By Francis Mureithi
Nairobi — THE Vote No campaign appeared to be crumbling over the weekend as more politicians beat a tactical retreat or switched outright to the Yes side spearheaded by President Kibaki, Prime Minister Raila Odinga, and Vice President Kalonzo.
The Vote No side is being led by Agriculture minister William Ruto who was supported by 26 MPs in a press conference on Thursday. The MPs said they wanted regionalism and were worried by the ‘socialist’ National Land Commission.
However several of those MPs indicated to the Star over the weekend that they were switching to the Yes side.
Tourism minister Najib Balala formally dumped his recent ally Ruto and declared at an Mvita rally on Saturday that he will support the Yes campaign.
“Ruto is a very close friend of mine but on the constitution, I’m asking him to come and say Yes with me,” Balala told the Star yesterday.
East African Cooperation minister Amason Kingi, Kisauni MP Ali Hassan Joho, Malindi MP Gideon Mungaro, and Kamukunji MP Simon Mbugua indicated to the Star that they would now support a Yes vote. They had all attended the Thursday press conference.
Higher Education minister Dr Sally Kosgey on Saturday told rallies in Eldoret that that she was backing the proposed constitution.
Nominated MP Musa Sirma, who had initially declared his opposition, changed his stand over the weekend during Raila’s tour of Eldoret and said he will support the proposed constitution.
Church leaders are also reportedly divided over whether to push for a No vote on the referendum to approve the proposed constitution that is due in August.
A section of the Methodist church, a key member of the National Council of Churches, is planning to announce their support for the draft this week.
Yesterday Kingi denied he was ever a No campaigner.
“I never said I am opposing the constitution. I attended the press conference to pinpoint areas we believed needed to be looked at. I cannot stand in the way of my people. If they want this constitution passed, who am I to say No?,” Kingi said.
Balala made his switch as Raila’s supporters were busy organising another rally in his constituency to seek support for the proposed constitution.
Joho also said he would go with the majority.
“The mood across the country is for a new constitution. The Muslim leadership has met and said Yes. I will not go against the people’s will,” said Joho yesterday.
Speaking from South Africa where he is on an official trip, Malindi MP Gideon Mungaro said he now supported the draft.
“We had issues with lands, but in a meeting with Lands Minister James Orengo, he took us through the draft chapter to chapter. There is no controversy now so I will say Yes and the people of Malindi will follow suit,” Mungaro told The Star.
He said that their political detractors misunderstood the presence of Coast MPs at the Press conference last week.
Yesterday Mbugua also changed his mind saying his supporters had warned him against being an impediment to the enactment of a new constitution.
“My people have said we should go Yes so I will support Yes at breakfast, at lunch and at supper,” Mbugua declared yesterday.
He called on Agriculture Minister William Ruto to change tune over the Vote No campaign saying that he risked being seen as a stumbling block to change or a tribal chauvinist.
“This proposed new law is not about Ruto. Let us look at the bigger picture,” he said.
At the Saturday rally, Eldoret East MP Margaret Kamar asked the wananchi to read the draft constitution carefully so as to make an informed choice in the referendum. She did not specifically endorse the proposed constitution but as a loyal Ruto supporter, it looked like she was shifting ground.
However Chepalungu MP Isaac Rutto warned, “There is propaganda in the media to imagine that opposition to the proposed constitution is a Rift Valley affair. We shall not be intimidated, we shall vigorously campaign against this bad law to the end,” Rutto said.
He said that the No side will not be taken back by the few who had lost faith.
“The issues they raised still remain. We have talked about land and our fears have not been looked at. We shall say No,” Rutto said.
“There is a bit of dishonesty on the side of (PSC chairman) Abdikadir Mohamed and (his deputy Ababu) Namwamba because they have made us look like turncoats when it is clear that the CoE mutilated the draft we spend days working on in Naivasha,” the Chepalungu MP said.
Nominated MP George Nyamweya said he will still vigorously campaign against the proposed constitution.
“The MPs raised over 300 amendments which were not looked at. These are issues that we insist must be looked at. If not, we shall tell Kenyans not to allow this proposed law to go through,” Nyamweya said.
Addressing Kalonzo’s 25th celebration at Mwingi, Speaker Kenneth Marende appealed to MPs to stop political bickering over the draft constitution and show leadership.
Source: Nairobi Star
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