The original National Rainbow Coalition (Narc) was registered in the name of his former Minister of Health Charity Ngilu who flatly refused to hand it over to him...
In October former Health Minister Charity Ngilu became a member of the Pentagon after she defected from Kibaki's camp to support Odinga - now the Pentagon has six sides...
Health Minister Charity Kaluki Ngilu also Kamba has warmed to the ODM and consults regularly with Odinga while remaining a minister in a government that she lambasts almost daily accusing it of betraying its 2002 election pledges and of being Kikuyu-dominated...
NARC leaders like Charity Ngilu (the Health Minister who gets Kamba votes) and Musikari Kombo (the Local Government Minister and titular Bukusu leader) wanted Kibaki to reach out to disaffected ex-allies like Raila and Kalonzo Musyoka both of whom have large ethnic followings...
Facing total disaster after a reshuffle fiasco last week in which a third of the new ministers turned down their appointments President Mwai Kibaki has managed to entice Musikari Kombo of the Forum for Democracy-Kenya and Charity Ngilu of the National Party of Kenya back into his coalition government...
He led his Kamba people to reject the constitution and trounce his Kamba rival Health Minister Charity Ngilu who campaigned for a 'Yes' vote...
Now though their ranks have been swelled by former Kibaki-ally and Health Minister Charity Ngilu who has refused to cede her position as nominal Chairwoman of Narc despite persistent prodding by Kibaki's faction...
Musyoka will have to outplay the other Kamba heavyweight in government feisty Health Minister Charity Ngilu...
Enthusiasts such as Health Minister Charity Ngilu earlier this year started a recruitment drive to win members for the proposed NARC party so marginalising Odinga's LDP which wanted to operate as an independent party within the coalition...
The 14-party Narc coalition is full of personal rivalries (such as that between Foreign Minister Kalonzo Musyoka (AC Vol 44 No 4) and Health Minister Charity Ngilu) and ethnic intrigues - but the 'swing politician' is Odinga...