A delegation of the ruling United Democratic Alliance arrived in Beijing on Tuesday, May 21, for a 10-day visit at the invitation by the Communist Party of China.
The delegation was led by Secretary General Cleophas Malala and was accompanied by Amb Willy Bett for the first outward visit by the ruling party.
Kenya Embassy in China said the visit is themed “Party Building and Modernisation Road,” and aims to strengthen bilateral ties and promote friendly cultural exchanges.
The two parties have maintained contact since President William Ruto, the party leader, was elected in September 2022. CPC officials visited in October 2022, only a month after his swearing-in to office, and discussed areas of cooperation.
The visit was followed by another in February 2023, at the invitation of UDA.
The CPC delegation led by deputy minister of the International Department of the Central Committee Li Mingxiang pitched to UDA officials the guiding principles of the 20th CPC National Congress.
The delegation also met with President Ruto and Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua.
Another visit followed on December 1, 2023, whereby DP Gachagua hosted a CPC delegation led by Mao Dingzi, a member of the Ministerial board of the Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee.
Malala said discussions centred on increase cooperation in leadership exchange programmes and establishment of UDA Party Leadership School; collaboration in capacity building, strengthening of party structures, scholarships and ICT support ahead of their party elections.
HISTORY OF PARTY TIES WITH CHINA
Since the KANU days, there have been relations between the ruling party/coalition and the China Communist Party.
In June 2010, then President Mwai Kibaki of the Party of National Unity (PNU) held talks with Wang Gang, vice chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference National Committee and member of Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee.
When Jubilee Coalition came to power in 2013, CPC initiated ties with it.
On July 14, 2016, a delegation from CPC held a training session for Jubilee in Nairobi, whereby according to China Daily, CPC shared party development tips “in an effort to realize political stability in the East African country, as well as achieve prosperity and grow the economy”.
The delegation comprised of Dr. Yuan Wei, the deputy director and associate professor, Department of Economics, Party School of the CPC Sichuan Provincial Committee; Prof Hu Jianhua, the executive vice president, Party School of Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region Committee of CPC; and Peng Yongjia, the translator.
Li Xuhang, the minister counsellor at the Chinese embassy and Raphael Tuju, the Jubilee coalition secretary general were in attendance.
The China Daily report, which was also uploaded on China Embassy’s website, reported that Prof Hu Jianhua, executive vice-president for the Party School of Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region Committee of CPC, said for any party to develop, it must put in place systems that will ensure its consistency throughout different regimes.
JUBILEE PICKING LESSONS FROM CPC
He added that one of CPC’s key contributors to its success is a commitment to democratic centralism, which is drawn from Marxist-Lennism ideology, as a decisive factor for the party’s long-running government in the country.
“It’s precisely stipulated in our Party constitution that lower-level party organizations submit to higher-level organizations, the minority submits to the majority, individuals submit to organizations, and the whole Party and members submit to the Party central committee,” he said.
He noted that party members and officials should be committed to the policy of the party as well as remain disciplined in efforts to realize set goals.
For any political party to survive and thrive as the CPC, it has to tighten its member discipline, ensure that officials and members commit toward bettering the party and work toward solving people’s needs. This is in addition to increasing the party’s ability to coordinate various forces to implement its decisions, he said.
Li Xuhang, the minister counsellor at the embassy, said it’s important for Kenya to have political stability to attract foreign investment, develop infrastructure as well as grow the economy.
On the other hand, Tuju, a former minister of Foreign Affairs and who represented the party’s interests in the Cabinet as Minister without portfolio, said Kenya was keen to borrow lessons from the CPC not only to develop the party but also grow the economy.
He further noted that the establishment of the CPC’s Party school has played a critical role in the country’s economic achievements.
“It’s obvious across the globe that when the ruling political party is strong and consistent, the country becomes stable. Political competition is conflictual and if it cannot be contained within the party, the party differences flow into the country and in our case, where political parties are ethnic in nature, they result in communities fighting against each other,” he said.
“We realized that as the Jubilee Party, we owe it to the future generations to stabilize the politics of this nation and the party”.
“By so doing, we will be able to move this country to the next level,” he said, adding that the party would borrow a leaf from the CPC to enhance its fight against corruption.
After the 2017 General Election,, another delegation led by Wu Yuliang, the deputy head of the Organization Department of CPC Central Committee, made a three-day visit to Nairobi in September 2018.
They met with top Jubilee Party officials, National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi (current Attorney General) and Tuju and discussed ways of furthering relations between the CPC and Jubilee Party and China-Kenya ties.
The two Kenyan officials said Kenya was willing to deepen cooperation with China and boost the development of bilateral ties and the relations between the CPC and Jubilee Party.
At the height of Covid-19 in March 2021 CPC and Jubilee top officials held an online meeting aimed at deepening cooperation and exchanges. This was ahead of the 2022 General Election.
In the meeting with Song Tao, Minister of the International Department of the CPC Central Committee (IDCPC), Tuju spoke highly of China’s achievements in economic and social development under the CPC leadership, further adding that. This was around the time CPC marked its centennial.
Coming at a time China was celebrating its achievements in extreme poverty eradication, the Jubilee Party Secretary General said the party’s vision was to transform Kenya into a just, modern and prosperous nation through President Kenyatta’s Big Four [Food Security; Affordable Housing; Manufacturing and Affordable Healthcare] development agenda.
SHIFT FROM JUBILEE TO UDA
Following the August 2022 General Election, ties between Jubilee Party and the CPC seemed to have stalled, and so did the discussed areas of cooperation. After all, Jubilee was out of power and now in the opposition coalition.
Instead, CPC contact shifted to the ruling UDA, with its officials making a visit in October 2022, just a month after his swearing-in to office.
CPC will only work with the party in power.
As a result, it has since Kenya’s Independence found itself dealing with different parties and coalitions in Kenya, starting with KANU, to NARC, PNU, Jubilee and now UDA/ Kenya Kwanza.
This is unlike in other African countries such as South Africa with the African National Congress (ANC), Tanzania’s Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) or Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front (ZANU–PF) that have been in power since independence, thus some level of consistency and institutionalized structures.
This party situation reflects the differences in the political systems and constitutional frameworks in the two countries.
How long the CPC-UDA ties remain is heavily dependent on the life time of the ruling party, which also depends on its retention of power.
