President Uhuru Kenyatta’s handshake partner Raila Odinga will attend a Jubilee party National Delegates Convention (NDC) scheduled for November 30, Kahawa Tungu has learnt.
The much-awaited meeting will shape Odinga’s engagement with the ruling party as the 2022 polls draw closer.
A top Jubilee official told a local daily that Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka and Kanu counterpart Gideon Moi will also receive invitations to the event that will be held at Kasarani Stadium in Nairobi.
Despite being principals in the One Kenya Alliance (OKA), both Kalonzo and Gideon have formal coalition pacts with Jubilee.
Odinga’s party, on the other hand, is in talks with the President’s party for a coalition agreement that will see the latter support the ODM leader’s presidential bid in next year’s election.
Read: Uhuru Allied MPs Confirm Rebranding of Jubilee, Kicking Out Ruto Later This Month
During the meeting, the delegates are expected to sever links with Deputy President William Ruto who has fallen out with the Head of State.
“The day will be about the NDC adopting a working arrangement with ODM. Given that we already have a pact with Kanu and Wiper, it only follows that Raila’s party will be invited,” the official told The Star.
“Watch this space. The NDC will be a major display of what the Uhuru-Raila alliance will look like.”
Ruto, the deputy party leader in Jubilee, has severally accused the President of betrayal over political dalliance with Odinga who challenged the duo’s bid for State House in 2013 and re-election in 2017.
Read Also: Jubilee Set to Kick Out Ruto, Allied MPs as Plans to Unveil Odinga as New Partner in Top Gear
ODM Secretary General Edwin Sifuna indicated if Odinga is invited he won’t miss the event.
“If our party is invited by Jubilee, then we are going to honour the invite,” Sifuna said.
“There will be no problem if ODM is invited. In any case, I have not seen any letter inviting me to the Jubilee NDC and if I am invited, I will attend.”
It’s not clear yet if Amani National Congress (ANC) leader Musalia Mudavadi and Ford Kenya’s Moses Wetangula will be invited to the event.
Mudavadi, a principal in OKA, is reportedly opposed to Uhuru’s calls for the alliance to back Odinga’s presidential bid.
Read Also: Ruto-linked UDA Party Fights Back after Jubilee’s Move to Sever Links
The Jubilee NDC will pave way for the re-launch of the party, legislators allied to Uhuru said early this month.
In a statement, the MPs, under the Jubilee Parliamentary Caucus, said the DP and his allies had attempted to rock the party from within and only defected to UDA after failing to achieve their goals.
The legislators claimed that Ruto’s “hustler” camp is unfit to lead due to graft links.
But Ruto has maintained that Jubilee is dead and no amount of effort can revive it.
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