- All along, Raila has maintained he will announce whether he will run at the appropriate time.
- Unlike DP Ruto who is against coalition-building, Raila has allowed parties supporting his bid to maintain their identities.
Image: EZEKIEL AMING'A
ODM chief Raila Odinga is set to officially declare his presidential bid next month.
The Star has established that the giant political grouping being forged by Raila and his think tanks will also be unveiled on the same day.
The date has not been disclosed; it will come at the end of Raila's ongoing regional consultations.
ODM insiders said the October declaration will take place at the tail end of the regional meetings known as Azimio la Umoja.
Raila will be in Mombasa on Saturday for the Coast edition of the unity call. Mombasa Governor, a deputy ODM leader, could announce shelving his presidential and backing Raila.
Kakamega Governor Wycliffe Oparanya, another deputy ODM boss and second in command, as declared support for Raila's fifth stab at the top job.
In all the three regional consultations far — in Homa Bay, Kakamega and Kajiado — delegates have resolved to back Raila for president.
Saboti MP Caleb Amisi, a close Raila ally, said the former Prime Minister will have to abide by the countrywide resolutions.
“Kenyans are the ones who want Raila to run. In all the regional meetings, one of the resolution is that they want Raila on the ballot,” Amisi told the Star.
“They will basically be asking Baba to accept the countrywide resolution.”
From Mombasa, Raila's team will move northeast to Garissa, followed by Central, Lower Eastern, Rift Valley and finally Nairobi for the big announcements.
National Assembly Minority Whip Junet Mohamed said the Nairobi meeting will be crucial as it will consolidate the views expressed in various regions.
“We shall come to Nairobi. Then we will conclude in a national conference either at Bomas of Kenya or Kasarani Stadium so we can consolidate all views given by Kenyans across the country,” Junet said in Kakamega last week.
ODM national chairman John Mbadi said Kenyans should expect a bigger political formation and the 2022 roadmap in the final leg of the meetings.
“... It may not be the usual alliances that we are used to,” Mbadi told the Star on the phone.
He went on, “It will culminate in some form of alliances. Actually, the way we want it this time is to build a kind of national unity and mass movement towards 2022."
Mbadi confirmed ongoing talks with many political players outside the Orange party.
Raila's ODM party is already working towards a pre-2022 pact with President Uhuru Kenyatta’s Jubilee Party.
Besides Jubilee, the President's men are quietly revamping Jubilee to enter into another deal with Raila.
PNU was the political machine used by former President Mwai Kibaki for his second term in 2007.
PNU secretary general John Anunda said the party will enter into a partnership with ODM, among other like-minded parties. to deliver the next President.
Maendeleo Chap Chap and Narc are also expected to enter into a deal with Raila.
MCC is associated with Machakos Governor Alfred Mutua, while Narc is headed by Kitui's Charity Ngilu
Unlike Deputy President William Ruto who is against coalition- building, Raila has allowed parties supporting his bid to maintain their identities.
“We are looking for partnerships where each party maintains its individual identity,” ODM secretary general Edwin Sifuna told the Star.
Also said to be warming up to Raila’s camp is the new United Democratic Movement Party (UDM) associated with Mandera MP Ali Roba.
UDM secretary general David Ohito, however, told the Star the party is yet to align itself with any presidential candidate. It is - in the process of rolling out nationwide members’ recruitment.
Senior ODM officials on Friday told the Star an elaborate campaign plan will involve grassroots engagements, town hall meetings and controlled rallies across the country.
The rallies will give Raila the opportunity to directly explain his manifesto to Kenyans and hear the issues affecting the people.
In recent months, Raila has been unveiling his own transformation agenda to counter Ruto’s bottom-up economic model.
“Kenyans will know a very clear roadmap complete with who we will be working with going into 2022. That is why our party leader is reluctant to declare his candidature. Wait for next month,” a senior party official told the Star.
Raila is billed as the best option to face off against Deputy President William Ruto and defeat him.
For the first time, the former prime minister is facing the 2022 elections as a pro-system candidate with the backing of a sitting president.
In what is seen as a do-or-die contest against DP Ruto, Raila’s plan is to confine Ruto to his Rift Valley backyard as they scramble for the Mt Kenya vote bloc.
He has held strategy meetings with grassroots opinion shapers and top political leaders, especially from Mt Kenya, Coast, Western and the Maa community to bolster his support.
Raila has been on a drive to rejuvenate his traditional political bases.
(Edited by V. Graham)