Like any other free-thinking Kenyan, Bomet Governor Isaac Rutto has the inalienable right to associate with whoever he deems fit.
The governor, who is also Chama Cha Mashinani party leader, does not need lecturers on who he should associate with and who he shouldn’t. The last time I checked, the Constitution protects the freedom of association and, therefore, those falling over themselves in their uncalled-for advice on Rutto’s political associates, should, instead, use their precious time doing something valuable. Rutto has not lectured Jubilee leaders on who they should hobnob with because they are free to do so.
A few days ago, Elgeyo Marakwet Senator Kipchumba Murkomen said at a political rally at the Green Stadium in Bomet that Cord leader Raila Odinga is keen to make Rutto his running mate next year. Such misleading remarks can only come from people who have been pushed into a corner politically, and fear falling off the radar. We all know who Murkomen is speaking for. He is an attack dog on a mission to malign Rutto’s name by making up stories that only exist in his fertile imagination.
Rutto made it clear that it is not unconstitutional for any leader from the Rift Valley to partner with Raila. Jubilee’s mandarins are known for their penchant for other people’s parties. Since September, they have forced more than 10 parties to fold up. Like the legendary ogre, the Jubilee Party swallowed them skin, horns and claws. In fact, some of the leaders of these parties are regretting why they accepted to be dissolved.
This is because what they were promised to join JP is not actually what is happening. For instance, the sole owner of the briefcase Tip Tip party, Kalembe Ndile, was left dazed after the hurried merger. Apparently, Jubilee had promised the comical politician a huge stake in JP and undisclosed goodies. That appeared to have been a mirage because in October, almost a month after his party was folded up, Kalembe was still waiting to be showered with gifts by JP.
As they were settling down to count their gains, someone threw a spanner into JP. The Party of National Unity had seen the light and opted to redeem itself before it was too late. Led by the fiery Meru Governor Peter Munya, PNU leaders sought help from the Political Parties Disputes Tribunal, arguing that the Registrar of Political Parties, Lucy Ndung’u, did not stick to the law in the gazettement of the party’s dissolution. This was yet more egg on JP’s face. How Jubilee’s Kitchen Cabinet fail to notice the skeletons in its closets and instead focused on CCM’s business of building its political base is hard to fathom. Politics is about numbers. People are the capital for building a successful political outfit.
No one party can manage to go it alone next year. Parties need partners for clear reasons. Jubilee’s incessant haranguing of Rutto should cease. Let everyone concentrate on their own parties. CCM has enough advisers and it doesn’t need unpopular politicians such as Murkomen to tell them what to do. The Elgeyo Marakwet senator has so many problems of his own. His voters are unhappy that he has done nothing for the county in the last four years. He surely needs political intervention to save him from his seething voters. It is no secret that CCM’s popularity in the South Rift is sending chills down the spines of JP’s players.
The party they once ridiculed as “Chama cha Mashimoni” is proving to be JP’s nightmare.
It is no wonder Jubilee has set aside millions of shillings specifically to popularise itself in Bomet. But this will not amount to much because CCM is the party to beat in that county next year.