Amani National Congress party leader Musalia Mudavadi’s aide has asked ODM boss Raila Odinga to leave the National Super Alliance (Nasa), noting his usefulness in the coalition ended with the famous handshake between President Uhuru Kenyatta and him on March 9.
Mr Kibisu Kabatesi further poured cold water on the meeting between a section of MPs from western and Deputy President William Ruto on Thursday at his Karen home.
Mr Kabatesi asked the media to stop referring to Mr Odinga as the “Nasa leader”, saying that the coalition does not have such a title other than the honorary “Nasa Principal “or Nasa co-principal shared by the leaders of ODM, Wiper, Ford Kenya and ANC.
“ODM must take the bold step to officially vacate its membership in Nasa since by promoting the Jubilee agenda at the expense of Nasa’s stated objective to constitute a democratic government and not dictatorship, it is in continued violation of the Political Parties Act,” Mr Kabatesi said.
UNITY
The pull out of ODM, according to Mr Kabatesi, will see the other parties unite under Nasa.
“The infamous handshake wasn’t a Nasa initiative but a personal cessation of hostilities between two individuals,” he said.
When Mr Odinga spoke after the handshake, which was a culmination of a meeting with President Kenyatta at the office of the president, he said that it was important for the country to come together after the 2017 divisive elections.
Mr Odinga successfully petitioned the August 8, 2017 election of President Kenyatta at the Supreme Court.
His move saw Nasa supporters hold protests across the country.
POLICE BRUTALITY
Police reacted by killing several people in the Nasa strongholds of Nyanza, Western and Nairobi in what was seen as use of excessive and brutal force.
Mr Odinga later pulled out of a fresh presidential election on October 26 as directed by the Supreme Court.
“We at Nasa interpret the handshake as a Jubilee ploy to split Nasa and scuttle its stated inclusive and structured National Dialogue Agenda with connivance with our former partner,” Mr Kabatesi said.
He added: “The tribulations befalling the handshake by victimising Miguna are therefore self-inflicted by the ODM leader.”
RUTO VISIT
Although Mr Kabatesi said that a merger of ANC and Ford Kenya has been mooted, he did not have kind words for the Ford Kenya MPs who visited Mr Ruto at his Karen home with a possibility of supporting his 2022 presidential bid.
“We know that in a functional democratic system, MPs need not seek favour with the Executive, least of all the DP, for projects to take off in their areas.
“MPs must, therefore, not feign subservience to get projects initiated, funded and completed despite budget-making being the mandate of Parliament,” he said.
According to Mr Kabatesi, no unintended “interpolation” should be imposed on the meeting.
“I can predict a terrible backlash from voters if it is proven that indeed any of them pledged to support the DP in 2022,” he said.
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