More political hemorrhage is rocking ANC boss Musalia Mudavadi’s camp even as Speaker Justin Muturi disowned the One Kenya Alliance.
This even as it emerged the Oka’s technical team is on a three-day retreated to confront the thorny issue of the formula to pick a presidential candidate.
Matungu MP Peter Nabulindo on Monday became the latest ANC legislator to divorce Mudavadi, climaxing a streak of high-profile defections.
The MP revealed that he had joined Azimio La Umoja, which is led by ODM leader Raila Odinga.
In a video, the first-term MP said that the people of Matungu had instructed him to join Raila’s camp after realising that the ODM boss will form the next government.
“The people of Matungu want me to be in the next government so that I can bring development to this area. I can’t do that when I’m in the opposition. So they have told me to join Azimio since it will form the next government,” he said.
Nabulindo was elected in March 2021, following the death of Justus Murunga.
He defeated ODM’s David Were with 4,000 votes in a by-election that was the tipping point for the Raila-Mudavadi camaraderie.
Nabulindo is the latest ANC lawmaker to join Raila’s Azimio camp.
On December 31, 2021, Lugari MP Ayub Savula revealed he would back Raila’s quest to become the fifth president of Kenya.
“I have moved from today to Raila’s Azimio La Umoja. I’m now supporting Raila for president. That thing called Oka is just useless,” Savula said during an Azimio rally in Bukhungu.
On the same day, Teso North MP Oku Kaunya and nominated MP Godffrey Osotsi also backed Raila.
Days later, Khwisero MP Christopher Aseka asked Mudavadi to work with Raila following massive defections that also included a number of MCAs.
Kakamega Senator Cleophaa Malala has signalled his preference for Deputy President William Ruto and even asked his ANC boss to work with the DP.
ANC is one of the partners in Oka, that also brings together Moses Wetang’ula’s Ford Kenya, Senator Gideon Moi’s Kanu and Wiper of Kalonzo Musyoka.
And on Tuesday, more trouble continued to rock Oka after Muturi said he is not in coalition talks with the outfit.
The Speaker said his Democratic Party has not sanctioned any talks with Oka, dimming hopes for the broadening of the alliance.
“The decision of me engaging other parties in coalition talks can only be made by the top decision making organ of DP. I cannot make that decision as an individual,” Muturi said.
Ironically, Mudavadi had indicated that a bigger political machine was in the making after visiting Muturi in his Nairobi home on Thursday.
“More to join….Big coalition loading….One Kenya loading….Wishing you a quick recovery Justin Muturi,” Mudavadi posted on Facebook.
But yesterday Muturi, who is the DP party leader, said the Oka chiefs only visited to wish him well following surgery on his right shoulder.
“We have known each other for many years and they came to wish me well. An announcement about coalitions will come from the relevant organs of the party and not me as an individual,” he said.
He, however, added that his outfit is keen to engage like-minded parties in the run up to 2022 polls.
The Oka chiefs have ordered their technical committee to quickly come up with the formula of picking a presidential flag-bearer.
The Star has established that the team is on a three-day retreat in Elementaita, Nakuru county, to pick the method and draw a joint campaign programme.
The meeting comes at a time when Oka chiefs are under immense pressure from their troops to agree on the presidential line up.
On Tuesday, Makueni Senator Mutula Kilonzo Jr confirmed to the Star that the technical team is holed up for talks to hammer a deal.
“They are there to iron-out the technical matters before the principals retreat next month to pick one of their own as flag bearer,” he said.
Kilonzo Jr, who is also the Wiper national vice chairman, did not disclose the nature of the discussions on the table.
The Star understands that legal experts, select politicians and governance strategists are some of the members of the Oka technical panel.
The team is expected to draw and harmonise a presidential campaign programme for the fledgling alliance ahead of the August 9 general election.
The Oka technical team will also craft a coalition agreement document and propose coalition theme colours that will be ratified by the principals.
The team will be joined by Oka principals at the end of the three-day retreat to deliberate on preliminary findings.
“They may not go public on what will have transpired because it will be a very private meeting,” a highly placed source said.
“The team will still be looking at who among the principals is best suited to be the flag-bearer. They will also be coming up with possible power-sharing for the principals,” added the source.
Critics have questioned the commitment of Oka chiefs to stick together and go all the way to the ballot with the presidential battle shaping into a two-horse race.
There have been reports of internal cracks over silent negotiations by some of the principals to team up with either Raila or Ruto.
However, the Oka chiefs have rubbished reports of plans to back Ruto or Raila and insisted that they are crafting a line-up that will reshape the presidential race.
“The process to identify our flag bearer is at advanced stage … whoever the flagbearer is, he or she will carry the aspirations of the millions of Kenyans,” the Oka chiefs said last week.
They said they would retreat with the technical team on February 18 to agree on the presidential candidate.
On Tuesday, Malala poured cold water on the retreat, saying the team had already done its work and that the Oka bosses should unveil a candidate by January 25.
“They should give us a presidential candidate. The technical team had already come up with the modalities of identifying a candidate. These retreats will not help us because time is running out,” he said. BY THE STAR