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| Johnson Sakaja |
President Uhuru Kenyatta’s party is in the throes of a battle over its top seat following the appointment of a key official to Parliament.
The National Alliance ( TNA) Chairman Johnson Sakaja has been given an ultimatum to resign by June 9 or face “forceful eviction”, we have established.
This
follows a stormy meeting of the party’s National Oversight Board (NOB)
held on Monday that gave Mr Sakaja 21 days within which to voluntarily
relinquish the post.
The meeting, which was held at the UK Centre,
begun at 3pm on Monday and ran five hours. The board concluded that Mr
Sakaja’s nomination to Parliament made him a State officer and
disqualified him under the law from holding national office in a
political party.
It was agreed to give him three weeks to decide whether to quit as chairman of The National Alliance or resign from Parliament.
Law clear
But
speaking to The Standard On Saturday, Mr Sakaja said: “I will tell you
what I told you last time: The law is very clear, if anybody has a
problem let them go to court”.
Monday’s meeting was so stormy that
some members of the NOB wanted an interim chairman appointed
immediately. “Some members wanted us to appoint an interim chairman the
same day and then organise for a National Delegates Conference later,”
said a NOB member who attended the meeting. However, the proposal died
when Mr Sakaja, who was at the meeting, shot up and said he was ready to
contest any proposal to replace him in court.
The NOB, therefore,
decided to give the chairman time to think over the matter. Mr Sakaja
believes the law does not prevent him from being the chairman of TNA serving as a nominated Member of Parliament at the same time.
“The
Constitution, which is the supreme law of the land, is very clear as
who is prohibited from holding office in a political party,” he stated
in a previous interview. “It talks about an appointed State officer; I
am not an appointed State officer.”
Article 77 (2) of the
Constitution reads, in part: “Any appointed State officer shall not hold
office in a political party.” NOB members expressed concerns that Mr
Sakaja’s statements in Parliament, including at Press conferences as an
MP, are being misinterpreted as the positions of the party. “Statements
the chairman makes in his capacity as an MP may not necessarily reflect
the opinion of the party,” said a member of the oversight body.
“Party officials receive complaints or questions relating to the
procedure followed in taking some positions (on issues where) the
chairman was talking on his own behalf.”
Protect party
But
Sakaja told journalists: “If a decision must be made about my
suitability, it’s up to the courts,” Sakaja told this journalist.
“ TNA
is a party we have built from scratch. Kenyans have seen our
performance. My duty is to protect our members from opportunists who are
only looking at the resources (it will receive). We must protect our
party from a few greedy individuals.”
Since conclusion of the
General Election, the President’s party has been caught up in supremacy
battles. For instance, a female party official is currently contesting
the nomination of former KBC journalist Naisula Lesuuda to the Senate.
Another
official who was reported to have signed papers filed in court in this
battle has since withdrawn his support and gone ahead to indicate he was
a neutral player in the matter when it became apparent higher forces
within the Jubilee Coalition were opposed to the pursuit of the matter.
Lesuuda was also involved in peace campaigns prior to her nomination.
National
officials of political parties, especially those with wide
representation in Parliament, will wield immense power in coming years,
given that they oversee the expenditure of grants from the Political
Parties Fund.
It is expected that the Jubilee coalition, which is dominated by TNA and the United Republican Party, will get about Sh5 billion over the next five years from the Political Parties Fund.
The party is planning to launch a five-year strategic plan in a month’s time...Courtesy of Mashariaz
