The protection political bigwigs get from their lieutenants has in most cases turned out to be a double-edged sword in their quest for power.
Within the circles of President Uhuru Kenyatta, DP William Ruto, ODM boss Raila Odinga, Wiper’s Kalonzo Musyoka and Amani National Congress (ANC) leader Musalia Mudavadi are individuals who go to great lengths to prove their loyalty.
Therefore, some end up being assets given that they are good crowd mobilisers and sometimes financiers. But on the other hand, in trying to please their bosses, they sometimes go overboard and embarrass the party leaders.
“Such noisemakers are needed because sometimes one needs errand boys and they do things to prove their loyalty to their bosses for the sake of being elected,” says Prof Masibo Lumala of Moi University.
Last week’s attack on Mr Odinga in Soy, Uasin Gishu, where both his allies and those of his main rival DP Ruto were summoned by Directorate of Criminal Investigation (DCI) exposed how allies could also be liabilities.
Apologised
The incident, which police suspect was planned by some of the DP’s allies, MPs Oscar Sudi and Caleb Kositany, forced him to publicly apologise while his party, the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) was put on the defence as they sought to dissociate it from violence.
While both Mr Sudi and Mr Kositany were asked on what they know on the attack, this made the DP politically vulnerable.
“As (United Democratic Alliance) a party, we call for an election free of violence,” DP Ruto said on Saturday morning at the UDA party headquarters.
He continued; “I also apologise to Raila Odinga for what happened to him yesterday (Friday). It was really unfortunate and I hope those who engaged in this exercise regret what they did.”
Negative perceptions
Prof Lumala says that although this group is important because they push harder for the aspirations of the party, on the other side they give their masters negative perceptions which are injurious to their ambitions, like it happened with the incident in Soy.
“These are diehards or fanatical followers whose intention is to constantly appear as chief defenders of their candidates. Within these two alliances, there are leaders both Ruto and Raila should not count on. At some point Cherargei and Murkomen were sharp shooters in Ruto’s camp but they must have been stopped. There are people who when they speak in both camps, they end up creating enemies for the party,” Prof Lumala said, adding that DP Ruto’s apology over Mr Odinga’s attack might be construed that he is taking responsibility.
Prof Lumala further said that keen to take advantage of their man being on the ballot, these allies are placing demands on them, putting them between a rock and a hard place.
“Some of these people are inherently selfish. They take care of their own slides regardless of what happens. Kakamega Senator Cleophas Malala goes into Kenya Kwanza, pushes ANC into it so that he can run for governor seat even if Musalia will get nothing from it. Same to some in Rift Valley who will hold Ruto hostage to ensure he must run because they know that if he does not run, their goose is cooked. Same to Raila and Kalonzo,” he said.
So real is the threat of these hardliners pushing one to an unsuccessful, even unnecessary State House contest, that Dr Ruto has once addressed the issue when he said some of the close allies were ready to bag their own seats at the expense of their leaders’ political careers.
“These people like taking us for a ride because they sit down and figure out what to do, then say that if Kalonzo will vie for presidency, I will get my Senate, governor or parliamentary seat. If he gets or not (presidency), it is none of my business, because I would have gotten mine,” said Dr Ruto when he attended a funeral with Mr Musyoka.
He warned: “We have to be very careful with these people not to fail us when they go for their seats.”
In Mr Kenyatta’s camp, Jubilee vice-chairman David Murathe, Secretary-General Jeremiah Kioni, Director of Elections and Kieni MP Kanini Kega and Nyeri Town MP Ngunjiri Wambugu are some of those who are viewed as hardliners while in DP Ruto’s circle are Sudi (Kapseret), Rigathi Gachagua (Mathira), Kositany (Soy), Murkomen (Elgeyo Marakwet) and Cherargei (Nandi), among others.
Mr Odinga’s lieutenants like Junet Mohamed (Suna East), Babu Owino (Embakasi East), John Mbadi (Suba South) and Gladys Wanga (Homa Bay) are the diehards. In Mr Musyoka’s camp there is Mutula Kilonzo Jnr (Makueni), Enock Wambua (Kitui), Irene Kasalu (Kitui) and Makali Mulu (Kitui Central) while Mr Mudavadi has Malala (Kakamega).
Impeachment plot
Following claims that DP Ruto was working with ODM to impeach President Kenyatta, hence the breakdown of their relationship, ODM leader Mr Odinga came out to deny knowledge of such plans. But the following day Mr Mohamed came out with a hard-hitting dossier that there was a plot to oust Mr Kenyatta immediately after the repeat 2017 presidential poll.
The Suna East MP disclosed that Dr Ruto offered Mr Odinga and his ODM associates half of all senior government positions in return for helping him topple President Kenyatta soon after the 2017 elections. At an event following the publication of Mr Mohamed’s claims, Mr Odinga avoided addressing the issue as Mr Mohamed who was also present ducked questions from the media.
Political extremists
University of Nairobi’s political analyst Herman Manyora argues that political extremists are important in both coalitions because they can be used as “political barometers” when the boss is trying to set a particular agenda.
“They are assets because you need these hecklers around you sometimes because they scare people away. They are also used as political barometers. When you want to test waters, you use them so that you can see the reactions. Sometimes they say things the bosses on their own would not want to say. Initially, Ruto was not attacking Uhuru directly, he used his allies,” Mr Manyora explained.
He, however, warns that the group puts most leaders in what he described as “dictator trap”, which will result in repelling good people from the camps hence losing votes.
“When some of these people speak, their masters lose some votes. They are a liability because they repel good people from you. They also push you to live in a dictator trap. This puts you to a point where you only want to listen to your own voice, that is, you want to listen to good things only and the people who will give you are the hardliners who create a state of comfort around you,” said Mr Manyora.
Mr Wambugu told the Nation that hardliners are always championing the interests of the party and its aspirations.
“I think every party has those people who must closely hold the aspirations of the party. They work as the conscience for the party as per its goals and objectives and help ensure the party gets the best deal in any negotiation,” said Mr Wambugu, an ardent defender of President Kenyatta.
Fluid and open game
Murang’a Senator Irungu Kang’ata explains that when a person is looking for power, he doesn’t look at the character of those people who can catapult him to the country’s top seat.
“Politics is a fluid and open game. Each player has his own position. They are those who play long balls and others short. In the ideal world, we would want it to be inhabited by angels. But the world is not ideal,” he added.
Political commentator and governance expert Javas Bigambo argues that the stalwarts need to be tamed to prevent them from spoiling votes for their masters.
“The untamed tongues of Raila and Ruto’s diehard supporters could easily make the political path slippery for them. There is a need for serious housekeeping rules or guidelines for each side to ensure that they don’t make regrettable remarks that push away possible support bases as opposed to wooing them,” argued Mr Bigambo. BY DAILY NATION