Key politicians and professionals from ODM leader Raila Odinga’s Nyanza turf held a strategy meeting on Thursday with Deputy President Ruto’s team, an event possibly signalling their shift to the hustler movement.
In a highly symbolic meeting, tens of professionals came out boldly to craft what they call an economic blueprint for the Nyanza region.
The document will form part of Ruto's main 2022 manifesto underpinning his presidential run after his acrimonious divorce from President Uhuru Kenyatta.
This is the first time in almost two decades that a group is emerging and claiming to chart a different political course, challenging Raila' dominance of the region where he traditionally has enjoyed near-fanatical support.
The Thursday morning, the meeting took place at the Hermosa Hotel in Nairobi
Former Kisumu Governor Jack Ranguma and former Cabinet Minister Dalmas Otieno were among the high-flying politicians at the meeting.
Dalmas, a former Odinga confidant, is a commissioner with the Salaries and Remuneration Commission.
Aiding Ruto's raid of Raila's turf is Eliud Owalo — himself a former Raila aide —who convened the meeting.
Those present included former Rangwe MP Martin Ogindo, Citizens Convention Party leader Grace Akumu, former East Africa Portland Cement and Muhoroni Sugar Co Ltd managing director John Nyambok, former Vision 2030 director Judah Abekah, former Kenya Commercial Bank head of SMEs Christopher Migunde and educationist Prof David Otieno Okelo.
Also in attendance were Elgah Riaga, development expert Geoffrey Muga, chairman of the Western Tourism Circuit Daniel Okumu, lawyers Duncan Ojwang and Amos Omollo, engineer Calleb Olali and cooperative sector expert Steve Otieno.
Last month, it emerged that Ruto was quietly wooing Kakamega Governor Wycliffe Oparanya in what would deal a big blow to Raila.
The DP said he had secured a political deal with many leaders, including governors and Cabinet Secretaries who are too shy to come out publicly for fear of political persecution
Ruto said many leaders are meeting him in private, including Cabinet Secretaries and Principal Secretaries, among other government officials.
“Because of the nature of the politics — that if you are seen with William Ruto, the DCI will be on your case — many of them prefer that we have these meetings in private,” he said.
Kenyans will be shocked when these leaders finally come out and support him, Ruto said.
But ODM chairman John Mbadi dismissed the new Ruto grouping and termed them "political rejects looking for food".
Mbadi said the group does not represent the wishes of the Nyanza region.
"If they think they have voters behind them, let them just go and offer themselves against those who will be nominated by ODM in 2022. Those are tumbocrats,” he told the Star.
This was the same line taken by Homa Bay Town MP Peter Kaluma who described the group as "individuals trying to keep themselves busy with a cup of tea in city hotels”.
“They have zero impact. These are individuals who belong to our past,” he told the Star.
Dalmas' attempt to market a new political movement called Kalausi (Whirlwind) in 2014 ran into turbulence and was quickly abandoned.
Kalausi was linked to a plot to undermine Raila’s leadership.
After the day-long workshop on Thursday, the team agreed to push for the inclusion of revival of the sugar industry in the region and full exploitation of the fishing and rice sectors.
They proposed the Ahero irrigation scheme should be optimised as part of the Blue Economy.
The team, which is following in the footsteps of their Mt Kenya counterparts who met two weeks ago, proposed that the cotton sector should be rejuvenated.
They want it all.
They also proposed establishment of a regional bank to help the residents of the region access cheap credit to finance entrepreneurship and trade.
Other things they want prioritised include promotion of entrepreneurship, infrastructure (roads, water, sanitation, electricity, airstrips), tourism, education, upgrading and modernisation of the health facilities and value-addition.
They also cited industrialisation based on the region's raw materials potential and the mining of gold in Migori and iron ore in Homa Bay,
Also on the list is improved agricultural production, including the underexploited potential in tobacco, avocado, mango, sorghum among others.
In a press statement after the workshop, Owalo said they had “come together as agents of necessity to conceptualise, contextualise, design a feasible Economic Blueprint and subsequently pursue a tangible development agenda that can translate into remarkable improvement.” He is the brains behind the group.
He regretted that leaders from the region have been pre-occupied with “pursuit of political power and egocentrism. Retrogressive politics had pushed development priorities of the region to the back burner in total disregard for the needs of the common mwananchi.
“A group of professionals and like-minded progressive politicians have come together under the auspices of the Luo-Nyanza Economic Caucus to act as a Think Tank. It can help craft a conceptual framework that informs a thematic-based economic agenda for the region.
"Subsequently, they intend to pursue a dispensation informed by a tangible and feasible Economic Blueprint for the Luo-Nyanza Region,” he said.
Owalo said the team has in the past weeks been studying and reviewing all relevant policy documents which informed their deliberations.
He said some of the documents include the Lake Region Economic Bloc (LREB) Strategic Plan, Lake Basin Master Plan developed by the Lake Basin Development Authority, the County Governments Integrated Development Plans and the Integrated Strategic Urban Development Plans and linkages to rural development for Siaya, Kisumu, Homa Bay and Migori counties.
The group has also extensively analysed and contextualised the Sugar Industry Stakeholders’ Taskforce Report, the Micro and Small Enterprises Authority (2020-2024) Strategic Plan, the Nyanza Professional Caucus 1998 Ukweli Conference Report, the Report of the 2008 Nyanza Economic Forum held at the Kisumu Hotel and the 2009 Tom Mboya Labour College Economic Forum Report, Owalo said.
Allies of the former Prime Minister dismissed the team as inconsequential and after their own selfish interests.
The meeting came hours after allies of the Deputy President at the Coast formed a “Hybrid Technical Working Committee” comprised of politicians, economists and other professionals to develop the Coastal economic blueprint.
The team will be co-chaired by Prof Hassan Mwakimako and Umra Omar who have been tasked to develop a baseline document of the economic agenda and propose ways to operationalise it.
“Further the committee will propose ways to negotiate within the hustlers formation towards building a strong, cohesive and transformative movement that will fundamentally alter the economic structure of Kenya," they said in a joint press statement.
The leaders from the six Coastal counties — Taita Taveta, Mombasa, Kwale, Kilifi, Lamu and Tana River — met on Wednesday and resolved to hasten the process ahead of the meeting with Ruto in a weeks’ time.
The meeting was convened by MPs Aisha Jumwa (Malindi), Owen Baya (Kilifi North), Khatib Mwashetani (Lunga Lunga) and former Mombasa Senator Hassan Omar.
Others who attended the meeting in Nairobi included MPs Mohamed Ali (Nyali), Benjamin Tayari (Kinango), Shariff Athman (Lamu East), Feisal Bader (Msambweni), Rehema Hassan (Tana River Woman Rep), Senators Anwar Loitiptip (Lamu) and Juma Wario (Tana River) and former Taita Taveta Governor John Mruttu, among other professionals and strategic thinkers.
They said the blueprint they will develop will be adopted as part of the “hustler nation manifesto in it's bid to reclaim Kenya.
“We will infuse in the architecture of our economics pro-poor policies and build an inclusive nation-state devoid of ethnic division and dynastical domination of our politics,” they said.
They also resolved that they will be fronting a candidate for consideration as Ruto’s running mate in the August 2022 presidential race.
“This candidate will be determined on account of merit, performance and integrity among other parameters recognising the high agenda of the hustler nation to de-ethnicise Kenya and create a just and equitable order,” they said.
They added, “This is therefore not done with an agenda to disenfranchise any group, but to offer DP Ruto a wider array of competence and diversity in his consideration of running mate.”
(Edited by V. Graham)