Backstabbing has rocked the One Kenya Alliance with principals apparently pulling apart as an ugly falling out appears to be in the offing.
The Oka outfit, initially suggesting a third force or a three-horse race, is teetering on the brink of disintegration.
Allies of some of the principles have launched lethal 'friendly fire'.
There is speculations one principal is quietly considering joining Deputy President William Ruto's camp, although negotiations are yet to be concluded.
The Oka quartet is yet to agree on a presidential candidate as the clock ticks down towards 2022.
Oka consists of Musalia Mudavadi (ANC), Kalonzo Musyoka (Wiper), Gideon Moi (Kanu) and Ford Kenya’s Moses Wetang'ula
Musalia's allies have openly threatened to pull out of the outfit if Musalia is not declared the presidential candidate by December 26.
A group of ANC legislators led by Kakamega Senator Cleophas Malala has said they will get Musalia a running mate from outside OKA and urge them to start campaigning and go to the ballot.
“Let them (Oka partners) not think that we are prisoners in Oka, that we cannot engage other people simply because we are in Oka. We are looking for other partners,” Malala told the Star.
In a rare move, Malala accused Gideon Moi of stoking confusion in the One Kenya Alliance through his declaration on Saturday that the outfit is working with ODM boss Raila Odinga.
“His [Gideon's] body language is confusing us as foot soldiers. That is why we want a definite leader in Oka who can give direction to the troops. We don't want to send mixed signals to our supporters," Malala said.
He went on, “When you listen to Gideon Moi, he says they will be working with Raila. Yesterday he said Raila is a friend and is part of us.
"Now, when we get into such confusion as we open the year, this is very dangerous as a political movement.”
Gideon, a close friend of President Uhuru Kenyatta's family, has also been a close friend of Raila.
He invited Raila to the Kanu National Delegates Conference in September when the scion of former President Daniel Moi (deceased) said Ruto is the only enemy.
There is a possibility Oka bosses will not go to the elections united. If each one insists it must be them and there are no steps to settle on one, we have a problem.
On Saturday, while speaking at a funeral in Siaya, Gideon said President Kenyatta and ODM boss Raila have made invaluable inputs in the Oka activities.
“We have decided to work with the like-minded Kenyans, those with similar goals as ours, to better this country,” Gideon in the context of Raila and Uhuru's political plans.
On Sunday, Malala also disclosed that there are no "progressive steps being made to pick the Oka flagbearer", as publicly claimed by the principals.
“There is a possibility that Oka bosses will not go to the elections united," he said. "Because if everybody is insisting it must be them and we do not have deliberate steps being undertaken, progressing and monitored to settle on one person, then there is a problem,” Malala told the Star.
On Saturday, Musalia’s allies stoked political sparks in Oka when they claimed in Kakamega that the outfit must declare the Presidential flagbearer by December 26, otherwise, ANC shall quit the alliance.
“We want to tell our Oka partners we want the presidential candidate unveiled by December 26. And if we do not know the presidential candidate — whom we know should be Musalia — then we shall seek new partnerships,” Butere MP Tindi Mwale said.
Musalia on Sunday said he may not be able to control the outbursts from his troops whom he said are political leaders in their own right.
“I was not even at that event. What they said were purely their personal views,” the ANC boss said after a church service along Ngong’ Road, Nairobi.
Musalia said Oka is likely to name its flagbearer early next year.
“It is not an easy process and we are not running out of time. Even in Nasa we took so long before we finally named the candidate,” he said.
Except on Sunday, Oka has not campaigned for the last two weeks. In fact, it was the weekend of October 29 when they launched their campaign and then immediately went mute.
The high-voltage statements by the allies of Musalia lifted the lid on the growing suspicions among the Oka chiefs as concerns swell over their 2022 game plan, if there is one.
There have been indications that while Kalonzo and Gideon have signalled their willingness to work with Raila, Musalia has been playing hard ball about any possibility of reuniting with the ODM boss.
Recently, Musalia said there are behind-the-scenes political manoeuvres to cajole the Oka bosses to abandon their 2022 presidential ambitions and back Raila.
His statements insinuated that President Kenyatta was forcing the Oka chiefs to back Raila’s 2022 presidential bid.
Yesterday, Musalia rubbished Raila's Sh6,000 pledge to poor families, terming it unrealistic and a mere political gimmick.
By contrast, other Oka principals have been directing their attacks on Ruto.
Away from the ultimatums being issued by their confidants, the Oka chiefs on Sunday attended two separate meetings. Musalia was missing in action at key rallies attended by Gideon, Wetang'ula and Kalonzo in Kajiado county.
An itinerary sent out earlier on Sunday morning by the Oka secretariat indicated the principals would attend a church service at ACK Kiserian before holding a rally in Kitengela town.
The alert was signed by Joseph Towett, the director of communications in Kanu, and signed off as having been issued on behalf of the Oka secretariat.
Moments later, Musalia’s team sent out a different itinerary showing the ANC party leader would attend a church service at Friends International Centre, Ngong’ Road.
However, when confronted on why he skipped the political events with his colleagues, Musalia said he had not fully recovered after falling sick last week.
“I am aware of their meeting and they will pass my apologies to the people in Kitengela. I am still recovering but I will be joining them from next weekend,” Musalia said after the church service.
Last week, Musalia denied that he had been taken ill after being missing in action since October 31, when he addressed a political rally in Thika town alongside other OKA leaders.
We cannot stay in limbo forever. If Oka are serious about the ballot, let them meet and announce a candidate.
There is widespread speculations that the slowdown in the Oka activities is partly because of lack of money and insistence by some of the principals not to open their financial purses.
When contacted, Makueni MP Dan Maanzo told the Star the outburst from ANC signalled trouble in the alliance and called for the naming of the candidate as soon as possible.
“We cannot stay in limbo forever. If they (Oka) are serious that they are going all the way to the ballot, then we don’t want this confusion. We need clear lines. I understand hapo kuna maneno (there is trouble). Let them meet and announce a candidate,” Maanzo said.
Makueni Senator Mutula Kilonzo Jnr also said there seems to be an "issue", referring to Malala's remarks.
“Maybe there is an issue that suddenly came up. But I am not aware of it," he said.
But Wiper vice chairman Victor Ogeto said that the remarks from ANC were premature and in bad faith at a time that Oka should be firming up its agenda for the country.
“They sending a very bad signal to the public who have very high hopes in Oka, it is too early for such kind of friction,” he said.
Lugari MP Ayub Savula, who had accompanied Mudavadi for the church service, also said ANC had not issued any ultimatums to Oka principals.
“We have only been saying we want to pick the person who will lead the alliance through consensus,” he said.
(Edited by V. Graham)
