Leading presidential contender withdraws from race

Kenyan civil society and the local media have sharply criticised a decision by Transport Minister Musalia Mudavadi to pull out of the race to succeed President Daniel arap Moi in elections expected later this year. Mudavadi - one of the four vice-chairmen of the ruling Kenya African National Union (KANU) party and a leading contender in the Moi succession - announced on Wednesday he had decided to step down in favour of Uhuru Kenyatta, son of Kenya's first president Jomo Kenyatta, whom Moi has chosen as his preferred successor. Mudavadi's move is said to have dealt a blow to the "Rainbow Alliance" - a faction within KANU opposed to Kenyatta, which promptly claimed Mudavadi had succumbed to "intense pressure" and "blackmail" from powerful party members. The Alliance - which now comprises cabinet ministers Raila Odinga and Kalonzo Musyoka, and former vice-president George Saitoti - wants KANU to elect its presidential candidate by secret ballot. In a scathing column headlined "Throwing politics of principles out the window, where tribes and not individuals take the lead", the 'Daily Nation' newspaper described Mudavadi's withdrawal as a "betrayal of the politics of principle". Khalif Khelef, head of the Muslims for Human Rights Organisation, based in the coastal city of Mombasa, told IRIN on Thursday that Mudavadi's move was "regrettable" and prompted by his personal desires rather than national interests. "This was not about Kenyans. It is about the promise he received to get a powerful post in the next government," Khelef said. Ochieng Mbeo, a KANU nominated member of the East African Legislative Assembly and a supporter of the Rainbow Alliance, told IRIN that he like others in his group had been upset by Mudavadi's decision to abandon his presidential ambitions. "We feel cheated. But you know, we have never had a level political playing field in this country," he said. According to Khelef, Moi is facing the strongest opposition from within his own party, and not from the official opposition, which is currently developing a strategy to field a single presidential contender under the newly formed National Alliance of Kenya party. Khelef said he was disappointed with the political climate in the country, which, he said, was dominated by confusion and tension. He said political parties had not yet set out their election manifestos, and were dwelling on personal rather than the political, economic and social problems facing the country. "Political parties until now have not touched on the problems facing Kenyans. They are tackling personalities. Even the squabbling in the opposition is all about positions," he added. Khelef said he expected Odinga, who is currently leading the Rainbow Alliance, and Saitoti, whom Moi dismissed as vice-president last week, to press ahead with their demand for a democratic presidential nomination process within the ruling party. Moi's move to sack Saitoti without naming a replacement drew fears from religious leaders and opposition politicians of a power vacuum in the country, especially during the president's trip to Johannesburg for the just-ended Earth Summit. "Kenyans are worried about the irresponsible behaviour of Present Moi in creating a serious leadership vacuum by leaving the country for a foreign trip without naming an acting president," the BBC quoted opposition leader Charity Ngilu as saying.