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Mudavadi said the agreement which was deposited with the Registrar of Political parties is still binding, but indicated willingness by UDF to continue with negotiations to find an amicable solution to the ongoing crisis/FILE

Kenya

Mudavadi reveals Uhuru signed deal to cede presidency

Mudavadi said the agreement which was deposited with the Registrar of Political parties is still binding, but indicated willingness by UDF to continue with negotiations to find an amicable solution to the ongoing crisis/FILE

NAIROBI, Kenya, Dec 18 – Deputy Prime Minister Musalia Mudavadi has finally spilled the beans on a ‘secret’ deal he signed with Uhuru Kenyatta, in which the TNA leader agreed relinquish his presidential bid in his favour.

Mudavadi told a press conference in Nairobi on Tuesday that Kenyatta agreed to step down for him in the presence of their lawyers and Eldoret North MP William Ruto on December 4.

Mudavadi, the United Democratic Forum (UDF) leader, spoke of a flurry of meetings at his residence and later at Kenyatta’s home on December 4 where the Gatundu South MP decided ‘to make a major personal sacrifice after reviewing the state of affairs in the country’.

“Before UDF submitted the addendum to the TNA-URP coalition, Uhuru and I signed a second agreement at his residence witnessed by my brother Ruto, and two lawyers by which he withdrew his candidature for president in my favour,” disclosed Mudavadi.

On Tuesday however, members of The National Alliance (TNA) maintained that they would not endorse a pact that was sealed ‘behind closed doors’ effectively denying Mudavadi an outright claim to the presidential ticket.

One of the lawmakers Danson Mungatana said that Kenyatta was under duress when he signed the agreement and it was therefore null and void.

“If Mudavadi wants to be in Jubilee, he has to accept nomination by delegates. He left ODM seeking democracy,” Mungatana opined.

TNA Secretary General Onyango Oloo said the party did not recognise the agreement because it was not binding to members.

“The decision for Uhuru whether to step down or not lies with the delegates. We have built this party for a long time preaching democracy and we want to practice it.”

Mudavadi however gave a detailed chronology of events that led to the agreement, saying Kenyatta and Ruto approached him and held a meeting at his residence after he concluded discussions with KANU and other parties.

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He added that a second visit took place at Kenyatta’s residence where he declined to sign an MoU that would help pick the presidential candidate, even though Kenyatta’s lawyer advised him to do so.

“We proposed that we get lawyers to seal the agreement after discussing the salient issues that should be contained in the coalition document that would be submitted to the registrar before we left for Uhuru’s house.”

“Whereas his lawyer proposed an MoU that would guide the selection of the candidate, my brother Uhuru asserted that a clear and firm agreement would be a more solid basis of building trust and moving on,” he noted.

Mudavadi also said that Kenyatta requested to keep the deal secret to enable him to break the news to his supporters.

Although Mudavadi maintained that he was still interested in securing his place in the Jubilee Alliance, he said that Kenyatta would be in breach of his trust if he went back on his word as their agreement was binding.

“We value the benefit that our nation stands to get from a Jubilee government and we will continue with the intense discussions we had and we will take every effort to nature our young coalition through the turbulent gales of mistrust and factional intrigues,” he insisted.

Mudavadi also disproved claims that he did not want to go through a presidential nomination for fear of losing.

He also expressed surprise that some of the coalition members were calling for a delegates’ conference to pick the flag bearer despite the existence of the agreement.

He maintained that he was ready to face nomination, and accused some of the coalition partners of being inflexible.

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“We wish to urge hardliners who want to pursue extremely personal interests to allow the party leaders to discuss and provide the way forward,” he argued.

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