Raila isolated as ODM big guns show desire to work with Jubilee

PHOTO | FILE ODM party leader Raila Odinga with former Speaker Kenneth Marende during a function at Leisure Lodge Beach Resort in Diani, Kwale County, in December 2012.  NATION MEDIA GROUP

In Summary

• Is Marende headed to work with UhuRuto Government?
• How Raila handles the elections could either make or break Kenya’s biggest single political party.
• The battle for the soul of ODM took an unexpected twist this week after close associates of party leader Raila Odinga opted out of next month’s elections and another one quit.

By NATION TEAM
More by this Author

By EMEKA-MAYAKA GEKARA
More by this Author

The decision by some ODM big guns not to seek elective positions in the party or take an active role in its activities has triggered debate on whether they could be headed to the Jubilee government. It has also raised questions about the future of the Orange party.


While Secretary-General Anyang’ Nyong’o and former House Speaker Kenneth Marende indicated that they will not seek any posts, former Roads minister Franklin Bett declared he has quit ODM.

It should be noted that other party luminaries like outgoing chairman Henry Kosgey and former Cabinet ministers William ole Ntimama and Fred Gumo have not been enthusiastic about the party.

And with the exit of ODM founders William Ruto, Najib Balala and Musalia Mudavadi, a situation emerges in which the party leader and former Prime Minister Raila Odinga cuts a lonely figure cheered on by a handful of loyal supporters including Siaya Senator James Orengo and newcomers like Busia Senator Amos Wako.

GENERATIONAL CHANGE

The rest are mostly a bunch of youthful politicians led by Budalang’i MP Ababu Namwamba and former MP Magerer Langat who are now pushing for a generational change. The young leaders have indeed held Mr Odinga and other “old guard” hostage in their quest to revitalise the party.

It was widely expected that Mr Marende would team up with Mr Moses Wetang’ula to reinforce and re-energise the party in the western region while senior politicians like Mr Bett and Mr Kosgey would give it a national face.

Both Mr Marende and Mr Bett have not disguised their desire to serve in the Jubilee Government if appointed.

In a conversation with the Sunday Nation on Saturday, Mr Marende indicated he was willing to take up responsibility in the Jubilee Government.

“I have no offer so far from Jubilee. The job thing did not influence my thinking, but if they give me a job for which I am qualified, I will take it,” he said.

He also suggested that the ODM chairmanship for which he was proposed would lower his stature.

“My track record is clear, I have been tried, tested and proved that I am a transformational leader,” he said.

“Like any Kenyan, I am entitled to serve in the public service should I be invited to do so. There is nothing wrong in serving one’s country.”
His comments are an indication of the reality of being out of power and perhaps a disillusionment with elective party politics.

Political analyst Barack Muluka reckons that Mr Marende’s move indicates that party top guns were no longer willing to play second fiddle to Mr Odinga or live in his shadow.

“Mr Marende’s move to quit active politics is a blow for the entire western Kenya that will leave ODM staggering for a long time to regain its former glory,” he said.

Mr Bett has declared his strong support for the Jubilee Government of President Uhuru Kenyatta and his Deputy Mr William Ruto.

“I am supporting the government so long as it is working towards transforming this country. I urge fellow leaders to join me in this mission,” he said as he called on warring parties in Mr Ruto’s United Republican Party to reconcile.

Mr Bett, who served as State House Comptroller in the Moi era, said he will decide which party to join before the next elections but it is apparent that he is inclined to Mr Ruto’s URP, which dominates politics in Kalenjin Rift Valley.

“Mr Bett is being pragmatic,” said Mr Simekha JME, a governance expert.

“It is very difficult for him to have any significant political relevance or do business successfully when surrounded by vengeful and buoyant Jubilee troupes who have got an axe to grind with anyone who was or is not on their side. To Jubilee it is like ‘you are either with us or them’ — the political enemy,” said Mr Simekha who sees Mr Bett’s decision as an act of self-preservation. His options were to either retire or join Jubilee.

But the same cannot be said of Prof Nyong’o, the ODM ideologue. The political scientist attracts admiration and resentment in equal measure within the Orange party. While a section of the party sees him as a divisive figure whose organisational style has cost the party the presidency twice, others consider him a strong pillar.

But in a recent wide-ranging interview with Saturday Nation’s “Conversations with Book Lovers” column, Prof Nyong’o was pessimistic about Kenya’s political situation, especially what he described as the politics of exclusion.

GRAND COALITION

In fact, the outgoing secretary general, who served as Medical Services minister in the grand coalition government, called for the formation of a government of national unity.

“I am not saying this because we are now out of power, but I honestly believe a grand coalition type of government would be more inclusive and tone down tribal tensions,” he said.

But a section of ODM will not miss him.

“Unknown to many, brilliant and much admired as he is, (Prof) Nyong’o has not been that much of an asset in ODM,” said Mr Simekha, who is also an ODM adviser.

“He has been very divisive. He is blamed by many for the party nominations fiascos. He has been viewed as one of the clever scribes in ODM who held tightly to the key that opens the door to political heaven but made it very difficult for his party and even his party leader to access and use it.”

On Marende, there are those who think the former Speaker may have quietly yielded to pressure from Luhyaland where there is disquiet about how both Jubilee and ODM have treated the region.

The upcoming ODM elections could provide Mr Odinga with the best chance to transform the country’s single biggest political party. But if not handled well it could spell the decline or disintegration of ODM, and with it damage Mr Odinga politically.