Kenya's Most Authoritative Political Newspaper

Citizen Weekly

Sunday 25 January 2015

Ripples in URP over new party officials

Ripples have emerged among URP supporters over the involvement of  Caleb Kipkemei Kositany as an official of Jubilee Alliance Party where he is named as deputy secretary general.
Those opposed to Kositany say he dropped from school in Form Two and to date has not gone back to pick his personal effects at Kipsagui High School in Uasin Gishu. It is not known why he deserted school but sources claim  when he joined Form One, for three terms he emerged last in the class.
Kositany is a kid brother of the late Stephen   Kositany a son-in-law of former president Daniel arap Moi who perished in a road accident. He had married Jenniffer Moi.
The new party official is said to be at loggerheads with his family after he took a loan running into millions using their land as security. He is also said not to have a stable family. His wife used to work for     Unileaver. Known to hire state-of-art vehicles to hoodwink members of public, in 2013, he stood and lost in Soy parliamentary seat and is  a man with loose zips when drunk and women are around, it is claimed. When Moi was in power, he perfected the art of propaganda. For now, he wants to use his party position to get direct nomination. The Jubilee Parliamentary Group meeting last week began on a high note during the tension-packed meeting called to deliberate on a number of issues, including the merger of URP and TNA to form the Jubilee Alliance Party.
Although the merger seems to enjoy the backing of Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto, majority of MPs and senators especially those from the TNA wing are not comfortable with the merger deal.
Those from TNA claim the move is aimed at solidifying the Kikuyu votes for Ruto in 2022 when he is expected to vie for the presidency. What has now come out clearly is that majority of TNA politicians are not keen in supporting Ruto’s presidential bid in 2022. However, their URP counterparts are fully behind the merger knowing it is to the advantage of their leader.
Sources say the president and his deputy ordered the creation and registration of the party and tasked a secret group of trusted operatives to go shopping for a fully registered political entity.
According to the resolutions made in Naivasha where Jubilee retreated to last weekend, TNA and URP will  be dissolved by 2017.  This is to further consolidate the Kikuyu and Kalenjin voting blocs under Jap to prepare the country for Ruto to succeed Uhuru in 2022.
Uhuru’s pointman in the party is former Gatanga MP who is the vice-chair of the new party David Murathe. Last week, he told off those claiming there were no consultations that members of the ruling coalition did not need to know about plans to merge the constituent parties until the time was right.
Among the sources, Uhuru started the plan and first contacted Kigumo MP Jamlek Kamau to State House and briefed him on the new idea. Kamau was then dispatched to Ruto for further briefing where he and Kericho senator Charles Keter were tasked to work out the finer details.
National Assembly majority leader Aden Duale is also said to have played a big role and is the one representing Ruto in the merger deal. However, Igembe South MP Mithika Linturi described the move as dangerous.
The new officials of the party include Nelson Dzuya (chairman) who unsuccessfully contested the Rabai parliamentary seat in 2013, receiving just 86 votes on a URP ticket.
Veronica Maina, a city lawyer, is secretary-general, while Alfred Kipkorir, a Kericho-based businessman is the treasurer with David Murathe as the vice-chairman.
Other officials include Pamela Mutua (organising secretary), Fatuma Mahamud (deputy treasurer) and Nixon Korir (executive director). Kipkorir the treasurer background is also questionable with claims he is not outgoing but reserved. He is also said not to be able to control his sexual lust.
Among those opposed to the merger is Bomet governor Isaac Ruto who last week said that Uhuru and Ruto should resign first and seek a fresh mandate according to the Political Parties Act before pushing for the dissolution of Jubilee constituent parties into the new outfit.



No comments:

Post a Comment