Kalonzo faces new rebellion

By LUCAS BARASA, BOB ODALO and JOHN NGIRACHU

In Summary

1) Discontentment in the party started soon after Mr Musyoka was appointed Vice President.
2) Kiema Kilonzo laughed off the idea of disbanding ODM-K in favour of joining the PNU.

Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka faces one of his toughest political fights next week after rebel ODM Kenya MPs called for a meeting to oust him from the party.

But his main backers have called their own rival meetings to preempt the impending coup.

Mr Musyoka’s problems stem from plans to dissolve all PNU affiliate parties and unite into a single party.

There are also perceptions that he abandoned his loyalists when he was elevated to the vice-presidency and that ODM-K was short-changed in its coalition with PNU.

There have also been accusations that he has not fought hard enough to have his supporters appointed to key government positions.

According to a notice signed by ODM-K secretary general Mutula Kilonzo, Mr Musyoka’s supporters will hold a National Executive Council and Parliamentary Group meeting in Nairobi on Monday.

This will be followed by a meeting of all MPs, councillors and party officials on Tuesday.

But rebel MPs Kiema Kilonzo of Mtito and his Yatta counterpart, Mr Charles Kilonzo, have called their own delegates conference on August 15 at the Bomas of Kenya when Mr Musyoka’s position as party leader will be discussed.

Discontentment in the party started soon after Mr Musyoka was appointed VP but have since grown into open rebellion by the MPs who accused him of allowing the party to be short-changed in the PNU coalition last January.

And when PNU and its affiliates formed a grand coalition with ODM, the VP was accused by opponents in the party of failing to fight hard enough to secure more seats for ODM-K.

Apart from the VP, the party has two Cabinet ministers — Mr Mutula Kilonzo and Mr Samuel Poghisio. It also has three assistant ministers out of 16 MPs.

New battle fronts have been opened in the party after President Kibaki asked PNU affiliates to dissolve themselves and unite.

A group of rebel MPs who have been giving Mr Musyoka sleepless nights over the running of the party fear that their party could be swallowed by PNU. The group includes Mr Musyoka’s allies-turned-critics.

Also in the group are Dr Julia Ojiambo, who was Mr Musyoka’s running mate and former Ukambani MPs who lost their seats during the December General Election.

Dr Ojiambo is the leader of the Labour Party, an ODM-Kenya affiliate.

Mr Musyoka’s critics say his meeting in Nairobi next week is meant to seek party members support in ‘killing’ ODM-K before joining PNU.

All ODM-K councillors from Ukambani region have been asked to attend the meeting. Besides the 16 MPs, the party has hundreds of councillors.

But already cracks have emerged with a section of councillors saying they will attend the Monday meeting but use the platform to tell the Vice President that his move had little backing from the region.

“When Mr Musyoka chose to work with PNU he did not seek our views as councillors. Why has he now thought it wise to involve us when he wants to kill our party? We say no,” said Masaku county council chairman Charles Mutinda.

According to him, any attempt to disband ODM-K would be resisted.

“This is the message we will be carrying with us to the meeting summoned by Mr Musyoka, we are expressing not just the views of majority of the councillors but voters in Ukambani,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Kiema Kilonzo group says bona fide party officials would go on with the Annual General meeting scheduled for August 15.His Yatta counterpart said the meeting is expected to elect new office bearers.

The outspoken MP laughed off the idea of disbanding ODM-K in favour of joining the PNU.

“The meeting is expected to come up with new direction for the party,” Kiema said.“As far as we are concerned ODM-K is not joining the PNU,” he said.

Addressing a press conference in Nairobi on Friday, Dr Ojiambo, Kiema and Charles Kilonzo said they had planned a series of meetings ahead of a National Delegates Conference.

“The technical committee is meeting to plan for the NDC and strengthen the party. This is not a coup,” said the Mutito MP.

And Charles said: “The Vice President has tended towards PNU while the rest of us have been going in the opposite direction. We decided to agree to disagree on that issue since he is entitled to his opinion.”

Kiema said his team had also met last week in its efforts to have a united front in order to conform with the Political Parties Act.

The Act requires that parties have clear membership and officials to attract funding from the Government. They said most of the original ODM-K MPs were from the Labour Party of Kenya.

Courtesy of:http://www.nation.co.ke/News