be the candidate or elseWhy is Kombo himself not running? He has a party. This is an attempt by the Government to divide ODM,” Raila said.
Lobby groups join ODM
Sources told The Sunday Standard that a number pro-reform and human rights lobbyists, including former Ugenya MP James Orengo and lawyer Pheroze Noworjee, who belong to the Social Democratic Party, were expected at the rally.
By taking on board the reform lobbyists, ODM will be seeking to claim the agenda for change to distinguish it from the teams fronted by President Kibaki and that of Kalonzo, who is the Mwingi North MP.
Orengo said he planned to attend the Eldoret rally if he cleared engagements in Nairobi early enough.
Although the party has been upbeat that it survived the exit of Kalonzo, there were signs stability could still be elusive.
Yesterday Ruto re-launched his presidential bid, which he was seen to have abandoned when he opted to back Mudavadi before shifting to Kalonzo then returning to work with Raila.
On Saturday, Ruto held an unexpected rally and announced he was still in the race. The announcement surprised even those who had accompanied Ruto.
The Eldoret North MP is treading a thin line. He has to deal with retired President Moi who is critical of ODM.
Local opponent of the party are said to be working on a scheme to portray Ruto as a sell-out who traded the regions votes with others in ODM.
Rutos declaration was seen by some as a response to the opponents plot, a deliberate move to create more confusion in the party ahead of the September 1 National Delegates Congress where the party will pick the candidate.
A power arrangement the presidential aspirants adopted in anticipation of Kalonzos exit gave Raila the presidential ticket, with Musalia Mudavadi as First Vice-President and Ruto as Prime Minister.
Speakers at the Ruto meeting yesterday were said to have been briefed by his allies. They said Raila had accepted that he would be seeking election as part of a team.
That means that at nomination, the presidential aspirant would also be running mates who include the VP and Prime Minister.
Ruto vows to check Moi influence
Ruto, speaking before he moved to Eldoret on Friday, said Sunday rally is expected to give direction to Rift Valley politics and sell ODM as the political outfit for the region.
It is also expected to lead the region into taking a stand against attempts by Keiyo South MP Nicholas Biwott and Kanu chairman Uhuru Kenyatta, who ODM leaders say are working with former President Moi to field Kanu candidates to cut ODMs support.
Other than Kanu, some of the regions leaders are said to be pushing for the registration of a political party on whose ticket Rift Valley could field candidates then form alliances after election.
Generally, Rift Valley MPs agree that the region had moved from Kanu to ODM.
Local leaders who hit the road to popularise ODM also acknowledged that Raila is the man to beat.
Some leaders, however, think Kanu has a chance and should field candidates.
Ruto said the ground is largely ODM and maintained that a new party would not work. Former Commissioner of Lands Sammy Mwaita shared that position and called on the region to revert to ODM.
Rift Valley leaders have been meeting for about a month now and sources say even Cabinet ministers from the region who have shunned ODM are finding the going rough.
Hostility
Agriculture Minister Kipruto arap Kirwa is said to be toying with reviving his United Democratic Movement fearing that the ground is hostile to Narc-Kenya.
The minister was supposed to have launched Narc-Kenya and Kibaki Tena campaign in the North Rift, but has not because of hostility.
Those who attended the various meetings the regions leaders have held, say the Cherangany MP fears “going against the people”, as he did during the referendum in 2005. His Yes side of the constitutional contest lost the national and local referendum vote.
Sources familiar with the ministers soul-searching say that if the ground remains hostile to Narc-Kenya, he could join ODM.
“Kirwa wants to find his way into mainstream Rift Valley politics. He is concerned that even in the Government of National Unity, he is isolated. He cannot push an agenda there because he is constantly told he is alone,” a source said.
Ruto said there have been various meetings before this week and the feeling is that leaders need to move with the people.
“The agreement is that we must move in the direction the people have taken and political decisions must be in tandem with the grassroots,” Ruto said.
The Eldoret North MP said the only party that resonates with the people in Rift Valley is ODM.
“Every serious Kalenjin leader will attend the meeting (Saturdays) and the rally today. There are a lot of leaders who vow that they do not want to fight with the voters again the way they did selling Banana when the region was Orange during the referendum,” Ruto said.
The rise of ODM out of the confusion in ODM-Kenya has come as a surprise to President Kibakis allies particularly in the Rift Valley and sparked off fresh all-out war between the two groups.
The Eldoret rally was preceded by a meeting of leaders from all the communities in the Rift Valley, who were supposed to take a joint position on the political future.
Initially, MPs were to pick 40 representatives from each constituency and bring them to the meeting. But controversy arose, with complaints that some of the MPs had been infiltrated by anti-ODM forces and were likely to bring in representatives opposed to the partys agenda.
To forestall this possibility, the leaders mandated Ruto and ODM chairman Henry Kosgey to co-ordinate the selection of representatives.
Of the 40 from each constituency, Rift Valley was to pick 20 leaders, who were to meet their counterparts from Nyanza and Western provinces last evening, ahead of the rally today.
There was talk of a plot to shout Ruto down at the rally as a manifestation that the region is uncomfortable with the political arrangement he is crafting, with allies in ODM.
After Eldoret, the party will move to Kerugoya, Central Province, for similar sessions with leaders in an exercise that is scheduled to cover the entire country.
Raila, talking before he left Nairobi for Eldoret, said the rise of the original Orange has shaken the political landscape.
“It is like throwing stone into the bush. Every animal that was asleep has woken up running in every direction,” Raila said.
“Our opponents thought our fate was sealed after Kalonzo fled with ODM-Kenya. They also expected that there would be a major falling out during the nominations. They are shocked that Kalonzo has left but the team is intact. But I am aware that our opponents have gone into an overdrive to divide us,” Raila said.
At the same time, Raila sent a passionate message to Kalonzo, telling him, “You are welcome back to the ODM family, my brother.”
The ODM presidential aspirant said the pro-Kibaki forces had a hand in some of the meetings this week, saying they were attempts to put pressure on some ODM leaders to defect.
“We are moving and we are going everywhere. We will incorporate leaders from the Coast, Central, Eastern and North Eastern Provinces. No region will be left out,” Raila said.
Lifted and published by Korir, API*APN africanpress@chello.no tel +47 932 99 739 or +47 6300 2525 source.standard.ke
