Uhuru Kenyatta, William Ruto and Musalia Mudavadi are this morning expected to appear before the Registrar of Political Parties for arbitration over what the latter claim's is a breach of contract.
The registrar, Lucy Ndung'u summoned the three after Mudavadi's UDF filed an official complaint claiming that the Jubilee coalition comprising of Uhuru’s TNA and Ruto’s URP had breached the coalition contract they signed with him on December 4 in which Uhuru agreed to step down for Mudavadi as the coalition's presidential candidate.
UDF wrote to the registrar complaining that the dispute resolution procedure was not followed by Uhuru and Ruto which left him with no option but to quit the Jubilee coalition.
TNA, URP and UDF had initially agreed to work together in the Jubilee coalition and field one presidential candidate in the March 4 elections.
UDF later pulled out after what it termed as “breach of coalition agreement”.
Mudavadi claimed that Uhuru had accepted to shelve his presidential ambitions in his favour, but Uhuru said he had agreed to the deal under duress from some 'evil forces."
Uhuru maintained that only the national delegates from the three parties should decide who the pick the Jubilee coalition presidential candidate.
However, Mudavadi was opposed to this and refused to participate. Instead he left the coalition. Jubilee went ahead to hold national delegates convention and Uhuru was endorsed as the coalition’s flag bearer while Ruto is his running mate.
Although UDF has denied allegations that it will be pushing the Registrar to declare the Jubilee coalition a nullity, several of his close allies and advisors say the party is seeking to frustrate Uhuru's presidential bid for betraying Mudavadi.
However, TNA and URP members view today's summons by the Registrar of Political Parties as 'an act of desperation' by Mudavadi.
“Mudavadi is now desperate, a losing politician who is now attempting by all means to gain political relevancy. In the first place it was Mudavadi who worked out to the terms with the Jubilee coalition because he feared a competitive nomination process,” said Cherangany MP Joshua Kuttuny yesterday.
“What was deposited with the Registrar had nothing to do with UDF. The complaint that Mudavadi has taken to the Registrar is between him and Uhuru Kenyatta and was not binding in any way,” added Kuttuny.
UDF has said it decided to lodge the complaint with the Registrar to avoid any legal hurdle which the party is likely face in case it joins forces with any other political party ahead of the elections.
Mudavadi has been holding talks with New Ford Kenya leader Eugene Wamalwa but the two have not officially announced that they will be working together ahead of the elections.
Wamalwa's decision to support Mudavadi's presidential ambitions is being blamed for the collapse of the month-old Pambazuka Alliance comprising of Cyrus Jirongo's Federal Party of Kenya, former Cabinet minister Nicholas Biwott's New Vision Party and Shirikisho party.
The collapse of the coalition was announced over the weekend by the New Vision party's vice chairperson Benta Opande who accused Eugene of 'flirting' with other parties outside the coalition without the consent of other coalition partners.
"This kind of political prostitution is unacceptable to those who founded the Pambazuka coalition hoping it can provide a middle ground ahead of the 2013 general election," said Opande during he press conference held at the Federal party of Kenya offices on Saturday.
Signs that Wamalwa was edging closer to Mudavadi emerged on Boxing day when he declared during the annual Maragoli cultural festival that he would support Mudavadi's presidential candidature.
Meanwhile, Chief Justice Willy Mutunga is today expected to swear in Members of Political Parties Disputes Tribunal. The tribunal is the sole legal body with the mandate of determining disputes between members of a political party as well resolving any disagreements between political parties forming a coalition.
According to Article Six of the Political Parties Act, the tribunal is mandated to determine disputes between the members of a political party, disputes between political parties forming a coalition or appeals from decisions of the Registrar of Political Parties.
The tribunal is also expected to determine any dispute before it within three months from the date such a dispute is lodged.
The tribunal’s chairman Peter Simani recently wrote to the Judiciary informing it that the tribunal can no longer execute its mandate due to lack of funds.
Source: The Star
