• On Monday, Kuria announced his People’s Empowerment Party will not participate in the upcoming Kiambaa by-election.
• UDA told off Kuria over his claims that it is captive of the sitting MPs or is owned by former Machakos Senator Johnson Muthama who is the interim chairman.
Image: WILLIAM RUTO/TWITTER
Deputy President William Ruto is trying to quell grumbling and infighting in his hustler movement as suspicion persists among his allies.
The Star has established the DP has stepped in to end bad blood among his troops and whip them into shape to agree on common purpose.
Sources say the DP has held talks with Nakuru Senator Susan Kihika, Bahati MP Kimani Ngunjiri and Gatundu South MP Moses Kuria.
At the centre of the acrimony are the power struggles in the build-up to the 2022 General Election and the by-elections that have been lined up.
The war between Kihika and Ngunjiri is linked to politics in Nakuru.
Ngunjiri, who chairs a committee of elected leaders from the county, does not see eye to eye with Kihika, who is expected to run for governor on the UDA ticket.
There are reports Ngunjiri and a host of Nakuru MPs who have fallen out with Kihika are now supporting a rival candidate.
UDA, a political outfit believed to be DP Ruto’s 2022 vehicle to the State House, has launched a massive membership drive. The move has triggered tight competition among politicians allied to Ruto in various counties.
In some counties where UDA enjoys huge support, elected leaders and aspirants are running parallel member registrations.
On Monday morning, Gatundu South MP Moses Kuria announced that his People’s Empowerment Party will not participate in the July 15 Kiambaa by-election.
Although Kuria said he reached the decision after talks with Ruto, he blamed Kikuyu MP Kimani Ichung'wah and his Mathira counterpart Rigathi Gachagua.
“PEP's message of hope and renewal was endorsed by the voters of Gaturi ward in Murang'a on December 15, 2020, and Juja constituency on May 18, 2021," he said.
"We wanted to present this message for approval by the people of Kiambaa constituency on July 15. However, this did not go down very well with my colleagues, particularly Rigathi Gachagua and Kimani Ichung'wah,” Kuria said.
He said, “Yesterday [Sunday] I held extensive discussions with my boss and friend William Ruto on this matter. To make my two colleagues happy and above all for the unity of the Hustler Nation, PEP will not be fielding a candidate for the Kiambaa by-election.”
Kuria appeared to apologise to Raymond Kuria, who was to run for the Kiambaa MP seat on PEP, saying his party members were disappointed.
“The good news is we will now focus on a nationwide tour to meet candidates who will be vying for seats in next year's general elections on the PEP ticket,” the MP said.
He said his party is a stakeholder in the hustler nation, as are UDA, The Service Party headed by former Agriculture CS Mwangi Kiunjuri and the People’s Democratic Party of Omingo Magara.
“We offer a platform for political participation and mentorship in leadership for a new crop of leaders and professionals whom we believe will drive this country forward. They will safeguard our nationhood and make our people feel safe and secure, confident in our future and that of our children," Kuria said.
"Whereas PEP is driven by our ordinary men and women, mostly the youth, our sister party UDA, is largely driven by my colleagues, the incumbent MPs whom I respect a lot."
In a rejoinder, UDA told off Kuria over his claims it is a captive of sitting MPs or is owned by former Machakos Senator Johnson Muthama, who is the interim chairman.
In a statement by director of communications Patrick Githae, UDA said it is and will remain a hustlers party.
“The ongoing registration of members is a case in point. The party has been joined in the hundreds of thousands by mama mboga, hawkers, salonists, barbers, watchmen, waiters, cleaners, boda bodas and mikokoteni riders, farmers, kiosk and shop owners, matatu drivers and conductors, among other sections of society," a party statement said.
“For the first time, there is a party that has deliberate representation of all hustlers. This has been affirmed by the choice of our candidates in Kiambaa and Muguga. Our candidate in Kiambaa, Njuguna wa Wanjiku, is a young hustler, a child of a single mother.”
While appreciating the move by PEP to pull out of the Kiambaa race and support its candidate, UDA said Kuria is reciprocating the support the party gave him in the Juja by-election. PEP candidate George Koimburi won.
“It will be recalled UDA supported PEP in the recent successful Juja parliamentary by-election, and it’s on this gesture that they have withdrawn their candidate in Kiambaa. This will give the hustler nation an opportunity to focus on campaigns without unnecessary division and negative energy,” UDA said.
The statement said UDA is a national party that believes “in democracy, transparency, unity and that every hustle matters. Kazi ni Kazi. These are values it practises and will continue to now and in the future.”
“In fact, in the spirit of the Hustler Nation, he has left the PDP and joined UDA. In the same vein, Mwangi Kiunjuri of The Service Party has been consulting with UDA on a united approach in fielding of candidates and other Hustler Nation activities,” it said.
Ichung'wah said Kuria in the first place had no candidate for the Kiambaa by-election.
Speaking to the Star, the MP said from a gazette notice issued by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission, PEP had not been listed.
“We are in constant consultation as a team and I spoke to him last week when he called me to excuse himself from accompanying Koimburi for an appointment we had with the DP as he was due to attend a funeral in Laikipia. We fully supported Koimburi in Juja and the candidate expressed his appreciation of our support openly,” he said.
He said Kuria has had a habit of abusing Tangatanga and the new turn of events “is not new”.
“You know I have never been in the habit of answering back Moses Kuria on anything he says, including two years ago when he was all over insulting us. I have always chosen to focus on mobilising the hustler nation team towards our ultimate goal as a united team. That is my focus even now,” he said.
(Edited by V. Graham)