"Musalia Mudavadi Needs to Accept the Reality that He Must Work Hard to Convince the Delegates to Nominate Him Instead of Trying to Arm-Twist Uhuru Kenyatta to Step Down for Him!" - The Star.

· Here and there: Serious food for thought: -

· 1) Jubilee Coalition leaders worked overtime to forestall a split following failure to resolve a standoff between the Son of MAU MAU freedom fighters and MAU MAU detainees and the abracadabra presidential candidate.

· One Member of Parliament associated with the UDF party claimed that apart from the much-talked about disagreement on the mode of nomination to be adopted, Mudavadi “is in fact demanding that Uhuru steps aside for him in fulfillment of a promise” Musalia says was “given before signing a pre-election agreement on December 4, 2012.”

· Mudavadi had insisted, on December 17, 2012, that “unless an announcement was made in public that the process of nominating the Jubilee Coalition candidate would be done by consensus, he would skip the Jubilee rally in Kitui”.

· Whereas Kenyatta wants the candidate picked by the over 4,500 delegates the three key parties, in the Jubilee Coalition, wanted to assemble, with each giving 1,500, Mudavadi sought consensus, arguing that the National Delegates Conference (NDC) nomination would leave the coalition divided and weaker; would polarise the coalition unnecessarily; and because “it is an expensive and unnecessary process.”

· Mudavadi also argued that the parties in the coalition hardly have any “working structures and could not therefore produce any delegates.”

· Sources within the URP party, on the other hand, revealed that William Ruto wanted the decision made fast, with preference for Uhuru, because of the fact that Ruto has already sold Uhuru as the Jubilee’s presidential candidate.

· Ruto believes that “after fighting so hard to have Uhuru accepted by the Kalenjin community and other communities, starting off a new campaign to sell Mudavadi would be trickier and will divert the energies of the Jubilee Coalition from the national campaigns against the CORD Alliance!”

· 2) Godwin R. Murunga, a lecturer at Kenyatta University penned an interesting piece (Star, December 17, 2012). Murunga said, inter alia: “When the political history of Kenya is finally written, we will reserve a pithy but harsh paragraph for Musalia Mudavadi…

· Mudavadi has this uncanny ability to make the most terrible decisions around election time. He ditched ODM claiming that it is undemocratic and was not willing to conduct a county by county nomination process…

· He has now signed onto a Jubilee Coalition presidential primary that will pit him against Kenyatta, but this time, he has forgotten the county by county nomination requirement that was his excuse for ditching ODM…

· Some of us defended Mudavadi’s right to run for the ODM presidential ticket. We hoped that the eventual nominee for the ODM presidential ticket would have his credentials boosted by the popularity garnered in the process of campaigning for the party ticket. Before this issue could be fully ventilated in the party, Mudavadi joined UDF…

· The reason Mudavadi ditched ODM confirms that he is made of the cloth as any Kenyan politician. But Mudavadi is not always a strategic politician…

· As such, he comes through as tactless and unconvincing. One tactless assumption he has and which has given him ‘fake’ credibility as a political player is that he will carry a huge chunk of the Western province vote…

· This is the assumption that has informed the alternating TNA-URP dalliance with Mudavadi. Prior to his presidential bid, Mudavadi has never really shown any enthusiasm of expanding his political legitimacy beyond his tiny Mululu backyard. He is as new to other areas in the region as any politician from outside…

· In other words, Mudavadi is highly overrated politician. Listening to people in market places in Kakamega County, he has become the object of vitriolic conversation, ridicule and easy dismissal among people who feel he takes the community for granted. Ultimately, the relevance of Mudavadi rests with nomination to run for president!”

· 3) The Star newspaper (December 17, 2012) carried an interesting editorial headlined: “Mudavadi should face Jubilee test.” The editorial read: “Musalia Mudavadi is a seasoned politician who has held senior cabinet portfolios under Presidents Kibaki and Moi. He has been a Vice-President, is currently a Deputy Prime Minister, was deputy ODM party leader for four years, and was once KANU vice chairman…

· In these positions, he gained considerable experience and must have learnt that in politics, one must fight for what one wants. But Mudavadi’s recent demands, first in ODM and now in the Jubilee Alliance where he is a principal, leave many wondering whether he has learnt any lesson at all…

· Before he left ODM for UDF, he claimed that the party wanted to lock him out of the presidential race through a clause. But even after ODM agreed to change its constitution to accommodate him, he came up with other demands – county-level nominations by delegates…

· Now in the Jubilee Alliance, Mudavadi wants a consensus mode instead of delegates system to nominate the presidential flag bearer, in the hope that he would be the ultimate beneficiary. How certain is he that the consensus method will work in his favour?

· Mudavadi needs to accept the reality that he must work hard to convince the delegates to nominate him instead of trying to arm-twist Uhuru Kenyatta to step down for him!”

· 4) Veteran journalist Macharia Gaitho inked an interesting article (Daily Nation, December 18, 2012). Gaitho said, inter alia: “Mr. Musalia Mudavadi is a nice guy. The Deputy Prime Minister comes across as a gentle, soft-spoken and level-headed leader, who thinks before engaging his mouth in motion. He does not look vindictive, and does not engage too much in our regular verbal wars and soapbox histrionics…

· Mr. Mudavadi may not be on the front grid as presidential aspirants rev their engines, but in political discussion in many parts of the country, he comes across as a favourite compromise candidate…

· He is mentioned favourably in central Kenya as a second choice if the regional supremo, Mr. Uhuru Kenyatta, is unable to run. He is similarly looked upon kindly in the Rift Valley bastions of Mr. William Ruto…

· The aforementioned Jubilee Coalition principals have the little matter of an appointment at the International Criminal Court (ICC) to answer charges of crimes against humanity. It would then be almost logical that Mr. Mudavadi be crowned the Jubilee candidate…

· Perhaps, as the spin from his western Kenya camp so prominent from newspaper columnists, he would be the unifying force, the consensus candidate best-placed to defeat Prime Minister Odinga of the Coalition for Restoration and Democracy…

· Why then don’t Mr. Kenyatta and Mr. Ruto accept the obvious and hand Mr. Mudavadi the Jubilee presidential nomination? Simple!

· He seeks to reap where he has not sown. Love them or hate them, you cannot but concede that Mr. Kenyatta and Mr. Ruto are solid politicians. Both have spent a great deal of time and resources building up their loyal constituencies…

· The Uhuruto pair came to a logical alliance under the Jubilee banner to fight their common cause bound together by the ICC leg irons, and agreed that Mr. Kenyatta would be the presidential candidate and Mr. Ruto his running mate…

· It was clear from the very beginning that they were the two principals of the Jubilee Alliance, with any others accommodated in the frame only making up the supporting cast and cheerleading squad. Then Mr. Mudavadi entered the picture…

· He was pushed there by the very same forces that earlier enticed him out of Raila Odinga’s side in ODM and handed him a ready-made party, UDF, which was initially created for Mr. Kenyatta…

· The Uhuruto duo was quite happy to accommodate him especially if that stopped him going back into Mr. Odinga’s arms. They were also happy to play along with a ruse designed for Mr. Mudavadi to placate his supporters – the opportunity to vie for the alliance presidential ticket…

· But it was clear all along that Mr. Mudavadi would have zero chance of beating Mr. Kenyatta in a nomination contest; so his only hope lay in the latter allowing him to win or simply handing him the ticket…

· The calculation here, as it has been since Mr. Mudavadi was placed atop UDF, was that facing charges at The Hague made Mr. Kenyatta unsuitable; as did the need for President Kibaki not to be seen as backing another Kikuyu as his successor…

· The problem was that Mr. Kenyatta had rejected that position all along and signaled an independent fight for the presidency that was not dictated by Kibaki succession strategists. He rejected the PNU and UDF as political vehicles to form his TNA, instead, where he is the owner, driver, and conductor…

· Darned, therefore, that he would meekly hand over everything to a fellow he sees as an interloper, who feigns friendship, but is just waiting for him to go down so he can inherit the vote…

· Mr. Mudavadi getting the Jubilee nod would be a game-changer, but then the nice and personable guy is not a leader, he is a follower. In 2002, when everybody was scampering from KANU, he could not defy outgoing President Moi, and became the shortest-lived Vice-President in Kenya. Everything now suggests he is being led by the nose again!” Nothing to add: Enough said! Everything is in black and white. Alluta Continua.

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