RUTO FUNDING NAMWAMBA, RAILA REVEALS

The abrupt growth in affluence of ODM enfant terrible Ababu Namwamba is raising eyebrows both in the opposition Cord and even in his Western backyard.

On several occasions, Raila Odinga has told his supporters Namwamba is being used by his sworn political enemy William Ruto to advance Ruto’s presidential ambitions.

Just like he backed Uhuru Kenyatta in 2013 to stop Raila march to State House, Raila’s fear is that a plan has been hatched to hijack ODM ahead of 2017 and make him irrelevant.

His sneaky generation of a storm within the ODM last week calling for the party’s national elections and castigating Raila for what he said is undermining and belittling leaders from his Luhya community was received with mixed feelings.

The miraculous political upgrade in the youthful MP’s financial and property portfolio has only heightened fears that he is being re-packaged strategically to finish the job he started during the aborted ODM national elections.

 Ford Kenya leader Moses Masika Wetangula, Kakamega senator  Bonny Khalwale and Kakamega governor Wycliffe Oparanya, who had in recent days eclipsed the Budalangi MP in opposition politics are keenly watching as events unfold. Even in his own Busia backyard, there are fears that he is being pitted against his neighbour Paul Otwoma of Funyula constituency.

Within Raila and his allies, talk is that fairytale socio-political metamorphosis of Namwamba to some almost confirms long held fears that the Kasarani fiasco that led to the chaotic and acrimonious abortion of ODM elections for national officials was a plot by powerful forces in the Jubilee government to block Raila from being a presidential candidate in the 2017 general elections and to retire the former prime minister from national politics.

Multiple sources revealed that what became the “ODM Team Fresh” led by the Budalangi MP, Mombasa governor Hassan Joho and Eldas MP Adan Keynan, was a mere marriage of convenience by two or three powerful and moneyed Jubilee-allied forces working on separate ambitious scripts to overrun Raila within his own party and destroy him to political pulp permanently.

According to the sources, the separate “Jubilee hit groups” found the ODM elections ideal fodder and a timely opportunity that fitted in with their ongoing plots to destroy Raila.

The little disagreements in Raila’s backyard of Luo Nyanza that saw him silence key allies like James Orengo, Anyang Nyong’o, Millie Odhiambo and Jakoyo Midiwo who were hellbent on retaining the secretary general’s seat in Luoland and the open drifting of the South Nyanza clique led by Dalmas Otieno to the TNA side in open rebellion was seized upon by the Jubilee side in a crafty maneuver that almost succeeded to take over the top national leadership of ODM.

According to the sources, Namwamba, who had initially pretended to be backing Orengo’s candidature, is the ring leader of a secretive group of ODM leaders and delegates whom Raila views with suspicion.

Talk is, their agenda is to take over the reigns at Orange House and prepare the ground for Ruto’s return to ODM to snatch the party’s top seat: the party leadership from Agwambo and later on to stage manage a “democratic presidential candidate nomination” for 2017 elections which will be choreographed to hand over the ticket to the deputy president who will have jumped from Jubilee.

Sources in William Ruto’s URP party have confirmed that the deputy president is a wary man in the Jubilee where Mt Kenya clique have consolidated power around President Uhuru Kenyatta and left him a mere observer and figure head of a deputy president.

This has generated widespread unease amongst his Kalenjin team of elected leaders who have been secretly urging him to plan for a safe exit in the years to come. The DP has been struggling to calm them to avoid an acrimonious fallout with Uhuru this early, but has assured them that he will make a move at the appropriate time.

However, close Ruto friends point out that he has been all along been fighting an awkward dilemma-that of quitting Jubilee in a huff and going on his own or rejoining ODM. In the event of casually returning to ODM, he will be reduced to an inconsequential junior and give his huge Rift Valley vote for free.

Ruto friends now reveal that it was his political strategists and undercover URP intelligence operatives who advised him to secretly infiltrate ODM and take it over using any means including the use of his allies who, because of regional and tribal politics, remained behind when he defected from ODM with his Rift Valley voters ahead of the 2013 elections.

His advisers believe that if Ruto takes over the ODM secretariat, he would be able to doctor the ODM delegates and membership registers with special emphasis on Jubilee strongholds of Rift Valley and Mt Kenya region to use them to challenge and beat Raila easily for the 2017 presidential ticket.

According to Raila camp, it was with this plot that the deputy president pulled out his long time ally, Namwamba, and instructed him to revive all their allies amongst the ODM’s branch officials and delegates and cleverly bring on board the disgruntled Luo Nyanza groups to and any other anti-Raila forces within the party to launch the stealth attack.

There are reports that Ruto personally funded him to the tune of Sh10 million which was secretly delivered through emissaries. He was equally given free access to over three choppers (fully fueled) to be using for the political mercenary work bestowed on him.

The other Jubilee attack was fronted by Governor Joho and MP Keynan, working separately for Othaya legislator Mary Wambui who is a known Joho family business ally of many years and the former PNU clique of retired President Mwai Kibaki who sent his eldest daughter Judy Kibaki who is a close friend of Keynan.

Interestingly, according to many former prime minister handlers in ODM, they are aware that Joho has always pretended to be a strong supporter of Raila yet he is quietly anti-Raila and only clings to the ODM to benefit from the massive upcountry (Luo, Luhyia) vote in Mombasa Island who over the years are diehard Raila supporters. Incidentally, Keynan was a strong Mt Kenya mafia apologist during the regime of Mwai Kibaki, courtesy of the close friendship with Kibaki’s unmarried only daughter Judy who lavished him with many lucrative business deals.

He only jumped to ODM in desperation at the last minute just before the 2013 elections after realising that his Wajir residents had shifted allegiance and would not vote in any non ODM candidate.

It is said that the pro Mt Kenya or pro-TNA team led by Joho and Keynan were not as clever as the team of Ruto led by Namwamba as they easily betrayed themselves.

Many exchanged knowing glances as the Ababu-Joho-Keynan team publicly dubbed and pronounced themselves as “ODM Team Fresh” as it reminded all of Mudavadi’s Mt Kenya mafia propelled abortive presidential bid that was chopper trotted countrywide with the slogan: “UDF Tuko Fresh”.

According to scores around Raila, whereas Namwamba was out to prepare ODM for Ruto’s return, the Joho-Keynan plot was a mere continuation of Central Kenya’s long held agenda to knock out Raila.

Mt Kenya politicians have in the past even tried to amend the constitution or make a specific act through parliament barring Raila from standing for the presidency on the grounds of age.

Through the ODM elections, the Joho-Keynan group wanted to take over the running of the Orange party and pack the Secretariat at Orange House with employees and other senior staff with handpicked moles and home boys and home girls given to them by Mary Wambui and the Mt Kenya mafia and kick-out all those allied to Raila.