President Uhuru Kenyatta and Raila Odinga’s allies are at an advanced stage, in talks that will see Jubilee and ODM lead an alliance next year. The two camps are now focused on a creating lineup without depending on the outcome of the BBI to determine Executive positions the two sides will get in the new arrangement.
Mr. Odinga and HE Uhuru want to be designated senior partners of the new alliance, and other parties can join through their parties as allies. Those pushing for this arrangement argue, it is Uhuru and Raila who initiated the Handshake in March, and any formalisation of the 2018 truce into a political outfit must only be spearheaded by the two.
ODM and Jubilee parties are keen on ensuring they are the only major players, in negotiating for the positions of President, Deputy President, and Cabinet posts in the new alliance being cobbled up.
If the plot goes through, Charity Ngilu’s NARC, Alfred Mutua Maendeleo Chap Chap, and Gideon Moi’s KANU, all of which have a post-election pact with Jubilee will be backing Raila Odinga’s wing of the coalition.
According to Jubilee Vice Chair David Murathe, the coalition talks are already at a very high level with a view to having a formidable machine for 2022. The current purge against DP William Ruto’s allies in the ruling party is part of an elaborate plan to weed out unloyal Jubilee members before the party carries out national elections to reorganise its leadership.
”We are not forming a coalition government but looking at a futuristic arrangement cognisant of the fact that you cannot be in a coalition now with partners who are already in other coalitions.
“We are reaching out to One Kenya Alliance (OKA), ODM and other like-minded parties and hope to have two major formations – one led by the so called hustler movement and the other one for peace, stability and a unified country,” Murathe told a local publication.
