Business Daily (Nairobi)
Mwaura Kimani
12 June 2008
Power rifts between ODM and PNU, the two partners in the Grand Coalition Government, deepened further with battle lines drawn as the results of the Wednesday by-elections came through.
Prime Minister Raila Odinga's ODM won three of the seats in five constituencies while President Kibaki's PNU ran away with two.
ODM won Ainamoi, Wajir North and Emuhaya constituencies while PNU took Kilgoris and Embakasi.
The two parties formed a coalition government in April to end the post-election crisis after December's disputed vote.
For PNU, the Embakasi seat won by Ferdinard Waititu was a big win as it was previously held by ODM's Melitus Were who was shot dead in January. Former Adopt-A-Light managing director Esther Passaris lost to former Nairobi deputy Mayor.
The by-elections were to fill seats where two ODM legislators were shot dead and another two constituencies that ended without MPs in the chaotic December polls.
Analysts said in so far as the cohesion of the coalition Government rests on its ability to deliver, such tussles will be destabilising.
The more battles and stalemates the coalition grapples with, the greater the chances of peeling away of disgruntled political partners.
However, the coalition has kept the peace and allowed Kenya's economy to begin recovering from the impact of a crisis that was expected to knock about three points off last year's growth figure of seven per cent.
PNU's Gideon Konchellah, a former Immigration Minister recaptured the Kilgoris seat beating ODM's Jonathan Ng'eno.
In Wajir North, Mr Mohammed Gabow of ODM beat his rival Mr Abdullahi Ali of PNU. The two had tied in last year's General Election, occasioning the by-election.
Emuhaya fell vacant when the former MP, Kenneth Marende, resigned after getting the Speaker's chair. ODM's Wilber Otichilo beat Kaddu's Julius Ochiel.
Both PNU and ODM appear poised to continue with the duel for supremacy especially with the early kick-off to the run-up to the 2012 General Election.
Mindful of the rapid disintegration of the multi-party Narc alliance in 2002, President Kibaki and PM Odinga have in the recent past downplayed any disputes between them as coalition partners.
Leaders from both parties have been bickering over issues like amnesty for alleged crimes commtted during the post-election chaos, and have also had embarrassing public tussles over protocol issues during rallies and ceremonies.
As the two parties reach out to gather more Parliamentary strength with the aim of capturing power in 2012 , managing a united coalition is set to be deeply problematic.
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