President Uhuru Kenyatta's allies have rolled out an elaborate plan to salvage the Jubilee Party shaken by leadership squabbles and an internal implosion.
In preparation for the planned alliance with ODM, Jubilee has planned a series of activities culminating in a major meeting to be chaired by Uhuru on July 17.
That meeting would be the apex of vigorous activities by Uhuru's confidants in Jubilee and Parliament to steady the outfit.
The details signal the determination of the President to transform his handshake with ODM boss Raila Odinga into a political pact that allies say will shake up the political landscape.
Already Raila's confidants have expressed confidence the alliance with Jubilee would take shape this month, signalling advanced steps to formalise a radical 2022 State House deal.
Both parties are racing against time to get the green light from their organs to develop coalition instruments, 13 months to the 2022 presidential duel.
The Star has learnt the the National Management Committee—a lean but powerful organ of Jubilee—has convened talks with the leadership of both houses on Friday.
The decision was made after last week's NMC meeting that formally adopted the plan to have Jubilee engage ODM for an alliance ahead of next year's general election.
The meeting on Friday, described as a 'technical session', will fine-tune the proposed alliance framework with ODM. Then it will design a detailed strategy to position the party for the ultimate coalition.
"The meeting will craft a framework of how the party will engage with ODM and other parties for a broader alliance ahead of 2022,” Jubilee deputy secretary general Joshua Kutuny said.
The meeting will be attended by House Majority Leaders Amos Kimunya (National Assembly) and Samuel Poghisio (Senate) as well as their deputies.
National Assembly Majority Whip Emmanuel Wangwe his deputy Maoka Maore as well as Senate Majority Whip Kimani Wamatangi will also attend.
When contacted, Maore said the Jubilee Party was approaching the decisive moment with far-reaching decisions expected to be made soon.
“We have major happenings soon including this weekend. I will comment after that,” he said while strongly suggesting the Friday meeting is crucial for the future of Jubilee.
After the meeting on Friday, the resolutions from the session will form part of the agenda for a two-day joint Parliamentary Group Meeting of senators and MPs. It will be chaired by the President from July 17 to 19.
Last month, Jubilee and ODM officials announced plans to enter into a pre-election alliance ahead of the 2022 polls with the aim of fielding a joint presidential candidate.
The Jubilee Party appears to have moved into a frenzy, rolling out a back-to-back programme to revamp the party and position it for a 2022 alliance with ODM.
ODM chairman John Mbadi told the Star the party is racing against time to finalise negotiations with Jubilee in July to pave the way for the formalisation of the alliance.
Mbad said the ODM outfit will in a few days convene a meeting of a key party organ to ratify the alliance framework with Jubilee before the document is formally presented.
“Just give it like a month and you will see everything taking shape,” Mbadi told the Star.
He went on, “You can take it to the bank that from July the alliance will take shape. However, the nature of the architecture will be determined later.”
Analysts say that once the alliance is finalised, the would-be major political alignments and realignments in the country's political landscape would shift ahead of the 2022 polls.
The ODM party has scrapped membership registration fees for three months as it begins a mass recruitment to shore up its numbers ahead of 2022.
On Thursday, Jubilee said it was strengthening its structures, revamping grassroots support and opening up a membership window.
For instance, Friday's meeting will also strike a deal on the mechanism to be deployed to attract and retain more members despite an onslaught by the Ruto-linked UDA party.
“The PG meeting is a result of the concerns raised by our MPs, MCAs and grassroots leaders that there have not been any plans to revamp and reinvigorate the party ahead of next year's general elections,” Kutuny said.
He said the meeting will also develop a clear-cut framework of engagement between party members and its structures, an issue that has been blamed for the troubles roiling the outfit.
This is the first time that the President's party has unveiled an elaborate plan to revamp its structures and activate grassroots support following its tumultuous take off since the 2017 polls.
The Jubilee Party has been battling accusations by critics that its organs, except for the NMC, have not been working since Uhuru was reelected, triggering a bitter falling-out that has threatened its 2022 fortunes.
In an interview with a local TV station last week, Ruto claimed the party was hijacked by fraudsters who made it dysfunctional to achieve ulterior intentions.
“Jubilee Party is badly damaged. We have never had a party retreat or Parliamentary Group meeting. There has not been any constructive engagement. A party is built on trust. You must work with people,” he said.
Most of Ruto's allies were purged from key leadership positions in the party last year following an onslaught by the President aimed at weakening the DP's grip on Jubilee organs.
But now the party says it will revamp its offices across the 47 counties, fill vacant leadership positions left by those who have died or defected to other political parties as it gears up to 2022.
(Edited by V. Graham)
