The Jubilee coalition is now a thing of the past after the launch of the new vehicle for President Uhuru Kenyatta’s reelection next year.
But not all Jubilee politicians will see the Promised Land in their party. Many will be tossed to the four winds during the primaries as will those in Cord. Where will they go? They will party hop, of course. Cord and Jubilee are alive to this fact and that is why they wanted Parliament to enact a law to outlaw party hopping, causing an uproar among MPs from across the political divide.
Our political landscape is replete with not-so-interesting stories of party bigwigs handing tickets to their preferred candidates, irrespective of their popularity, to the chagrin of the more popular ones. Although forming and abandoning political parties is bad for a nascent democracy such as ours, we must be alive to the fact that this will be repeated in the coming years. It is the curse of our time and there is very little we can do about it.
Bomet Governor Isaac Rutto and Isiolo Deputy Governor Mohamed Guleid have joined the bandwagon of politicians supporting party hopping. This nature of Kenya politics has its bright side. It offers a lifeline to politicians who feel they have been denied a lifetime opportunity to prove their popularity in an election.
Rutto launched his Chama Cha Mashinani in January this year after he saw the writing on the wall in the Jubilee coalition. Machakos Governor Alfred Mutua formed the Maendeleo Chap Chap Movement. When Rutto announced his intentions, many dismissed him as a mere spoiler for Deputy President William Ruto’s political dreams. Political bombs were planted in his paths. He has survived impeachment attempts and graft allegations meant to tame him and teach him a lesson.
Rutto helped to set up URP in January 2012 after breaking ranks with ODM leader Raila Odinga. Now that URP is no more, Rutto’s CCM is positioning itself to reap big from the fallout that will follow its dissolution. Kanu, too, is waiting in the wings. The political sector operates like a liberal economy. No one therefore should demarcate boundaries and have the final say on the free movement of politicians.
CCM has structures in more than 24 counties and counting. It has penetrated the DP’s strongholds in Northern Kenya. Guleid is CCM’s chairman. He will run for reelection on the CCM ticket.
As CCM continues to prepare itself for the windfall, after successfully testing the ground with the victory in March by-election in Nyongores ward, Bomet, some politicians, like Bomet Senator Wilfred Lesan, are still on its case. The rest of Bomet county MPs, Paul Bii, Ronald Tonui, Bernard Bett and Sammy Koech, have, however, stopped throwing mud at Rutto, realising they might need his party’s backing next year if things do not work out with JP.
Even Kericho MPs seem to have stopped their tirade against CCM. Who knows, they might find themselves in the political wilderness next year and run to it. Rutto has convinced two MPs to join his party — Kuresoi South’s Zakayo Cheruiyot and the newly engaged Emurua Dikirr MP Johana Ng’eno. More are expected to join CCM. Some will hop into Kanu when JP proves to be unwelcoming. Watch this space.
Many Rift Valley politicians are not excited about the formation of JP. It has caused disquiet in URP. Some politicians are hurting inside but they do not want to talk, lest they are accused of rocking the boat from within. But there comes a time when personal interests will supersede party interests. That is when caution will be thrown to the wind for the sake of individual political survival.