- •About 17 political parties are set to be part of the coalition but only five had publicly declared the same as of Thursday.
- In a presser at the Sawa coalition’s headquarters in Kileleshwa, Nairobi on Thursday, Kituyi said he hoped the remaining parties would conclude their consultations and join the team.
Image: CHARLENE MALWA
Former UNCTAD Secretary General Mukhisa Kituyi has reinvigorated his presidential campaign and is crafting a coalition for the August 9 vote.
The former Cabinet Minister says he is in talks with several political parties to form Sauti ya Wazalendo Coalition.
He says it's the vehicle through which he would seek election in the upcoming vote.
About 17 political parties are set to be part of the coalition but only five had publicly declared the same as of Thursday.
The five are Labour Party of Kenya, Party of Growth and Prosperity, Liberal Democratic Party, Chama cha Uzalendo, and Alternative Leadership Party of Kenya.
“We have been consulting about the structure of the coalition. Today’s meeting was called by leaders of the various political parties we are working with. The top organs of the other parties are still holding their meetings,” Kituyi said.
In a presser at the Sawa coalition’s headquarters in Kileleshwa, Nairobi on Thursday, Kituyi said he hoped the remaining parties would conclude their consultations and join the team.
“We want to occupy the spaces created by the Political Parties (Amendment) Act, 2021 by creating synergies in pulling together to establish a coalition,” he said.
“Five political parties have joined our team. A lot of others are on their way," Kituyi said.
"There are 17 parties with whom we are discussing the rules of engagement. We want to finish the agreement before they formally endorse the coalition."
The ex-UNCTAD boss, however, was non-committal on whether he would be in the race to the end or join like-minded coalitions that are coming up ahead of the elections.
“It is one of the issues we are discussing. We are looking at what does it take for the coalition to field candidates for the respective seats. These are issues that we cannot ego overrun," Kituyi said.
He said the coalition would campaign on the auspices of a concerted fight against corruption and extending reliefs for the vulnerable of the society.
“Our aim is to work ways of reviving the economy post-Covid-19 pandemic. We want to ensure the recovery of small business to end the current situation where only banks are the ones recovering,” Kituyi said.
The former minister said they are also working on ways to ensure the party fields candidates across the country for all the seats being contested in the election.
He said they were alive to the August election timelines and will strive to conclude the preparatory elements with the set deadlines.
“We are alive to the challenge of mobilising aspirants and the competitions that we may face…these are genuine challenges and we hope our consultations are partly going to address them,” he said.
“We have to work out procedures of identifying candidates for every position from MCA to president. These are part of the conversations we have initiated,” Kituyi said.
The former Cabinet minister was joined by officials of the five parties namely Reuben Mayabi (Labour Party secretary general), Gerry Owiti (Alternative Leadership Party of Kenya), Rosemary Asimba (Liberal Democratic Party), Philippe Sadja (Secretary general Chama cha Uzalendo), and Party of Growth leader.
Kituyi, who has been banking on the vote-rich Luhya nation as the pedestal to kickstart his bid, is now seeking to extend his tentacles across the country.
Earlier, he fought the forays by the like of William Ruto and Raila Odinga in the region saying Luhya votes were not for sale.
“We are walking away from this idea that you can go to western Kenyan and buy the Luhya vote in a retail market," he said.
"We will consolidate our numbers; build a bloc and a political community to get to the rest of the country."