The country's two main presidential adversaries, Deputy President William Ruto and ODM leader Raila Odinga, are playing a cat-and-mouse game over their choice of running mates.
The duo is playing it safe and closely tracking each other as they tightly guard the names of their favourite running mates in a political chess game to avoid premature disclosure.
Secrecy abounds because unveiling a running mate by one camp would have far-reaching political implications for the rival team in regional and gender balance.
So, neither wants to go first, and they are fronting decoys to confuse opponents while hiding the real faces.
Ruto is putting on a brave face, saying there is no friction or jostling in his camp over the running mate. He maintains picking a deputy for his camp is "the easiest of tasks".
"I want to assure you that as Kenya Kwanza and as a candidate in the general election, we will have our running mate forwarded to the IEBC before the deadline," Ruto said on Tuesday. Actually, the name is expected just before the deadline, whic is Monday next week.
Beneath the facade lie nasty schemes by aspirants positioning themselves to be Ruto's running mate. However, Ruto's team has been fronting decoys to confuse Raila's camp.
The presentation of four possible names by each side earlier this week is part of the tactic to mislead; three names for each side will be released Thursday; someone not on the lists could be chosen and submitted at the 11th hour.
Critically, the Kenya Kwanza and the Azimi-One Kenya camps are witnessing vicious struggles ahead of the deadline.
Each contains checkmate partners from both sides to either bait opponents or completely confuse rivals in the race for their running mate position.
“If you look at the possible line ups of prospective candidates from either side, you will notice that there are rivals to counter them from the same region on the other side,” political analyst and university lecturer Alexander Nyamboga said.
He said the aim is to keep the battle prolonged until the last day without any obvious preferences.
While Raila, the Azimio-One Kenya presidential candidate, formed a seven-member panel to recommend at least three names from which he can pick, Ruto avoided going this route.
The country's second in command is said to have put together a small team of experts within his presidential campaign to advise him on the running mate choice.
The Star has established that Raila and Ruto are not likely to submit the names of their running mates to the electoral commission until late on Monday as they closely checkmate each other.
Picking a running mate is all about balancing a lot of factors including gender, region and political experience. Timing is very important when it comes to revealing the names
Tellingly, the two political formations deposited their Kenya Kwanza and Azimio La Umoja One Kenya Coalition Party agreements with the Registrar of Political parties on the night of May 8.
The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission gave parties until close of business on Monday to submit the names of their presidential candidates and their running mates.
Political analysts have argued the business of naming running mates is a hot potato that each presidential candidate is hiding from the other until the last minute.
Former Kajido West MP Moses ole Sakuda said it would be disastrous if either presidential candidate revealed their running mates earlier than their opponent.
“Picking a running mate is all about balancing a lot of factors including gender, region and political experience. Timing is very important when it comes to revealing the names,” the Kajiado senatorial aspirant said.
Sakuda, who supports Raila's Azimio la Umoja, insisted it was more likely the names will be quietly deposited with the IEBC on the night of the last day to avoid any leaks.
The Azimio presidential running mate panel chaired by former Kwanza MP Noah Wekesa had interviewed 10 aspirants during a two-day interview marathon.
However, the team was forced to call off their earlier press invite to reveal the names of the top three candidates for onward submission to Raila.
It has emerged that high-stakes political balancing was at play, delaying release of the name too early and giving the Ruto camp a head-start to counter them.
“This is a serious matter requiring a lot of sobriety in both delivery and negotiations so as not to hurt our own fortunes through the revelation of the names,”a panel member said.
The member, who sought anonymity, claimed they were ready on Wednesday to table the top three candidates but they got "calls from above" to hold on as consultations escalated.
It is reported President Uhuru Kenyatta will have the final say on who becomes Raila's running mate.
It is reported that Narc Kenya leader Martha Karua scored high during the interviews at 82 per cent, followed by Wiper boss Kalonzo Musyoka with 80 per cent.
Raila will have a final say on who becomes the running mate.The council will interview and recommend names but Raila, as a presidential candidate, will have a say
Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Peter Munya was reportedly ranked third with 76 per cent following the interviews at Serena Hotel.
It is not clear if Raila will pick a running mate from the list based on meritocracy or will have a wiggle room to settle on his deputy outside the interviewees and based on other considerations.
While it is standard global practice for a presidential aspirant to pick a candidate from the pool provided based on the scores, some of Raila's allies argue he could break away from the golden rule book.
Former Jubilee secretary general Raphael Tuju, who is now the Azimio-One Kenya executive director, revealed that Raila could as well ignore the panel's recommendations and pick someone else.
“Raila will have a final say on who becomes the running mate.The council will interview and recommend names but Raila, as a presidential candidate, will have a say," Tuju said.
Others who appeared before the panel were Murang'a Woman Representative Sabina Chege, former Gatanga MP Peter Kenneth, governors Hassan Joho (Mombasa), Wycliffe Oparanya (Kakamega), Charity Ngilu (Kitui) and Nakuru's Lee Kinyanjui.
Former Ambassador Stephen Tarus of the National Liberal Party also faced the panel.
The interviews were highlighted by Kalonzo's last-minute decision to face the panel after days of hardline resistance to being grilled.
The Wiper boss had pledged not to appear for any interviews, saying having been Raila's 2013 and 2017 running mate, he had the requisite experience to deputise him for the third time.
Raila will be walking a political tightrope to pick a running mate with a high degree of compatibility and loyalty to avoid another nasty scenario, like that between the President and Ruto.
Beyond loyalty and compatibility, the ODM leader is also facing the headache of regional balance, giving credence to the cat-and-mouse game with Ruto.
Analysts have said if Raila picks Kalonzo, who hails from Eastern region, then Ruto would pick Musalia Mudavadi of Amani National Congress Party from Western Kenya.
However, according to the Kenya Kwanza deal, Mudavadi will be handed a proposed office of the Prime Cabinet Secretary in the Ruto government. The deal is amendable if all parties consent.
There are indications Raila and Ruto are also in a chess game in Central Kenya, where they are carefully monitoring each other.
With Karua and Kenneth hailing from the region, Ruto has also lined up Mathira MP Rigathi Gachagua, Kandara MP Alice Wahome and Kirinyaga Governor Anne Waiguru as possible candidates to counter Raila.
The two frontrunners are, however, looking to the East of Mt Kenya where Ruto is said to have positioned Tharaka Nithi Senator Kithure Kindiki as a possible running mate to counter Raila's Munya.
Kindiki is seen as the frontrunner and the most preferred running mate within Ruto's camp because of his non-controversial personality and loyalty.
He has been handling most of Ruto's paper work with other partners, elevating his stature within the Kenya Kwanza Alliance as the DP's blue-eyed boy.
(Edited by V. Graham)
“WATCH: The latest videos from the Star”
