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Abdulsamad AliNairobi
Transport Minister Chirau Ali Mwakwere has ditched Narc Kenya and will this weekend announce his new party.
Speaking to the Nation in an exclusive interview on Monday, Mr Mwakwere who is also the Matuga MP, said Narc Kenya did not treat Coast leaders "as an important ingredient of the party."
Although he did not want to speculate to which party he was shifting, rumour has been rife in the region that he and other leaders from the region were moving to the Shirikisho Party of Kenya.
"I have never been wanted by Narc Kenya even though I am one of the vice-chairmen and that is why I am seeking an alternative party that will see the Coast represented in national politics," he said.
The minister said over 2,100 delegates from all the 21 constituencies are expected to converge at the Jubilee Hall on Sunday to chart a new direction for Coast.
Mr Mwakwere and others including, Heritage minister Suleiman Shakombo and Kisauni MP Anania Mwaboza are some of the local leaders who have refused to hold Narc Kenya grassroots elections insisting that they would only do so when the national organising secretary, outspoken Garsen MP Danson Mungatana, is removed.
Lamu West, Lamu East, Bahari, Mvita, Mwatate and Garsen are the few branches that have held their elections in the province.
Lone ranger
Mr Mwakwere said he has been "mistreated by the party", starting from the day that it was launched in Nairobi because his delegates from Kwale were blocked from travelling following the arrest, by Kwale police, of the organiser for the trip.
"I had prepared two buses and mandated the Kwale mayor to ensure that everything went according to plan, but she was arrested," he said, claiming that it was a plot to finish him politically by making him seem like a lone ranger.
He, however, maintained that the new party would support President Kibaki's candidature in the forthcoming General Election.
"I will ensure that Coast Province votes for President Kibaki to the last man through the new party that we will announce," he said.
He ruled out joining established parties that include Narc, ODM Kenya and Kanu and could not confirm or deny that the new party was Shirikisho Party of Kenya.
There has been a growing rift in the leadership of Narc Kenya at the Coast with Mr Mwakwere demanding the removal of Mr Mungatana as organising secretary.
"Mr Mungatana showed disrespect to the Coast people by fronting a foreigner to replace a local who had the blessings of the Government," he said.
Mr Mungatana backed an Italian, Mr Franco Esposito, against the Shirikisho candidate Mr Harrison Kombe during the Magarini by-election. Mr Kombe went ahead to retain his seat in the by-election.
The minister said he had no respect for all the parties that sponsored candidates in the Magarini by-election against Mr Kombe.
Political survival
Mr Mungatana, however, dismissed the minister's act saying his new move was meant for political survival more than anything else. "Him moving is inconsequential in Coast politics because he lost relevance a long time ago.
"This move is meant to revive his political ambitions and I am just a scapegoat," Mr Mungatana said on phone.
Mr Mwakwere said he was putting up for sale all the Narc Kenya membership cards and green T-shirts that he had bought to popularise the party.
Speaking to the Nation in an exclusive interview on Monday, Mr Mwakwere who is also the Matuga MP, said Narc Kenya did not treat Coast leaders "as an important ingredient of the party."
Although he did not want to speculate to which party he was shifting, rumour has been rife in the region that he and other leaders from the region were moving to the Shirikisho Party of Kenya.
"I have never been wanted by Narc Kenya even though I am one of the vice-chairmen and that is why I am seeking an alternative party that will see the Coast represented in national politics," he said.
The minister said over 2,100 delegates from all the 21 constituencies are expected to converge at the Jubilee Hall on Sunday to chart a new direction for Coast.
Mr Mwakwere and others including, Heritage minister Suleiman Shakombo and Kisauni MP Anania Mwaboza are some of the local leaders who have refused to hold Narc Kenya grassroots elections insisting that they would only do so when the national organising secretary, outspoken Garsen MP Danson Mungatana, is removed.
Lamu West, Lamu East, Bahari, Mvita, Mwatate and Garsen are the few branches that have held their elections in the province.
Lone ranger
Mr Mwakwere said he has been "mistreated by the party", starting from the day that it was launched in Nairobi because his delegates from Kwale were blocked from travelling following the arrest, by Kwale police, of the organiser for the trip.
"I had prepared two buses and mandated the Kwale mayor to ensure that everything went according to plan, but she was arrested," he said, claiming that it was a plot to finish him politically by making him seem like a lone ranger.
He, however, maintained that the new party would support President Kibaki's candidature in the forthcoming General Election.
"I will ensure that Coast Province votes for President Kibaki to the last man through the new party that we will announce," he said.
He ruled out joining established parties that include Narc, ODM Kenya and Kanu and could not confirm or deny that the new party was Shirikisho Party of Kenya.
There has been a growing rift in the leadership of Narc Kenya at the Coast with Mr Mwakwere demanding the removal of Mr Mungatana as organising secretary.
"Mr Mungatana showed disrespect to the Coast people by fronting a foreigner to replace a local who had the blessings of the Government," he said.
Mr Mungatana backed an Italian, Mr Franco Esposito, against the Shirikisho candidate Mr Harrison Kombe during the Magarini by-election. Mr Kombe went ahead to retain his seat in the by-election.
The minister said he had no respect for all the parties that sponsored candidates in the Magarini by-election against Mr Kombe.
Political survival
Mr Mungatana, however, dismissed the minister's act saying his new move was meant for political survival more than anything else. "Him moving is inconsequential in Coast politics because he lost relevance a long time ago.
"This move is meant to revive his political ambitions and I am just a scapegoat," Mr Mungatana said on phone.
Mr Mwakwere said he was putting up for sale all the Narc Kenya membership cards and green T-shirts that he had bought to popularise the party.
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