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Kenya: Fearing Nasty Scenes, Jubilee Calls Off Talks

by allafrica.com

Jubilee Party on Monday called off a parliamentary group meeting that was to be held at State House, Nairobi, and is putting on a brave face about the divisions and succession fights going on behind the scenes.

The party has not held a parliamentary group meeting since February, when it convened a poorly attended get-together.

Sources said the meeting this week was shelved to avoid an open confrontation between the party leadership and a section of MPs dissatisfied with how the party is handling its affairs.

As President Kenyatta races against time to shape his legacy by delivering the ambitious Big Four agenda, MPs are expected to play a crucial role at the grassroots and in giving the development blueprint much-needed political support and direction.

SEVERAL BILLS

Several Bills will be tabled in Parliament in the coming days, and MPs would have been briefed at the PG about their role in ensuring that the proposed laws are passed expeditiously.

However, a number of MPs, mostly from the Rift Valley, are looking at the emotive matter of the Kenyatta succession, with their eyes fixed on how Jubilee should pave the way for Deputy President William Ruto to take over in 2022.

The MPs have been questioning the intentions of certain officials within the presidency and a few senior civil servants, whom they accuse of frustrating Mr Ruto’s ambitions.

However, Leader of Majority in the Senate, Mr Kipchumba Murkomen, said such issues cannot be discussed in a PG but would “be dealt with in a different manner”.

RETREAT

“If there will be a PG or retreat, it will be about what to do with the Big Four because several members have said they do not understand their role in the blueprint. The people undermining the DP are not politicians, and therefore they can’t be discussed in a PG meeting,” said Mr Murkomen.

Secretary-general Raphael Tuju said the meeting this week had not been convened in line with the party’s constitution, and instead said Jubilee was planning a retreat for its elected members.

The retreat, he said, will enable the legislators better articulate the transformative agenda of the party and the second term of Mr Kenyatta’s presidency.

“After due consultations, and after speaking with our National Assembly Majority Leader Aden Duale, I can confirm that there will be no Jubilee Party parliamentary group meeting on Tuesday,” Mr Tuju said.

CONFUSION

The announcement caught many Jubilee MPs by surprise as, they said, they had already started preparing for the meeting. It also laid bare the confusion in the party and raised questions on the source of information regarding the State House meeting.

Mr Tuju said the party is not facing any crisis and declared that there are no “wings” or different affiliations.

He also dismissed reports that the March peace pact between President Kenyatta and Opposition leader Raila Odinga, sealed with a handshake, might have caused the current disquiet in the party, saying that for Kenya to move forward, people of different political persuasions must be allowed to forge united fronts.

“There are no wings in the party and that is just a storm in a tea cup,” declared Mr Tuju.

Last Friday Mr Kenyatta and Mr Ruto held a meeting that insiders said was aimed at cooling tempers in the ruling party, and yesterday Jubilee’s deputy chairman, Mr David Murathe, said he was not aware of any major issues that warranted an emergency PG meeting.

PG MEETING

“Only the party secretary-general or majority leaders can call a PG meeting, and this has not happened,” said Mr Murathe. “There is no crisis in Jubilee and the media should stop playing these games.”

Nominated MP Maina Kamanda supported Mr Murathe, saying all was well in the party, save for a few hiccups caused by “those who do not want to support the President’s Big Four agenda”.

“They have launched early campaigns for the 2022 General Election,” said Mr Kamanda. “They are opposed to the war on corruption and lifestyle audits because they want to put the country in a permanent state of campaigning.”

And, with that, Mr Kamanda hit the nail on the head; the Kenyatta succession debate and the March 9 Raila-Uhuru handshake have divided Jubilee, and a section of MPs was planning to raise these issues at the PG.

LIFESTYLE AUDITS

Politicians allied to Mr Ruto have not hidden their collective disdain for the handshake and have in recent days blown hot and cold over President Kenyatta’s push for lifestyle audits of senior government officials. Only last week, some MPs from Nandi County asked President Kenyatta to recant his deal with Mr Odinga, arguing it was undermining Mr Ruto’s 2022 chances.

Sources yesterday indicated that, even as the party headquarters downplayed reports of a planned meeting, the PG had been on the cards and was put off to avoid what had the potential to escalate into open confrontation.

Other sources said the meeting was called off because there were so many issues to be discussed, and that the time allocated was too short for any meaningful debate to happen.

Reporting by Ibrahim Oruko, Wanjohi Githae & Collins Omullo

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