Gachagua rattles opposition talks over Fred Matiang’i

This suggestion has attracted the ire of Mr Kenyatta’s party, which has been fronting the former CS as its possible presidential candidate.

Political analysts perceive the suggestion by Mr Gachagua as part of his strategy to ring-fence the populous Mt Kenya for his party set to be unveiled today.

Having a presidential candidate on the Jubilee ticket is likely to rejuvenate the former ruling party in Mt Kenya and could present stiff competition for Mr Gachagua’s party. The former ruling party already enjoys name recognition and structures spread across the country.

 Read: Blow to Gachagua as Mt Kenya allies abandon him

Further, having Dr Matiang’i on the Jubilee ticket would mean more allegiance to Mr Kenyatta, which could reduce Mr Gachagua’s influence in the opposition coalition.

Other analysts, however, see the suggestion as a strategy by the opposition leaders to solidify their respective bases, with a Gusii party being part of a scheme to weaken the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) of former Prime Minister Raila Odinga in the Nyanza region.

Jubilee Secretary-General Jeremiah Kioni accused Mr Gachagua of trying to perpetuate his politics of “shareholders” in the opposition coalition. He told the Nation that they would reject any attempt to reduce national leaders to regional kingpins.

“I am happy with Dr Fred Matiang’i. You, the Gusii people have told him to go out and court other communities. He is indeed up to the task. I saw how he used to work when he served in President Uhuru Kenyatta’s government. However, for him and the Gusii community to be respected, you need your own political vehicle. A political party that has to be deeply rooted in Gusii,” Mr Gachagua said during an interview on Egesa FM.

He went on: “If Dr Matiang’i is your leader, the governors, senators, MPs, woman representatives and MCAs have to be his people. That is where the President caught me off guard. I was only the Deputy President, while he had everyone else on his side. He made me suffer. You have to align yourself strategically.”

Mr Gachagua told the community that they have to rally behind Dr Matiang’i before he can go out and court other regions to back his ambition.

“If you succeed in rallying behind Dr Matiang’i, you will go far, and you will get something bigger. But if you fail to get united, you will get nothing,” he said.

Read:  Will Matiang’i sink or swim in murky political waters?

But Mr Kioni accused Mr Gachagua of trying to reduce Dr Matiang’i to a regional leader for his selfish interest —securing the Mt Kenya vote. He added that the former CS was already enjoying national backing, and that it would be a political gamble for him to run on a regional political party with no national outlook.

“We are not in the business of looking for a candidate picked by a few leaders, but one who has been embraced by the people. In fact, we are saying that a scientific survey be used to settle on a candidate so that we avoid picking someone on the basis of the voting strength of his or her community,” said Mr Kioni.

He added: “What Gachagua said is part of his shareholding mentality where you look at a candidate and the numbers in his region. He wants to remind Dr Matiang’i that he comes from a small community. I totally disagree with him because that would be like reducing him to local politics. We want him to belong to the country, and that is why we want him to run on Jubilee, which has a national outlook.”

Mr Gachagua’s plot to ring-fence the region for his party is at the heart of his falling-out with his right-hand man, Mr Ngunjiri Wambugu.

“I cannot support a one-party dictatorship because even if it helps me, it cannot be fair to all. As a God-fearing person, I stand for justice and fairness. I cannot lose my character and principles for the sake of convenience ... We should let multi-party democracy prevail,” said Mr Wambugu in a recent interview.

The Nation contacted Wiper party leader Kalonzo Musyoka, Democratic Action Party-Kenya boss Eugene Wamalwa and People’s Liberation Party’s Martha Karua to get their positions on the push by Mr Gachagua for the opposition principals to have regional parties before coalescing at the national level, but the three had not responded by the time of going to press.

Their allies, however, spoke of ongoing discussions within the coalition, with some backing formation of regional parties to help the opposition solidify the support bases of their respective leaders.

Kisii Senator Richard Onyonka, a key ally of Dr Matiang’i, revealed that they have since put up a team to explore the options of running on Jubilee or resorting to a regional party just like other political leaders.

“The truth is that we have a team that is looking at that matter. There are those who feel that he needs a national party with name recognition and national structure. But there are also those who are saying that all serious political players have their parties, which have regional identity,” said Mr Onyonka.

“Some of our members feel he should use the United Progressive Alliance (UPA). Others say using UPA would be seen as going back to his tribal conclave. I can tell you that Gachagua has been honest with us that he was kicked out of government because he did not have his party,” he added.

He said running on a Jubilee ticket would require radical changes in party leadership so as to guarantee Dr Matiang’i’s stake going forward.

Read:  Inside Gachagua, Kalonzo plan to avoid Ford curse of 1992

Kitui Senator Enoch Wambua, a close confidant of Mr Musyoka, said: “Of course Dr Matiang’i, as is the case with all duty bearers in the coalition making process, has the option of either joining an existing party or forming a new one.”

“As we prepare for a landslide victory on the ballot in the next election, those of us in the opposition are excited about the upcoming unveiling of Gachagua’s new political vehicle. Wiper is rebranding to reflect the new reality of our national political space. Martha Karua’s party rebranded recently to capture the liberation mood sweeping the country. So, let us allow the robust engagements in the opposition to take root and birth a better country for all of us,” added the Kitui senator.

Embakasi Central MP Benjamin Gathiru, a close ally of Mr Gachagua, said the suggestion has nothing to do with Jubilee — just honest advice to shield Dr Matiang’i from possible future political humiliation.

He said Mr Gachagua was speaking out of experience, having been kicked out of President William Ruto’s United Democratic Alliance.

“Truth be told, most of our political parties have regional identity. Ford Kenya of Moses Wetang’ula is a Western region party, Wiper is an Ukambani party and ODM identifies with Nyanza. Every region has a party they can identify with,” said Mr Gathiru.

“It is Kioni who has problems with other political players, but Matiang’i has shown willingness to support and embrace others,” he added.

University lecturer and political analyst Prof David Monda observed that a home-grown party would reinforce Dr Matiang’i’s base in the Gusii heartland. He explained that any credible candidate for the presidency has to have a solid foundation in his/her ethno-national base.

“In Matiang’i’s case, it is Gusiiland (Kisii and Nyamira counties). Gachagua is also keen for Matiang’i to have a homegrown party to weaken ODM’s strength in Gusiiland,” said Prof Monda.

“I think Jubilee is still seen by and large as an Uhuru Kenyatta party. Matiang’i doesn’t want to be seen as an Uhuru project. He has to establish himself as his own man. Running on his own party gives him a stronger base from which to launch a national campaign. It will also be easier for Matiang’i to raise funds from outside Jubilee if he is seen as being outside of the control of Uhuru, thus reinforcing public perception that he is his own man,” he further explained.

Coalitions

Prof Macharia Munene, also a university lecturer and a political analyst, stated that there is a general feeling that key political players should have a support base before entering into coalitions.

“I see it as good advice. If he is accepted by the people, irrespective of the party, he would still be voted in. I don’t think Matiang’i would be a threat to Gachagua in Mt Kenya,” said Prof Macharia.

Read: Inside Ruto, Raila plot to create ‘divided opposition’

With preparations for the 2027 General Election gaining momentum, there seems to be a re-emergence of regional political parties. In the month of March alone, a total of seven new political parties were issued with provisional registration certificates, while another five were in the process of being registered.

Exchequer billions for political parties and the desire to enter a coalition as a principal have been linked to the rush to register new political parties.

Some individuals, who may not be interested in running for political offices, are also in the craze to enlist new outfits with plans of selling them in the run-up to the elections. Selling and buying of political parties has become a booming business, mostly because of fears by politicians of being rigged out in party primaries.

Some top political leaders have in the past ended up partyless after rival factions took off with party certificates. Some of these incidents have forced ambitious politicians to have their own political parties to secure their election tickets.

The billions of shillings allocated to political parties has made running a political party a lucrative business. At least 48 political parties that participated in the 2022 elections have received millions of taxpayers’ money to run their affairs.

Dozens of parties that have never benefited from money before have for the first time received the funding, making running of political parties attractive. This was after changes were made to the Political Parties Act.

The country currently has a total of 90 duly registered parties. Out of these, only 48 parties actively participated in the 2022 elections, according to an ORPP Gazette notice on allocation of cash from the Political Parties Fund.

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