Moses Kuria's moves suggest he's leaning to Raila

Vocal Gatundu South MP Moses Kuria has stirred confusion and uncertainty over his political plans ahead of his grand reception rally next month. 

The MP, who is recuperating abroad after he suffered third-degree burns when his Sh250,000 electric blanket burned his feet, is due to hold a prayer rally at Thika Stadium on February 19. 

The lawmaker is expected to declare his August 9 political plans especially after last year he declared he would not run for any elective seat this year.

Kuria, who is also the leader of Chama Cha Kazi, has been breathing hot and cold about his allegiance to Deputy President William Ruto’s hustler nation movement. 

The MP has been releasing doses of political optics triggering  speculation he could be warming up to ODM boss Raila Odinga’s Azimio la Umoja. 

The MP is a founding member of the 'hustler nation movement' but his firm stand to promote his CCK party instead of joining Ruto’s United Democratic Alliance outfit has isolated him. 

While last year Kuria insisted he will remain firmly in the hustler nation, some thinly veiled political assaults seen as directed at Ruto signal a possible widening political rift. 

Before hospitalisation, he was a key pillar of the Tangatanga movement and was accompanying Ruto to most of his political rallies, raising his profile as a possible running mate.  

On Monday Kuria posted on his Facebook account what was interpreted to be a salvo at Ruto over his resistance to embracing other parties and allowing them to come onboard without losing their identity and fielding their own candidates.

The loaded message insinuated that Ruto would lose the August 9 presidential election because of his refusal to accommodate regional outfits. 

“In the forthcoming elections, there will only be two categories of political parties — parties that will respect other parties and parties that will form the opposition,” Kuria posted.

In the unfolding dynamics as the presidential race narrows down to Raila Ruto, the ODM boss has adopted a  strategy that embraces small parties and does not smother them. 

WILL MOSES JOIN RAILA? 

After the Deputy President's highly charged political rally in Eldoret on January 8, Kuria  satirically attacked the hustler nation with vehicles branded with his CCK colours. 

The campaign vehicles of Murang’a gubernatorial aspirant Jamleck Kamau implied that Ruto’s allies were referring to small parties such as CCK when they used the word ‘madoadoa," meaning 'spot'.

“Madoadoa sighted in Murang’a this morning,” Kuria wrote in one of his harshest political salvos directed at the deputy president’s camp. 

During the Eldoret rally, Meru Senator Mithika Linturi, who has since been charged with incitement to violence, termed Ruto’s opponents in the Rift Valley as ‘madoadoa’, who should be rejected at the polls. 

In a continuation of Kuria's mixed bag of barbs, the Gatundu South lawmaker has been posting on his social media pages campaign photos of candidates eyeing his CCK party tickets. 

This move is seen as a loaded political statement to his rivals in the UDA party as the battle for tickets is expected to escalate ahead of the April nominations. 

On Tuesday, Kuria fired another bullet as he warned politicians against sponsoring or encouraging violence against rivals ahead of the August 9 polls. 

He termed as "chilling" the accusations and counter accusations between UDA and ODM over hooliganism and violence in political rallies, saying nobody should glorify political mayhem directed at rival camps. 

“It is incumbent upon Raila Odinga to tame his supporters who easily get excited and overzealous. But the bottom line is that we don't want violence at all. After we are killed, we will not be there to listen to stories of who was right and who was wrong,” Kuria said. 

However, it was his perspective on the Kiambaa church attack at the height of the 2007 post-election violence that raised questions about his association with Ruto. 

Kuria claimed that as the 2007 skirmishes escalated, a member of the Pentagon — referring to the five bigwigs of the ODM summit — stopped Raila from holding a peace rally on the eve of the Kiambaa killings. 

Kuria said Raila had allegedly narrated to him on several occasions how the ODM boss was warned by British Intelligence and the BBC of a massive march by armed warriors from the Kerio Valley towards Burnt Forest on the eve of the Kiambaa massacre. 

Kuria said Raila had told him how the ODM bosses planned a pre-emptive peace mission in Eldoret the following day but were prevailed upon to postpone it by a Pentagon member to give space for a "major operation".

“Only for Kiambaa to happen on the fateful day. My point is, those tales will not help anyone after people die. Our demand for peaceful elections is non-negotiable,” Kuria said. 

Pentagon members who formed the ODM politburo included Raila, Ruto,  Joe Nyaga (now deceased), ANC party boss Musalia Mudavadi and Tourism CS Najib Balala. 

During the church massacre, goons set ablaze a church where women and children had sought refuge as political tensions exploded into ethnic violence. 

On January 16, Kuria posted a terse message aimed at Raila, signalling that he could back the ODM boss if he swiftly rallies MPs to pass  legislation that will send more cash to counties. 

The MP ridiculed what he termed Raila’s proposition that a referendum must be held for counties to get funds commensurate to their population.

“To a carpenter, a hammer is the solution to every problem. To Raila Odinga, changing the Constitution is the solution to achieving the one man, one vote, one shilling,” he said. 

The MP said Raila does not need to push for Building Bridges Initiative-like reforms to increase allocation to counties.  

Raila had claimed that Kiambu lost Sh9 billion because BBI failed and promised to revive the process to allocate the county’s rightful share. 

“I am saying we don’t need to do a BBI, if he (Raila) could push for political parties, why not this? If Mt Kenya counties benefit from such an amendment, we may consider supporting him (Raila), so let him take up the challenge,” he told the Star. 

Last month, allies of Raila and President Uhuru Kenyatta ganged up to ram through the Political Parties (Amendment) Bill, 2021, overwhelming Ruto’s troops. 

The Bill is critical in the push by Uhuru and Raila to craft a coalition called  Azimio La Umoja to anchor their political pact to face Ruto at the ballot.

The DP’s hustler nation camp has vigorously opposed the Bill, terming it a continuation of Uhuru’s political scheme to block his ascension to the presidency. 

(Edited by V Graham)