Mathira Member of Parliament Rigathi Gachagua has dismissed the possibility of the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) forming political coalitions with other parties ahead of the 2022 General Election.
Speaking to KTN News on Thursday, August 19, Gachagua said that UDA, a party heavily linked to Kenya’s Deputy President William Ruto will think of alliances after the elections.
He said the party is busy drafting their 2022 presidential manifesto and that they have no time to discuss political coalitions now.
“We are busy forming our manifesto. We cannot have time now to talk about positions and coalitions because many people are obsessed with the normal hoodwink politics of forming coalitions between tribes and personalities,
“But we in United Democratic Movement under the Deputy President William Ruto are having a parallel paradigm shift where we are talking matters of how we can revive our economy,” he said.
This comes at a time Ruto’s competitors are working to form formidable coalitions that will see them easily lock out the Sugoi-man from succeeding President Uhuru Kenyatta.
On Tuesday, August 17, the ruling party Jubilee made official their plans to enter into a pre-election coalition deal with Raila Odinga’s Orange Democratic Movement party.
Party Secretary General Raphael Tuju announced that the Jubilee party’s National Management Committee (NMC) has permitted the party secretariat to formally engage with ODM and draw the coalition deal.
Although Tuju said the decision to enter a coalition with ODM was to strengthen the March 2018 handshake between former premier Raila Odinga and the president, analysts claim the bigger aim is a scheme aimed at extinguishing Ruto’s dreams of becoming the fifth president.
On his part, Ruto dismissed the Jubilee-ODM coalition saying it is not only anchored on tribal lines but it is also outdated adding that he will defeat them all.
“They are using outdated strategies to avoid a defeat. The era of political groupings and endorsements is over,
“How will I fail to defeat them if you are still coalescing in tribal outfits and with no agenda to take Kenya forward?” Ruto posed.
