A spokesman for Mr Uhuru Kenyatta issued two contradictory statements, one saying that the TNA presidential aspirant and Eldoret North MP William Ruto had reached a pre-election deal and followed with another saying his earlier statement was inaccurate.
In the first statement, the spokesman, Mr Munyori Buku, said: “The two leaders have agreed on an alliance whose goals will be national unity, prosperity for all Kenyans, reconciliation and offers a definite and clear roadmap of making Kenya an economic powerhouse in the region, Africa and the world in the next decade.” (READ: Uhuru announces Ruto coalition deal)
Mr Buku however, released another statement minutes later recanting the earlier one, saying the announcement of the Kenyatta-Mr Ruto deal was inaccurate. (READ: Uhuru: No deal with Ruto yet)
“The fact is that negotiations are still going on and when a deal is reached, it will be the prerogative of the party principals to announce it. I apologise for the earlier communication,” he said.
However, he said the joint rally that had been scheduled for the coming Sunday at the Afraha Grounds, Nakuru, will go ahead as earlier communicated. It is expected that the details of the deal between the two parties will be unveiled at the rally.
It is understood that Mr Ruto telephoned Mr Kenyatta from Nakuru and demanded to know why one side was announcing a deal that involves two parties.
“URP was taken aback by the announcement and our party leader called to demand an explanation,” said an MP who requested not to be named.
Separately, 10 MPs allied to Wiper Democratic Movement issued a statement saying although they were planning to sign a deal with UDF in a week’s time, they would “simultaneously engage other interested parties with a view of forming further coalitions.”
Reading a statement on behalf of the MPs, Mr Gideon Ndambuki said that Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka of Wiper had delegated party members to hold talks with other parties to reach an agreement that would carry their community interests at heart.
“If you look at the Political parties Act, it allows, even if we sign today, you can sign with somebody else tomorrow and you continue signing. There is nothing like being closed,” he told reporters when asked why the dilly-dallying in forming an alliance.
Mr Musyoka and Mr Mudavadi are yet to agree on who between them will be the presidential candidate and the running mate, even after announcing a week earlier that they would form an alliance.
Discussing with other parties, the MPs argued, would not affect the ongoing negotiations with Mr Mudavadi.
“Wiper has all the options open to discuss with TNA, URP and every other party. If Kalonzo had nothing to bring to the table, will they be following him up. Everybody is following another to make sure that they achieve a deal,” said Mr Ndambuki.
The Agriculture assistant minister acknowledged the party has been talking with ODM over a possible coalition as well as TNA, even after the latter announced it had reached an agreement with the URP.
Interviews with URP MPs indicated that the party was not happy with a decision by TNA to announce their deal instead of it being done jointly.
One MP said the timing of the announcement had taken Mr Ruto by surprise as he was still consulting his supporters and trying to convince them to rally behind the TNA-URP alliance.
Mr Ruto was particularly concerned about the emergence of a lobby group opposing the alliance in the Rift Valley.
URP spokesman Aden Duale said URP supported an all-inclusive to win the polls. “We in URP believe an all-inclusive coalition. We need two months to campaign so that we can win in round one and garner majority of the parliamentary seats,” said Mr Duale.
Chepalungu MP Isaac Ruto said the deal could not be sealed unless the two parties’ organs ratified it. He said both were consulting each other’s supporters before making any announcement.
“Today (Tuesday) we met elders and they gave us the go ahead to negotiate. Tomorrow (today) we will be meeting elders in Eldoret and we will be holding several rallies in Rift Valley up to Saturday to drum up support for the alliance,” he said.
- Daily Nation
