ODM leader Raila Odinga is going flat out to raid Deputy President William Ruto’s political bastions, with the latest focus being the pastoralist and Muslim communities.
Key political leaders from Northeastern including governors appear to be turning their back on the DP as the Building Bridges Initiative sweeps across the country.
As Raila schemes to cut down Ruto in Northeastern – a region he largely controlled in the last two elections – President Uhuru Kenyatta is edging him out of Central Kenya.
Uhuru is aggressively reaching out directly to the electorate, bypassing elected leaders associated with the DP and in some instances openly kicking them out from his meetings.
The situation puts Ruto, himself a gifted political tactician, in a quandary as the 2022 presidential poll beckons.
In the last few weeks, Raila in conjunction with senior government officials have rolled out a new game plan geared towards wresting to his camp Ruto’s key point men in Northern counties to support his push for a referendum.
On Wednesday last week, Raila co-chaired with Treasury Cabinet Secretary Ukur Yatani a night-long meeting bringing together leaders from Isiolo and Marsabit counties whom they convinced to defect from the Ruto camp.
Some of the leaders in the meeting were Senator Fatuma Dullo, Arbelle Malimo (Laisamis), Halufo Hassan (Isiolo North), Rehema Jaldesa (Isiolo Woman Rep), Halake Abshiro (nominated senator, Kanu) and Chief Administrative Secretary in Ministry of Devolution and ASALs Abdul Bahari.
Just a day after the meeting, the MPs called a press conference at Parliament Buildings where they were to announce their allegiance to Raila.
But the presser was called off at the last minute with the MPs citing a need for “more time to consult.”
It is also understood that Yatani played a key role in the voting pattern of senators from Northeastern, a key decision that brought down Ruto man and ex-Kiambu governor Ferdinand Waititu.
Senators Fatuma Dullo (Isiolo), Ali Abdhullahi (Wajir),Yusuf Haji and Halake Abshiro (nominated) all voted in favour of impeachment.
However, a close associate of the DP yesterday downplayed Yatani’s influence saying his Borana community has got no significant numbers to tilt voting patterns.
“Marsabit and Isiolo have no numbers. As you know, the politics of Northeastern is driven by clans. The region is facing a lot of issues from insecurity to closing down of schools. No one will listen to the BBI political noises,” he stated.
Raila has also managed to woo majority of the governors from the Northern region to back his course.
During the BBI rally in Mombasa, the county chiefs endorsed Governor Hassan Joho, Raila's close political buddy and second in command in ODM as the political torchbearer of the Muslim community in Kenya.
The decision had political undertones since the senior most government official from the Muslim community today is National Assembly Majority Leader Aden Duale.
Duale is a close Ruto ally.
In the 2017 General Election, Jubilee Party almost swept all the five gubernatorial positions in the Northeastern region with Ruto at the forefront of the campaigns.
Other than Isiolo county where the governor was elected on an independent ticket, Jubilee won Garissa, Mandera, Marsabit and Wajir.
Ruto’s headache is complicated by Raila’s move to lock him out of the Coast region.
Kilifi Governor Amason Kingi who initially appeared to be drifting from Raila is back to the fold.
In a clear indication of warming up to Uhuru and Raila faction, yesterday Garissa Governor Ali Korane chaired a meeting of the leaders from the county and agreed to hold a BBI rally on February 23.
Former Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly Farah Maalim noted that by 2022, Ruto will be a stranger in the Muslim pastoralist communities.
He said that in 2017, the DP had rigged in some of the current leaders occupying positions in the counties and Parliament.
“Ruto is the most hated man in Northeastern right now. Majority of leaders in that region are not in Parliament right now because they were rigged out by Ruto. Even Duale has been trying to reach out to President but in vain,” he told the Star on phone.
But Duale dismissed the scheme, saying the region backs Jubilee.
He said any maneuvers “to attempt and sway the people of Northeastern to support Raila ahead of 2022 will not bear fruits."
“Just recently we had a by-election in Wajir county and Jubilee Party carried the day. The people of Northeastern know what the Jubilee government has done to them. They can pinpoint to you all the development projects,” he said.
Duale , a close ally of Ruto and the senior most face of Jubilee in Northeastern, noted that “despite the minor challenges in the ruling party, both Uhuru and Ruto are one.”
“It is the media and some forces who are pushing this narrative that the President and the Deputy President have fallen out. Both of them can speak for themselves if they had issues. I’m confident that the Uhuru will support a Jubilee candidate in 2022 and the candidate in none other than William Ruto,” he added.
Wajir Woman Representative Fatuma Gedi said the reason leaders from the region are warming up to Raila was “because the handshake and BBI has the interest of the people of Northeastern”.
“Northeastern region has experienced inter-clan wars in the past and therefore the decision to join BBI is by choice. We want to see how to resolve some of these longstanding issues,” she told the Star.
“We have the TJRC report which we want to see implemented and we can only implement it through BBI. We have unique problems. 2022 will come and we will know how and whom to vote for at that time but for now our interests are in BBI,” she added.
Saku MP Dido Raso said it was unfortunate that the BBI process has been hijacked by the political class who he said were pushing for their own interest.
He observed that the people of Northeastern fully support the BBI report that was unveiled at the Bomas of Kenya by Uhuru.
The MP also questioned why copies of the report were yet to be distributed to Kenyans to read.
“We already have the report which all Kenyans irrespective of their political parties have unanimously supported. What is it again that we are looking for? We are dividing Kenyans more than uniting them,” he said.
