Uhuru Kenyatta’s 22% strategy

By SYLVESTER OLUOCH
Published November 13, 2009

After so much hype as to who is who among our leaders; this is to say thank you very much, to Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta, for his honesty. The founding father of our nation and Kenyatta’s father, Mzee Jomo Kenyatta, was quoted as referring to politics in the now common word “siasa” as “si hasa” meaning “not real.” All our politicians have lived to this billing till the son of Jomo became real, or himself.

A lot of conjuncture has surrounded the life and person of Kenyatta, and trying to unravel the real man, has proved somewhat ubiquitous. The political wax, used by former President Daniel Arap Moi, to piece Kenyatta together has melted in the wake of reality. Since the retired president popped this project up from only God knows where, it has smacked of the proverbial putting a square peg in a round hole.

This guy is simply not cut for the wheeling dealing called politics. First, his business with life, before he popped from nothingness, was suspect. Why would one say this? Left alone, Kenyatta lacks the molding mettle that the people of Kenya are dying for in a leader. He was tailor-planned, not made to be president, from nothingness. When he failed, he was thrust to the very visible job of official opposition, which he readily ill-fitted. How would one expect a raw politician, to know, leave alone understand what opposition politics entailed? Kenyatta jumped ship, and joined government, when men came to be separated from boys.

All of us know what motivated Kenyatta’s positioning before the 2007 election. Having been dragged up in State House, prompted in every sphere of life, and handled with golden gloves all his life; he did not know how to be in the cold of political limbo. He had to remain in the bask of aristocracy, that is where he belongs. What’s more? His orientation is chiefly engraved in one understanding “mine is mine, but yours is ours.”

The Finance Minister strikes one as brutally honest, something that most politicians consider a weakness. In a recent address at Sagana Catholic Church in Kirinyaga, Kenyatta whipped up sentiment among Central Kenya MPs, to unite. The reason for this rallying call, he intimated, was to ensure, “they” win the 2012 elections. The Daily Nation quoted him as saying, “We can’t win if we remain divided.”

 Nobody wants to fault Kenyatta for the call to unity, but he proceeded to rock his own boat, when he challenged the Central Kenya MPs, for their political affiliations, which he deemed unimportant, and emphasized the need to support one candidate.

According to The Daily Nation, Kenyatta went on to assure the gathering that, he will support whoever is nominated from the region. His justification for this rare, and naked quest for the State House, he alluded, was because their people have been oppressed because they are never together. Kenyatta even blamed the killing of people from “the region,” to the disunity of Central Kenya.

Kenyatta deftly weeded his political garden, but left the proclamation of his candidature for the 2012 elections,  to Ndia MP Njeru Githae, who is also the Nairobi Metropolitan Development Minister. In a choreographed tow, there was Mwea MP Peter Gitau, armed with an orchestrated endorsement. That was quite a skit.

Kenyatta’s subterfuge aimed at solidifying Central Province, and urging the MPs against other political affiliations, is naïve. Considering that Central Province holds 22 percent of Kenya’s electorate, Kenyatta obviously knows they would not win, without other provinces, even if Central Kenya voted him to a unit. Unless, of course, he is privy of some mischief, otherwise this is a suicidal formula for questionable governing formula. There is no way Central Province will generate more than 100 percent of its vote basket –though-tongue in cheek, it happened in Meru in 2007.

Secondly, Kenyatta’s recent utterances are dangerous, for pitting “us versus them.” The result is that, it stocks distrust and complicates reconciliation efforts, a sure recipe for repeat chaos, and violence. For Kenyatta to urge Central Province, to unite in the interest of “their people,” is clear testimony that, Kenyatta is rudderless, and harbours the ulterior intention to wrest the presidency, to protect the vast estates, and other wealth, inherited from his father. That his talk is aimed at uniting and protecting their people, is pretentious.

When Kenyatta used the term “our people,” he obviously meant the Kikuyu. He proceeded to insinuate that, the Kikuyu have been oppressed because of their disunity. That is fallacious, or even better, outright sham. The Kikuyu have been oppressed like every other Kenyan people, no doubt, and their pain is worth sharing. But the reason can not be attributed to their disunity, instead, it is the unchecked greed, and senseless pursuit of wealth by their very leadership that is to blame. Key in this is the Kenyatta’s estate, headed by Mama Ngina, and patronized by the Kibakis, and Michukis of this world. As Mutayi Ngunyi would put it; the Kikuyu ahoi problem, is the athomi, not all that political “window-dressing,” the athomi deploy, and recycle, every campaign period.

After such utterances, Kenyans now understand why the IDP situation has not been resolved; it is political fodder. Kenyatta, in his persuasion, guaranteed his support for whoever the region settles on, for the presidency. He can be trusted on this, because he has done it before. He left his job as the top opposition politician, to support Mwai Kibaki in 2007,  who had been “nominated” by the region. Seemingly, Kenyatta learnt nothing from the outcome, and the aftermath.

The trusting listeners were also treated to another cock, and bull story – that people of the region [Central Kenya] are the ones who were killed the most. That too, Kenyatta attributed to a fragmented region, and prescribed unity as the antidote for this too. Of course, this was inaccurate on two counts; first, 2007 represented one of the leading examples of Kikuyu unity in recent history. Secondly, there is no direct correlation between the unity of a community, and overall national peace. The only guarantee for national peace is the unity of the nation, underpinned by mutual trust, and respect.

Curiously, there were no killings in Central Kenya, directly related to the post 2007 election melee. Rift valley was the epicenter of Kenya’s explosion of shame. In which case, Kenyatta’s reference of “people from our region” is basically about the Kikuyu. But that too is far misplaced. Central MPs cannot go to Rift Valley, and wheedle the constituents to uphold peace, because they obviously lack jurisdiction, as well as goodwill. Kenyatta should have reserved this message for Rift Valley MPs, at least as far as working the peace process is concerned.

Smart Memo: Watch “The Manchurian Candidate.”

Seemingly, Kenyatta chose to declare his candidacy on a day when he was not sober. Otherwise, this condition gave a pretty good peek at the true Kenyatta. He should have the same thing, he had for breakfast that day more often. That way Kenya might just know the true Uhuru Kenyatta. Not “siasa” or is it”si hasa?”

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