Uhuru’s party launch-The National Alliance..After keeping his supporters in suspense mode,in waiting ,and,his opponents guessing,where he had put his politicking in abeyance,Deputy Prime minister,Uhuru Kenyatta,has finally leveraged and engaged his political gear.Clearly,he has defined and charted his political course ,a path he will follow in realizing his political dream and ambition.Just like a shepherd ,and,as a political leader,now he has shown his supporters the direction he is undertaking politically.
He has cleared his road ahead which might be the grand march to the State House.After days under immense pressure to name the party he would use as a vehicle in the race to state house ,Uhuru has finally ending speculation among his supporters and silencing his critics who had written him off.
The Deputy Prime minister is taking another stab at the presidency after contesting in 2002,where he was trounced by President Mwai Kibaki,who was fronted by the N.A.R.C alliance.At the time ,the story had it that he was former president’s project ,a political puppet,whom to many seemed suspect as he would have been a subject to manipulation by the former regime’s power elites who would have pulled the strings.Also,he was considered as a green horn, a political novice,after he was fished out out of his family empire.
To the political pundits’ argument at then had it that the country was in dire need of a new leadership to break from the past to push the reform agenda for the country,and,Mr Kenyatta wasn’t up to the task as he represented the retrogressive former K.A.N.U regime.
But,since then the Deputy Prime minister has matured politically ,and,he is a major political player,and,a force to reckon with,in the Kenyan politics.
And,to demonstrate his political maturity ,on 20th May,Mr Kenyatta,amid pomp and dance ,he launched his own vehicle which he will use ,The National Alliance.This move came hot on the heels after ditching K.A.N.U ,where he was it’s chairman,after differing with it’s officials.It was a show like no other,in an event dubbed as”ibelieve”.
Introspectively,Mr Kenyatta has now lined up in the starting blocks in the already packed presidential race with contenders cropping up with each an every passing day.
The pomp and colour that characterized the launch of The National Alliance[T.N.A] by Uhuru has sent a powerful political message across the country.It has also put his opponents on notice ahead of a bruising political battle .The event dubbed “ibelieve”,was more than mere launch of a party.It was affirmation that Mr.Kenyatta will be in the running ,putting to rest the notion that the I.C.C indictments will stand in his way.
It also affirmed that there is no “plan B” ,the notion that Kenyatta and his Co-accused Ruto,would prop up alternatives candidates if they were engaged elsewhere.
By making his Presidential ambition categorical and official through the launch of the T.N.A,Uhuru,has consolidated his supporters into a single voting block.The emergency of a party with the potential to unite Kenyans from all regions was long overdue .Party politics had split voters along ethnic lines.The timing of the launch is also right as the move has the potential of consolidating support for him ahead of his trials at the I.C..C
The launch of T.N.A ,which was beamed live across the country,has indeed set the pace and standards for other parties to emulate.This was a massive and unprecedented party launch ,perhaps never seen in Kenya in recent years.In a nutshell ,the birth of T.N.A will certainly trigger some fundamental political realignments and our politics will never be the same again.
In his speech the D.P.M ,said that he wants to incorporate the youths in the party’s agenda as he will try to address their issues.He said that he wants to be associated with the youth and that’s why the slogan”ibelieve”
But,the ironic question poses for Mr Kenyatta ,with all the agenda that he raised ,will he be up to the task and challenge in addressing them,or,was it another public relation for the party fighting for recognition?