Ruto raids Raila's camp, leaves Azimio limping

President Uhuru Kenyatta will aggressively start campaigning for Azimio presidential aspirant Raila Odinga next week. 

The President is waiting for Raila to name his running mate by end of this week before he hits the road. 

His first stop, according to people close to him will be Thika town and Murang'a county, where he will move across all the constituencies.  

The President will also tour Nakuru, Naivasha, Nyandarua and Laikipia counties with Jubilee leaders. 

According to senior Azimio leaders, both the President and Raila will lead separate teams while some Cabinet secretaries and some governors will also constitute different campaign teams. 

Details emerged on the day Machakos Governor Alfred Mutua ditched Raila's Azimio for Deputy President William Ruto's Kenya Kwanza. 

Mutua of Maendeleo Chap Chap and his Kilifi counterpart Amason Kingi of the Pamoja African Alliance ditched Raila as infighting in the coalition hit an all-time high at the weekend.

They obtained temporary injunctions allowing them to exit until the matter is heard and determined.

Other than Kingi and Mutua, Kilifi county assembly speaker Jimmy Kahindi (ODM) and former ODM governor aspirant Suleiman Shabhal's running mate Selina Maitha also joined Ruto.

The wave of defections — 90 days to the general election— has put the spotlight on the management of the jumbo coalition.

Wiper is persistently threatening to exit if their leader Kalonzo Musyoka is not named Raila's running mate.

On Monday, there were indications at least three more parties were planning to exit, saying they felt marginalised.  

The Machakos governor said he left the coalition following plans by the big parties in the outfit to lock out the smaller ones in a zoning plan.

“We have been shocked by plans of zoning that will effectively mean that we cannot contest seats or benefit from funding as per the Political Parties Act,” Mutua told journalists on Monday.

“Azimio has become a club of a few, with the rest of us standing outside peering through the window as the few club members strategise and feast.”

But in a quick rejoinder, Suna East MP Junet Mohammed now claims Machakos governor Alfred Mutua wanted to be bribed to remain in the coalition, accusations the governor has dismissed.

Speaking on Monday in Kajiado hours after Mutua's exit from the Raila Odinga-led outfit, Junet sensationally claimed that Mutua also wanted his cases at the DCI and the EACC terminated as a pre-condition to stay put in Azimio.

"If you want to be bribed for you to support Baba...Baba does not have that kind of money," Junet said.

Azimio La Umoja One Kenya Alliance Executive Director Raphael Tuju  also dismissed allegations by  Mutua that they were kept in the dark regarding coalition party affairs.

The Azimio official while addressing the media on Monday, over Mutua's defection, said Mutua wanted the Azimio document to use for negotiations with Deputy President William Ruto.

Tuju said Mutua was already in talks with the Kenya Kwanza for a while before making the announcement on Monday.

earlier Mutua said his party’s request for a copy of the coalition agreement has been met with resistance and he has not received replies to numerous letters seeking a copy.

Kingi's court from the Political Parties Disputes Tribunal read: “That pending inter-parties hearing of the notice of motion application simultaneously with the complaint, an interim order is hereby granted staying the implementation of the Gazette Notice No 4442 dated April 13, 2022.

“…to the extent that it provides that Pamoja African Alliance Party is a constituent party of Azimio la Umoja." It was signed by Erastus Orina of the disputes tribunal.

Kingi’s party had moved to court under a certificate of urgency seeking orders to disassociate themselves from Raila’s team, also after failing to access the coalition agreement.

Parties affiliated to Azimio are bound by a clause in the agreement, which provides that they cannot exit the coalition six months to the election, and three months thereafter.

Insiders hold that the section is binding to all members, much as they cannot force the unwilling parties to stay on.

Registrar of Political Parties Ann Nderitu made this comment in a response to the two parties when they sought to exit for not being given copies of the coalition deal.

However, many members are concerned that the processes and events of the party are closely guarded secrets that are known by a few members.

"There is something we believe is being hidden from the affiliate members," Mutua said.

Raila, a former Prime Minister, has been banking on the numbers in the political parties to have a competitive edge against Ruto in the race to succeed President Uhuru Kenyatta.

Raphael Tuju, a Raila confidante and executive director of the Azimio la Umoja-One Kenya campaign board, dismissed claims the agreement was inaccessible.

He told journalists in Nairobi that before the 26 members signed, all had an opportunity to look at the document.

“Before anybody signed the document, they had the opportunity to look at it. If someone claims he signed without looking at it, then who is to be blamed?” he said.

He further said the coalition has clung to the agreement, with full knowledge it was avidly sought by the Azimio rivals.

“Some of the people who are complaining about the document, we know they were negotiating with the other side so there was no way of giving them the document,” Tuju said.

“From intelligence that we have, some wanted more seats in the Azimio Council. Governor Charity Ngilu was ready to offer her seat at the council, and then they changed the goalposts,” he said.

The former Cabinet Secretary said the coalition document “is just a paper” and what matters would be to sustain the goodwill.

“We have 26 parties that have signed. We have more that have approached to sign. Nobody should be forced to stay in a coalition they are not happy in. If you force them, the damage might be more,” he said.

Pundits say it was time Raila and Uhuru took charge of the outfit to quell further tension that may trigger more tension and fallout.

“The coalition needs to fix its internal sabotage and intrigues as soon as possible. A political coalition should be run like a military organisation with all partners being on the same page,” lawyer Donald Kipkorir said.

He said the coalition partners should strive to resolve their disputes internally. 

This comes even as Ruto’s side celebrated the new catches, saying they would bring in additional energy and guarantee a victory in the August 9 general election.

(edited by Amol Awuor)