Moi moves to stop Raila, Uhuru’s dreams
Nov 29, 2006
Presidential elections are due in Kenya next year. Retired President Daniel arap Moi’s weekend decision to endorse Nicholas Biwott as KANU chairman
Presidential elections are due in Kenya next year. Retired President Daniel arap Moi’s weekend decision to endorse Nicholas Biwott as KANU chairman against Uhuru Kenyatta, whom he had picked as his successor in 2002, has provoked protests from the opposition.
The latter claim that Moi is being used by President Mwai Kibaki to destroy Raila Odinga’s ODM-K party. On Sunday, Moi dismissed Odinga and his ODM-Kenya as political novices headed for self-destruction.
Surprisingly, Moi also abandoned the “Uhuru Project†he initiated nearly five years ago. He endorsed the controversial National Delegates Conference (NDC) meeting held in Mombasa last Friday which replaced Uhuru with Biwott as KANU chairman. This was a snub of the parallel NDC meeting by the Uhuru camp in Nairobi the following day.
In a quick rejoinder, Uhuru told Moi to keep off KANU affairs, saying that if the registrar of societies attempted to legitimise the Biwott ‘coup’, then “we will believe that there is a government hand in the attempt to split and kill KANU.†Moi met with Kibaki a day before the Biwott ‘coup’.
Moi does not like Odinga’s ODM-K, which he describes as a tribal outfit uniting certain tribes against others in a vain quest for power: “I am a nationalist. I can’t join tribal groupings which set one community against another.â€
Odinga claims that he arranged for Moi’s earlier meeting with Kibaki when he was about to be prosecuted over the Goldenberg scandal.
As such, Odinga says, Moi should support rather than undermine his bid for the presidency. But Moi says he does not need middlemen to see the president. “I can arrange for an official meeting with the president any time,†he said.
Moi denies meeting Kibaki and Biwott to scheme the destruction of ODM-K. But he has resisted the move to take KANU into ODM-Kenya.
Over the weekend, while endorsing Biwott, he warned Uhuru and company to quit for good if they cross over to ODM-K. “If they want to join ODM-K, why don’t they go?†he asked.
“I am surprised to see young people preparing for a future that has a hopeless political career†he said of Uhuru and company.
Interestingly, it was Moi who last year declared Uhuru a better candidate than Biwott for KANU chairmanship.
Biwott was then said to have fallen out with his mentor, prompting him to form the breakaway New Kanu, the first splinter group of Kenya’s oldest party.
Odinga was instrumental in mobilising opposition against Moi’s scheme 2002 to have Uhuru succeed him. But NARC, which then dislodged KANU from power after a 39-year tenure, has since disintegrated.
At the time, Moi dismissed the “Rainbow Alliance†as self-seekers and warned his loyalists against crossing over. Admonishing those who had already crossed over like Prof. George Saitoti, Joseph Kamotho, Kalonzo Musyoka and Moody Awori, he said that they would live to regret their move.
On his advice, Musalia Mudavadi and Noah Katana Ngala pulled back and paid the price by losing their parliamentary seats, but Raila and company soldiered on and teamed up with Mwai Kibaki, Charity Ngilu and Michael Wamalwa to trounce Uhuru.
NARC started to develop cracks as soon as it assumed power over power sharing. After last year’s referendum which the government lost, thanks to Odinga and NARC, Kibaki formally broke ties with them.
It will be interesting to see how Uhuru and Odinga turn around their political fortunes, and whether Biwott can bring back KANU to power next year.
Kibaki, who is running without the backing of most of his 2002 NARC colleagues, and against some of them, moved to break KANU recently when he included three more KANU MPs in his government of national unity. Experts said this was also meant to weaken Odinga’s ODM-K.
The latter claim that Moi is being used by President Mwai Kibaki to destroy Raila Odinga’s ODM-K party. On Sunday, Moi dismissed Odinga and his ODM-Kenya as political novices headed for self-destruction.
Surprisingly, Moi also abandoned the “Uhuru Project†he initiated nearly five years ago. He endorsed the controversial National Delegates Conference (NDC) meeting held in Mombasa last Friday which replaced Uhuru with Biwott as KANU chairman. This was a snub of the parallel NDC meeting by the Uhuru camp in Nairobi the following day.
In a quick rejoinder, Uhuru told Moi to keep off KANU affairs, saying that if the registrar of societies attempted to legitimise the Biwott ‘coup’, then “we will believe that there is a government hand in the attempt to split and kill KANU.†Moi met with Kibaki a day before the Biwott ‘coup’.
Moi does not like Odinga’s ODM-K, which he describes as a tribal outfit uniting certain tribes against others in a vain quest for power: “I am a nationalist. I can’t join tribal groupings which set one community against another.â€
Odinga claims that he arranged for Moi’s earlier meeting with Kibaki when he was about to be prosecuted over the Goldenberg scandal.
As such, Odinga says, Moi should support rather than undermine his bid for the presidency. But Moi says he does not need middlemen to see the president. “I can arrange for an official meeting with the president any time,†he said.
Moi denies meeting Kibaki and Biwott to scheme the destruction of ODM-K. But he has resisted the move to take KANU into ODM-Kenya.
Over the weekend, while endorsing Biwott, he warned Uhuru and company to quit for good if they cross over to ODM-K. “If they want to join ODM-K, why don’t they go?†he asked.
“I am surprised to see young people preparing for a future that has a hopeless political career†he said of Uhuru and company.
Interestingly, it was Moi who last year declared Uhuru a better candidate than Biwott for KANU chairmanship.
Biwott was then said to have fallen out with his mentor, prompting him to form the breakaway New Kanu, the first splinter group of Kenya’s oldest party.
Odinga was instrumental in mobilising opposition against Moi’s scheme 2002 to have Uhuru succeed him. But NARC, which then dislodged KANU from power after a 39-year tenure, has since disintegrated.
At the time, Moi dismissed the “Rainbow Alliance†as self-seekers and warned his loyalists against crossing over. Admonishing those who had already crossed over like Prof. George Saitoti, Joseph Kamotho, Kalonzo Musyoka and Moody Awori, he said that they would live to regret their move.
On his advice, Musalia Mudavadi and Noah Katana Ngala pulled back and paid the price by losing their parliamentary seats, but Raila and company soldiered on and teamed up with Mwai Kibaki, Charity Ngilu and Michael Wamalwa to trounce Uhuru.
NARC started to develop cracks as soon as it assumed power over power sharing. After last year’s referendum which the government lost, thanks to Odinga and NARC, Kibaki formally broke ties with them.
It will be interesting to see how Uhuru and Odinga turn around their political fortunes, and whether Biwott can bring back KANU to power next year.
Kibaki, who is running without the backing of most of his 2002 NARC colleagues, and against some of them, moved to break KANU recently when he included three more KANU MPs in his government of national unity. Experts said this was also meant to weaken Odinga’s ODM-K.