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Post by Titchaz on Nov 6, 2011 0:50:30 GMT 3
Installation ceremony at mukurwe wa nya gathanga shrine: Karume, by seeking to wrest the position of Mt Kenya communities’ spokesman from Uhuru during the younger man’s greatest hour of need and relevance, has demonstrated that there is a potent struggle at the top in Central Kenya for post-Kibaki political control. The unilateral investiture of James Njenga Karume as the Central Kenya communities’ spokesman and senior-most sage elder last weekend is the surest sign yet that it is no longer business as usual in the Mt. Kenya vote bloc, the nation’s largest and most cohesive in terms of insularity. The installation was attended by at least 5,000 elders and other people and its expenses were met by Karume himself, the billionaire underwriter of many another political initiative and campaign throughout Central Kenya over the years. Another signal was sent out by the University of Nairobi Vice Chancellor, Dr. Joe B. Wanjui, when he said that he had looked far and wide for the person most likely to succeed President Mwai Kibaki and actually take his legacy forward and had alighted on none other than Prime Minister Raila Odinga. Dr. Wanjui endorsed Raila at the latter’s own residence in Nairobi in a recent meeting also attended by Karume, Charles Njonjo, MP Stanley Munga Githunguri, Nation Media Group Chairman Wilfred D. Kiboro (who is also the Standard Chartered Bank Group Chairman), Royal Media Group Chairman SK Macharia, the PNU Chairman, Colonel (Rtd.) James Imbui, businessman/golfer James Koome, MP Mithika Linturi and others. The Power Barons Take a Stand Karume, a former Kiambaa MP and one-time Defence Minister and Wanjui, a one-time CEO of multinational East Africa Industries (now Unilever Africa), have long been among President Mwai Kibaki’s staunchest election campaign financiers and advisers. They have been with him since at least his exit from the Daniel arap Moi regime on December 25, 1991, and the formation of the Democratic Party. Karume, most probably Kenya’s first African millionaire in any denomination, was one of founding President Jomo Kenyatta’s most ardent supporters and courtiers. Karume and Dr. Wanjui remain among the richest, most powerful and influential people in Kenya, separately consulted and confided in by other power players, foreign envoys and regional leaders. Dr. Wanjui endorsed the PM in the following fulsome terms: “I have been President Kibaki's supporter and friend for many years. I am still his friend and supporter. But after looking around and searching far and wide, the only person capable of consolidating the leadership and development Kibaki has established is Raila Odinga”. A recent measure of Karume’s enduring clout in Central Kenya and among Rift Valley Kikuyus is that despite not making it back to Parliament in 2007 and being in his 80s, after his eldest son Joseph Karume Njenga died in a road accident in September this year, his funeral was attended by the President, Prime Minister, Vice President and scores of other dignitaries from all sides of the political spectrum, all of whom spoke from the podium and praised both father and son and yet the son had never held public office nor even dabbled in politics. The power elite from all large ethnic communities and quite a few smaller ones were there to be seen to mourn with Karume, a pillar of Mt. Kenya politics and business and a leader of the Gema (Gikuyu, Embu, Meru and Mbeere) communities. The return of Njenga Karume Another measure of Karume’s clout was provided by Raila himself at the height of the 2007-08 post-election violence (PEV) and soon after. At an international press conference on January 3, 2008, Raila accused Karume of financing the banned sect Mungiki in the PEV and of doing this at meetings attended by Uhuru Kenyatta at State House, Nairobi. Later, as Prime Minister, Raila went far out of his way to apologise to Karume over his allegations and to seek to absolve him of any such wrongdoing. But he has never extended the same retraction to Uhuru. Now that Karume has been invested leader and foremost elder of the entire Mt. Kenya region in a controversial ceremony at the Mukurwe wa Nyagathanga shrine in Murang’a, which symbolises the Agikuyu myth of origin, and has been thus elevated in opposition to Uhuru Muigai, son of Founding President Jomo Kenyatta, and Dr. Wanjui has joined the ranks of wealthy powerful Kikuyu elder statesmen who have declared they have no problem with a Raila Presidency, it is quite clear that things have fallen apart deep inside Mt. Kenya and the traditional centre cannot hold. That centre has revolved around the Presidential families of the Kenyattas and the Kibakis, around which all other factors in the Mountain circle like satellites. This is not the first time that a vast ethnic centre based around a Presidential family has failed to hold and the regional vote bloc voted with its feet in a direction not sanctioned by the patriarch(s) – it happened to the Daniel arap Moi hold on the Rift Valley at the 2007 General Election, in full view of the still-living patriarch, retired President Moi himself. Not only could Moi’s own children, including favourite son and heir Gideon, not get a word in edgewise to get themselves elected, but the fallout had the same figure at centre-stage – a Raila Odinga making a bid for State House. Dr. Wanjui joins founding Attorney General Charles Mugane Njonjo and Kiambaa MP Stanley Munga Githunguri in declaring that Raila is fit and ready to be the Fourth President of Kenya. Although he has yet to make a public pronouncement on the matter, Karume, by seeking to wrest the position of Mt. Kenya communities’ spokesman from Uhuru during the younger man’s greatest hour of need and relevance, has demonstrated that there is a potent struggle at the top in Central Kenya for post-Kibaki political control.The Kenyattas Deserted Njonjo, Karume and Githunguri were among Jomo Kenyatta’s most loyal faithful retainers and enjoyed their greatest eminence during his watch. That they should now part ways with Uhuru in this fashion, while Kenyatta’s youngest widow, first First Lady Mama Ngina, the DPM’s mother, is still alive and has a voice in Mt. Kenyan affairs, bespeaks war in heaven. Alone among Kenyatta’s most faithful retainers, Njonjo has never subscribed to the idea that a Kikuyu should succeed a Kikuyu at State House, not even when Kenyatta was alive. Other power, politics and business elite operatives seem to be coming around to Njonjo’s view, a generation after Kenyatta’s demise. Karume, who led the brazen and tribally chauvinistic Change the Constitution movement in the mid-1970s when Kenyatta was clearly at the end of his tether and Moi, having been VP for a dozen years and therefore Principal Assistant to the President, was poised to step in, has never been known to support a non-Kikuyu for State House. It speaks volumes for great wealth that Karume not only survived the Presidential transition occasioned by Kenyatta’s death and Moi’s rise to State House but thrived and was always consulted by Moi throughout his 24-year-long Presidency. Any day now he should make his views explicitly known on the all-important tacit protocol question of whether a Kikuyu should succeed a Kikuyu at State House. All indications are that Karume has fundamentally revised his views and that this underpins his wish to lead the Central community from the front. Karume was, after all, the powerful and controlling leader of Gema in the flashpoint year of 1969 – the year of the Argwings Kodhek fatal road accident and the Tom Mboya assassination – when a wave of atavistic oath-taking rituals such as had not been witnessed since the early 1950s spread throughout the Mt. Kenya region to the accompaniment of the chilling, trance-like chant “Bendera ndikoima Nyumba ya Mumbi (the Flag will never leave the House of Mumbi)”. Githunguri, who was Executive Chairman of the National Bank of Kenya in Kenyatta’s final years, is Karume’s nemesis in Kiambaa and was initially an adversary of Moi’s, has seconded Njonjo’s support of Raila since at least 2005 and Kenya’s first national referendum, the Yes/No vote on the then Proposed New Constitution. Dr. Wanjui has been a Kibaki insider throughout the President’s two terms in office and his breaking ranks with his old friend’s closest advisers on the matter of Raila’s suitability to take the Kibaki legacy forward is indicative of a deep schism in the President’s innermost inner circles. The Center Cannot Hold That the Mt. Kenya centre would not hold became apparent only recently, with the prospect of Uhuru’s crimes-against-humanity case at the International Criminal Court (ICC) at The Hague proceeding to full trial and putting his political career into a tailspin for the foreseeable future looming larger by the day. When the three-judge bench of the ICC’s Pretrial Chamber II indicated that its decision on whether the cases of the so-called Ocampo Six would proceed to full trial would be announced on the same day, date and time, instead of a month apart for the first three accused and the second three, all signs were that a bleak near-future awaits Uhuru and his five co-accused. Wealthy and powerful individuals like Karume, Njonjo and Dr. Wanjui have their own feelers and pointers deep inside the media, security, diplomatic and other investigative communities, both local and international, and consult widely, deeply and constantly. Their separate no-confidence votes in Uhuru must be based on the sort of strategic considerations that saw them build their business empires, nurture and grow them through the vicissitudes of the three Presidential administrations. Karume became a wealthy man even before Independence, under the British, and has grown his wealth and clout in all-weather conditions, politically speaking, for longer than Uhuru has been alive. For instance, Karume was among the very first Kenyans, in the very early 1950s, to be allowed by the colonial authorities to operate bank accounts in institutions like Barclays and Standard Chartered. It was interesting that Karume felt constrained to deny that despite being crowned Mt. Kenya’s sage elder and national spokesman he had no interest in an elective political position. In recent years, Karume has not only acquired a wife who is half his age, he has also published an autobiography, From Charcoal to Gold, with the assistance of Mutu Gethoi of Embu County. Added to the feather-in-cap investiture as top elder, these accoutrements seem in the eyes of many to point to higher political ambitions for Karume. “I do not want to become the King of the Agikuyu but a leader because every community must be directed by one person,” Karume told the gathering of elders and locals at the shrine after his installation. Why he thinks that he ought to be the chosen one and why now are matters Karume left to speculation, but he promptly came under massive attack from Uhuru-compliant councils of Kikuyu elders, including an outfit that styles itself the Rift Valley Kikuyu Council of Elders, led by one Wachira Kamana. Cracks in the Mountain With these cracks in the Mountain, the Central Kenya vote bloc, which has concentrated all its energies on Kibaki since 1997 when it comes to Presidential elections, is clearly up for grabs. It is the most cohesive vote bloc in the nation and the most inward-looking, never having expended its votes on a candidate outside the Nyumba ya Mumbi (the House of Mumbi) to send him to the House on the Hill (State House). That there has been an intimate connection between the Nyumba and the House is evidenced by Kenyatta’s 15-year stay and Kibaki’s 10 years, making it 25 years in all so far. All eyes are now on how the Kikuyu intend to use their vast electoral clout in the absence of a Kikuyu candidate who can attract at least two other major blocs. Can the Nyumba, or even just a significant proportion of it, finally find its way to handing the House on the Hill to Raila, as highly recommended by Dr. Wanjui, Njonjo and Githunguri and, any day now, Karume? Or are these men just dinosaurs from the dawn of Independence who have accumulated too much, have too much to lose and have no business seeking to tell a new generation of Mount Kenyans what’s good for them? In the final analysis, Dr. Wanjui, Njonjo, Githunguri and Karume have only four votes between them and not three more general elections (Njonjo, for one, will be 92 next year). However, if the Mt. Kenya vote bloc’s latest generations learn the smarts of the kind of cohesion that dispenses with insular behaviour, a cohesiveness already enjoyed by the Luo and the Kalenjin, who are on record, unlike the Kikuyu, as having voted cohesively but not selfishly, they could well discover a completely new clout and niche – that of swing-vote factor and kingmaker. And it could well be a clout that is useful for much longer and much wider purposes than the navel-gazing self-regard of the past. www.the-star.co.ke/weekend/siasa/47865-why-the-centre-cannot-hold-the-nyumba-raila-and-the-house-on-the-hill |
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Post by cheshirecat on Nov 6, 2011 10:00:30 GMT 3
Installation ceremony at mukurwe wa nya gathanga shrine: Karume, by seeking to wrest the position of Mt Kenya communities’ spokesman from Uhuru during the younger man’s greatest hour of need and relevance, has demonstrated that there is a potent struggle at the top in Central Kenya for post-Kibaki political control. The unilateral investiture of James Njenga Karume as the Central Kenya communities’ spokesman and senior-most sage elder last weekend is the surest sign yet that it is no longer business as usual in the Mt. Kenya vote bloc, the nation’s largest and most cohesive in terms of insularity. The installation was attended by at least 5,000 elders and other people and its expenses were met by Karume himself, the billionaire underwriter of many another political initiative and campaign throughout Central Kenya over the years. Another signal was sent out by the University of Nairobi Vice Chancellor, Dr. Joe B. Wanjui, when he said that he had looked far and wide for the person most likely to succeed President Mwai Kibaki and actually take his legacy forward and had alighted on none other than Prime Minister Raila Odinga. Dr. Wanjui endorsed Raila at the latter’s own residence in Nairobi in a recent meeting also attended by Karume, Charles Njonjo, MP Stanley Munga Githunguri, Nation Media Group Chairman Wilfred D. Kiboro (who is also the Standard Chartered Bank Group Chairman), Royal Media Group Chairman SK Macharia, the PNU Chairman, Colonel (Rtd.) James Imbui, businessman/golfer James Koome, MP Mithika Linturi and others. The Power Barons Take a Stand Karume, a former Kiambaa MP and one-time Defence Minister and Wanjui, a one-time CEO of multinational East Africa Industries (now Unilever Africa), have long been among President Mwai Kibaki’s staunchest election campaign financiers and advisers. They have been with him since at least his exit from the Daniel arap Moi regime on December 25, 1991, and the formation of the Democratic Party. Karume, most probably Kenya’s first African millionaire in any denomination, was one of founding President Jomo Kenyatta’s most ardent supporters and courtiers. Karume and Dr. Wanjui remain among the richest, most powerful and influential people in Kenya, separately consulted and confided in by other power players, foreign envoys and regional leaders. Dr. Wanjui endorsed the PM in the following fulsome terms: “I have been President Kibaki's supporter and friend for many years. I am still his friend and supporter. But after looking around and searching far and wide, the only person capable of consolidating the leadership and development Kibaki has established is Raila Odinga”. A recent measure of Karume’s enduring clout in Central Kenya and among Rift Valley Kikuyus is that despite not making it back to Parliament in 2007 and being in his 80s, after his eldest son Joseph Karume Njenga died in a road accident in September this year, his funeral was attended by the President, Prime Minister, Vice President and scores of other dignitaries from all sides of the political spectrum, all of whom spoke from the podium and praised both father and son and yet the son had never held public office nor even dabbled in politics. The power elite from all large ethnic communities and quite a few smaller ones were there to be seen to mourn with Karume, a pillar of Mt. Kenya politics and business and a leader of the Gema (Gikuyu, Embu, Meru and Mbeere) communities. The return of Njenga Karume Another measure of Karume’s clout was provided by Raila himself at the height of the 2007-08 post-election violence (PEV) and soon after. At an international press conference on January 3, 2008, Raila accused Karume of financing the banned sect Mungiki in the PEV and of doing this at meetings attended by Uhuru Kenyatta at State House, Nairobi. Later, as Prime Minister, Raila went far out of his way to apologise to Karume over his allegations and to seek to absolve him of any such wrongdoing. But he has never extended the same retraction to Uhuru. Now that Karume has been invested leader and foremost elder of the entire Mt. Kenya region in a controversial ceremony at the Mukurwe wa Nyagathanga shrine in Murang’a, which symbolises the Agikuyu myth of origin, and has been thus elevated in opposition to Uhuru Muigai, son of Founding President Jomo Kenyatta, and Dr. Wanjui has joined the ranks of wealthy powerful Kikuyu elder statesmen who have declared they have no problem with a Raila Presidency, it is quite clear that things have fallen apart deep inside Mt. Kenya and the traditional centre cannot hold. That centre has revolved around the Presidential families of the Kenyattas and the Kibakis, around which all other factors in the Mountain circle like satellites. This is not the first time that a vast ethnic centre based around a Presidential family has failed to hold and the regional vote bloc voted with its feet in a direction not sanctioned by the patriarch(s) – it happened to the Daniel arap Moi hold on the Rift Valley at the 2007 General Election, in full view of the still-living patriarch, retired President Moi himself. Not only could Moi’s own children, including favourite son and heir Gideon, not get a word in edgewise to get themselves elected, but the fallout had the same figure at centre-stage – a Raila Odinga making a bid for State House. Dr. Wanjui joins founding Attorney General Charles Mugane Njonjo and Kiambaa MP Stanley Munga Githunguri in declaring that Raila is fit and ready to be the Fourth President of Kenya. Although he has yet to make a public pronouncement on the matter, Karume, by seeking to wrest the position of Mt. Kenya communities’ spokesman from Uhuru during the younger man’s greatest hour of need and relevance, has demonstrated that there is a potent struggle at the top in Central Kenya for post-Kibaki political control.The Kenyattas Deserted Njonjo, Karume and Githunguri were among Jomo Kenyatta’s most loyal faithful retainers and enjoyed their greatest eminence during his watch. That they should now part ways with Uhuru in this fashion, while Kenyatta’s youngest widow, first First Lady Mama Ngina, the DPM’s mother, is still alive and has a voice in Mt. Kenyan affairs, bespeaks war in heaven. Alone among Kenyatta’s most faithful retainers, Njonjo has never subscribed to the idea that a Kikuyu should succeed a Kikuyu at State House, not even when Kenyatta was alive. Other power, politics and business elite operatives seem to be coming around to Njonjo’s view, a generation after Kenyatta’s demise. Karume, who led the brazen and tribally chauvinistic Change the Constitution movement in the mid-1970s when Kenyatta was clearly at the end of his tether and Moi, having been VP for a dozen years and therefore Principal Assistant to the President, was poised to step in, has never been known to support a non-Kikuyu for State House. It speaks volumes for great wealth that Karume not only survived the Presidential transition occasioned by Kenyatta’s death and Moi’s rise to State House but thrived and was always consulted by Moi throughout his 24-year-long Presidency. Any day now he should make his views explicitly known on the all-important tacit protocol question of whether a Kikuyu should succeed a Kikuyu at State House. All indications are that Karume has fundamentally revised his views and that this underpins his wish to lead the Central community from the front. Karume was, after all, the powerful and controlling leader of Gema in the flashpoint year of 1969 – the year of the Argwings Kodhek fatal road accident and the Tom Mboya assassination – when a wave of atavistic oath-taking rituals such as had not been witnessed since the early 1950s spread throughout the Mt. Kenya region to the accompaniment of the chilling, trance-like chant “Bendera ndikoima Nyumba ya Mumbi (the Flag will never leave the House of Mumbi)”. Githunguri, who was Executive Chairman of the National Bank of Kenya in Kenyatta’s final years, is Karume’s nemesis in Kiambaa and was initially an adversary of Moi’s, has seconded Njonjo’s support of Raila since at least 2005 and Kenya’s first national referendum, the Yes/No vote on the then Proposed New Constitution. Dr. Wanjui has been a Kibaki insider throughout the President’s two terms in office and his breaking ranks with his old friend’s closest advisers on the matter of Raila’s suitability to take the Kibaki legacy forward is indicative of a deep schism in the President’s innermost inner circles. The Center Cannot Hold That the Mt. Kenya centre would not hold became apparent only recently, with the prospect of Uhuru’s crimes-against-humanity case at the International Criminal Court (ICC) at The Hague proceeding to full trial and putting his political career into a tailspin for the foreseeable future looming larger by the day. When the three-judge bench of the ICC’s Pretrial Chamber II indicated that its decision on whether the cases of the so-called Ocampo Six would proceed to full trial would be announced on the same day, date and time, instead of a month apart for the first three accused and the second three, all signs were that a bleak near-future awaits Uhuru and his five co-accused. Wealthy and powerful individuals like Karume, Njonjo and Dr. Wanjui have their own feelers and pointers deep inside the media, security, diplomatic and other investigative communities, both local and international, and consult widely, deeply and constantly. Their separate no-confidence votes in Uhuru must be based on the sort of strategic considerations that saw them build their business empires, nurture and grow them through the vicissitudes of the three Presidential administrations. Karume became a wealthy man even before Independence, under the British, and has grown his wealth and clout in all-weather conditions, politically speaking, for longer than Uhuru has been alive. For instance, Karume was among the very first Kenyans, in the very early 1950s, to be allowed by the colonial authorities to operate bank accounts in institutions like Barclays and Standard Chartered. It was interesting that Karume felt constrained to deny that despite being crowned Mt. Kenya’s sage elder and national spokesman he had no interest in an elective political position. In recent years, Karume has not only acquired a wife who is half his age, he has also published an autobiography, From Charcoal to Gold, with the assistance of Mutu Gethoi of Embu County. Added to the feather-in-cap investiture as top elder, these accoutrements seem in the eyes of many to point to higher political ambitions for Karume. “I do not want to become the King of the Agikuyu but a leader because every community must be directed by one person,” Karume told the gathering of elders and locals at the shrine after his installation. Why he thinks that he ought to be the chosen one and why now are matters Karume left to speculation, but he promptly came under massive attack from Uhuru-compliant councils of Kikuyu elders, including an outfit that styles itself the Rift Valley Kikuyu Council of Elders, led by one Wachira Kamana. Cracks in the Mountain With these cracks in the Mountain, the Central Kenya vote bloc, which has concentrated all its energies on Kibaki since 1997 when it comes to Presidential elections, is clearly up for grabs. It is the most cohesive vote bloc in the nation and the most inward-looking, never having expended its votes on a candidate outside the Nyumba ya Mumbi (the House of Mumbi) to send him to the House on the Hill (State House). That there has been an intimate connection between the Nyumba and the House is evidenced by Kenyatta’s 15-year stay and Kibaki’s 10 years, making it 25 years in all so far. All eyes are now on how the Kikuyu intend to use their vast electoral clout in the absence of a Kikuyu candidate who can attract at least two other major blocs. Can the Nyumba, or even just a significant proportion of it, finally find its way to handing the House on the Hill to Raila, as highly recommended by Dr. Wanjui, Njonjo and Githunguri and, any day now, Karume? Or are these men just dinosaurs from the dawn of Independence who have accumulated too much, have too much to lose and have no business seeking to tell a new generation of Mount Kenyans what’s good for them? In the final analysis, Dr. Wanjui, Njonjo, Githunguri and Karume have only four votes between them and not three more general elections (Njonjo, for one, will be 92 next year). However, if the Mt. Kenya vote bloc’s latest generations learn the smarts of the kind of cohesion that dispenses with insular behaviour, a cohesiveness already enjoyed by the Luo and the Kalenjin, who are on record, unlike the Kikuyu, as having voted cohesively but not selfishly, they could well discover a completely new clout and niche – that of swing-vote factor and kingmaker. And it could well be a clout that is useful for much longer and much wider purposes than the navel-gazing self-regard of the past. www.the-star.co.ke/weekend/siasa/47865-why-the-centre-cannot-hold-the-nyumba-raila-and-the-house-on-the-hillWho are these people? |
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Post by njamba on Nov 6, 2011 23:24:22 GMT 3
Those that will vote for raila in central will do it in-spite of or despite of Njenga, Njonjo, Dr. Wanjui but from conviction that Raila is the best presidential candidate among those presented at the time. The only silver lining about Raila prospects in central is that there have been gains if we believe the latest polls it is seems like that he has double digits support Personally i believe the best outcome for Raila in central will be to get 15% of votes.
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Post by Titchaz on Nov 12, 2011 0:23:51 GMT 3
Those that will vote for raila in central will do it in-spite of or despite of Njenga, Njonjo, Dr. Wanjui but from conviction that Raila is the best presidential candidate among those presented at the time. The only silver lining about Raila prospects in central is that there have been gains if we believe the latest polls it is seems like that he has double digits support Personally i believe the best outcome for Raila in central will be to get 15% of votes. Why Central elite is turning to Raila Prime Minister Raila Odinga addresses residents in Murang’a East District, central Kenya on June 14, 2009. By JULIUS SIGEI (jsigei@ke.nationmedia.com) Posted Friday, November 11 2011 at 22:30 Central Kenya’s rich elite gravitation towards Prime Minister Raila Odinga in his quest for the presidency is causing ripples in a region where his nemesis, at least according to the latest opinion polls, Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta comes from.University of Nairobi Chancellor and President Kibaki’s confidant, Dr Joe Wanjui, Kiambaa MP Stanley Githunguri, businessman Peter Kuguru and former Attorney General Charles Njonjo are all said to be warming up to Mr Odinga. It is intriguing given the love-hate relationship between the region’s elite and the Odinga family, which dates back to the 1960s. Others are Royal Media Group chairman S.K. Macharia and businessman James Koome.Played key roleWhile founding Vice-President Jaramogi Oginga Odinga played a key role in securing Jomo Kenyatta’s presidency by turning down an offer to become prime minister and instead pushed for his release, they soon fell out after independence.Jaramogi would remain in the political cold until 1992 when he returned to Parliament after the reintroduction of multi-party politics. History repeated itself in 2002 when the younger Odinga declared ‘Kibaki Tosha’, effectively handing the presidency to then opposition candidate Mwai Kibaki.But as had happened 40 years earlier, Mr Kibaki soon differed with Mr Odinga and, as they say, the rest is history.While former Kiambaa MP Njenga Karume has not categorically voiced support for Mr Odinga, his statement that he could “vote for anyone for President” has been interpreted in some quarters as warming up to a candidate from outside Central Kenya. This is especially so because Mr Karume has been closely identified with Mr Kenyatta, the man he dumped Kibaki for in 2002. Both would later throw their lot with the President in 2007. But perhaps Dr Wanjui’s statement was the more dramatic and intriguing given his closeness to the President. “I have been President Kibaki’s supporter and friend for many years. I am still his friend and supporter. But after looking around and searching far and wide, the only person capable of consolidating the leadership and development Kibaki has established is Raila Odinga,” he is reported to have said at the PM’s home in Karen.Former Subukia MP Koigi wa Wamwere said by supporting the PM, the Central elite hoped to kill two birds with one stone. “They want to be with the winning team so that their massive wealth does not come into any danger and at the same time pay the debt of the injustices meted out to both Mr Odinga and his father,” Mr Wamwere said.The elite reckoned Kenyans may not elect another Kikuyu and wanted a safe bet, he said. “Raila fits the bill as a property owner himself. They are not doing it out of any high ideal, but because of self-interest. The best candidate for them is the one who wins,” Mr Wamwere said. Senior counsel Paul Muite agrees. “Business people the world over are concerned more with the preservation of their wealth than with ideology, the community or the country. And as to whether they are right or wrong in their gamble is a subject for another day,” said Mr Muite, who also wants to be president. But he dismissed the idea that the Kikuyu owed Mr Odinga a favour, insisting the presidency was “not about individuals or communities.” “We fought for a robust democracy that must allow any individual to aspire to any office, including the presidency. “When prices of goods go up, they do so for everybody irrespective of ethnic origin. If Kenyans do not want another Kikuyu, they will say so at the ballot,” he said. Dismissing the elders’ ability to sway the Central vote in favour of Mr Odinga, Sports assistant minister Kabando wa Kabando said the election would not be determined by older men but by the youth.“Reincarnation of the past won’t rhyme with the present. The politics of Kenya is not about personal wealth and private clubs or an alumnus of expired regimes,” Mr Kabando said. His sentiments were echoed by Naivasha MP John Mututho who said the rich were not the sole opinion shapers. “Opinion shapers can be that boda boda chairman or the local councillor. In Nairobi, the Kikuyu opinion leaders are Embakasi MP Ferdinand Waititu and his Starehe counterpart Bishop Margaret Wanjiru, not the super rich,” he said. He added that the business elite were “only thronging to Mr Odinga for business connections”. Kirinyaga Central MP Joseph Gitari supported this, saying, Mr Kenyatta had taken a tough line on businessmen who were given government land and were reselling it to the State at exorbitant prices for resettlement of IDPs. “They are trying to blackmail the DPM, but he will not succumb because he is not threatened politically,” Mr Gitari said. But Mr Wamwere said the elders’ move would bear fruit if Mr Kenyatta were to drop out of the race.“If Uhuru, for one reason or another does not vie, the elders’ decision will divide the community in the middle, with his camp having a slight edge,” he said. The ICC has indicated that Mr Kenyatta and Eldoret North MP William Ruto would not be barred from contesting the presidency even if their cases were confirmed. Crowded fieldMr Odinga’s attempt to make inroads into Central will also be compounded by the recent entry of the Internal Security Minister, Prof George Saitoti, who is touted as a fallback candidate for the group coalescing around Mr Kenyatta. Gichugu MP Martha Karua and Planning assistant minister Peter Kenneth (Gatanga) are the other presidential candidates from the region. United States International University journalism lecturer Isaiah Cherutich says Mr Odinga’s chances will depend on who the G7 alliance fronts as their flag-bearer. “If it is Mr Kenyatta, it will be difficult given the antipathy for Raila created by the ICC and the accompanying political propaganda. It also depends on how well he assures the community of its well-being in concrete terms,” he said. www.nation.co.ke/News/politics/Why+Central+elite+is+turning+to+Raila+/-/1064/1271548/-/item/0/-/thpmo2z/-/index.html |
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Post by the2ruth on Nov 12, 2011 1:46:01 GMT 3
Birds of a feather, flock together. This should be viewed sceptically as the individuals named can only dent the PM, as they are not representative of the hopes and aspirations of the majority of central residents akin to Kamotho during the Moi era. Uhuru has managed to rid himself of the worst baggage, and unfortunately Raila has just picked them up. Poor judgement on the PM's part as now he is representing the worst elements of the previous regimes in Kenya, and this will only prove hard for him to claim to be the reformist that Kenya needs.
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Post by Titchaz on Nov 27, 2011 23:59:57 GMT 3
BATTLE FOR CENTRAL KENYA SUPREMACY OPPOSED: Former Kiambaa MP Njenga Karume. His coronation as the leader of the Kikuyu has elicited diverse responses from influential figures in the Kikuyu community. While some are virulently opposed to his ascendancy to Kikuyu leadership, others have expressed support for his installation as the pricipal elder Last Friday, an inconspicuous meeting of Kikuyu Council of Elders took place at the Homeland Inn along Thika Road. Two weeks prior to the meeting, attendees had been notified of the assembly through a text message written in Kikuyu. The meeting was called soon after the much hyped and talked about coronation of the 86 year old James Njenga Karume as the sole bona fide leader of the kikuyu at the holy shrine of Mukurwe wa Nyagathanga. There was a certain urgency to the message.Although the coronation is still generating more heat that light and was one of the reasons why the meeting was called, the message sent out, instead, was about determining the destiny and future of the Kikuyu nation in light of the 2012 general elections, among other pressing community issues. About 200 not-so-old and old Kikuyu men drawn mainly from Central Kenya, Nakuru county of the Rift Valley region and Mombasa congregated at Homeland Inn, a Makuti eating and drinking joint, run by Wokabi Muriithi, the elder brother of Nderitu Muriithi, the Laikipia West MP and assistant Minister of Industrialisation. Both are President Mwai Kibaki's nephews.The men included, men of cloth, from the Akorino sect, evangelical churches, as well as a priest from the Catholic Church. But on this day, the priest wore his secular attire. Also present were senior Kikuyu politicians such as Nginyo Kariuki and rich businessmen. The entire meeting session was conducted in Kikuyu language with breaks of song and dance being performed by men attired in traditional Kikuyu apparel. Women were barred from attending the meeting, notwithstanding, the fact that the organisation has a significant number of women as subscription paying members. When I inquired whether it was standard practice for the association to bar women from attending the organisation's meetings, Wokabi, who is the treasurer of the association clarified that women were not being discriminated against on the basis of gender. He explained that only women who were considered to be "traitors" were not welcome to the meeting. One of the women who showed up at Homeland Inn and was not allowed into the meeting was Patricia Wairimu Njuguna, a subscription-fee-paying member of the association and who has attended several of the association’s meetings. Wairimu, is a tall, combative, tough-talking, dare-it-all, 36 year old mother of two. Unbeknownst to many, she is the one who obtained a court injunction that stopped the recent Kamukunji by-election that was to take place on May 23, 2011. To many Kenyans, the temporary court victory was the brainchild of Paul Waweru alias Frankie—one of the then by-election contestants, but in fact it was Wairimu who stopped the by-election. The by-election was finally held on September 18, 2011 and was won by PNU Alliance candidate Yusuf Hassan. The talk of “traitors” being in the midst of the “true representatives of the Gikuyu people” was the catalyst that triggered a barrage of accusations and counter-accusations and revealed the subterranean reasons of the elders’ meeting. Apparently, the September 18 by-election is at the centre of the emerging schism and a struggle over the ultimate control of the entire Kikuyu vote in the country and in the Diaspora by the Kikuyu Council of Elders Association. At the Homeland Inn meeting, the association took time to praise itself for delivering the Kamukunji seat—not to the PNU Alliance or even the MP Yusuf Hassan—but to Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta. “Let it be known that we voted for Uhuru Kenyatta,” thundered one of the elders. “We want our people to know that any Kikuyu who does not follow Uhuru is a traitor and therefore a treacherous person. Let people also know that by delivering Kamukunji, we were sending a powerful message that the Kikuyu nation will flex its muscle come 2012.”Yet, even as the talk of traitors abound, investigations by the Weekend Star have revealed that there are apparently two Kikuyu Councils of Elders that are now engaged in a vicious power game over credibility and legitimacy of the Kikuyu nation leaders.And that explains partly why Karume’s October 29, 2011 coronation at the Mukurwe wa Nyagathanga shrine attracted opposition from a section of Kikuyu elders. The reasons that have been advanced by some elders is that Karume did not consult them, that he married recently and has a son who is yet to be circumcised, therefore cannot lay claim to the tribe's leadership mantle. Thirdly, he invited non-Kikuyus to the Kikuyu nation holy shrine, a taboo to both women and aliens. Thus the elders argued that by not consulting them and subsequently going ahead to be crowned in the presence of other non-Kikuyu elders, Karume “desecrated” the shrine and the shrine has to be cleansed. That is why the Karume coronation was also item number six on the list of matters that were to be discussed at the Homeland Inn assembly. Investigations by this writer show that on July 21, 2009, a Kikuyu Council of Elders Association was registered with the office of the District Gender and Social Development, Kasarani, as a self-help group/project. The certificate of registration serial no is 37863 and is signed by District Gender and Social Development Officer, Rose N. Mwangangi. Wachira Kiago, who is in his mid 50s and lives in Roysambu and was the chairman of the Homeland Inn meeting is designated as the Steering Committee Chairman. The same year on November 24, 2009, a Gikuyu (Kikuyu) Council was registered by Joseph Onyango, who is the deputy registrar of Societies. The certificate of registration is no 31268 and the office bearers are listed as James Njenga Karume, Stephen Ndung’u Karau and Peter Munga. Munga is the chairman of Equity Bank and Karau is a retired colonel and former army doctor. Wairimu says after she had managed to halt the Kamukunji by-election, the Wachira Kiago-led council of elders “stole the thunder from her feet” and quickly ran to Uhuru Kenyatta and other Kikuyu MPs such Jeremiah Kioni to report about “the hard work they had been doing in Kamukunji, despite limited logistical support.” According to Wairimu, logistical support is the euphemism that Wachira and his cabal of fellow elders used in Kamukunji by-election to solicit millions of shillings from Uhuru Kenyatta and other MPs from Kikuyuland. “During the Kamukunji by-election Uhuru was not properly informed of the on-goings on the ground,” lamented Wairimu. “This may sound as sour grapes, but the truth of the matter is that Wachira and his group of elders lined their pockets with the money and did not use it expressly for the purpose the money was set out for”, said Wairimu. “This is an open secret in Kamukunji about the elders’ misdemeanour’s and that is why now they refer to me as a traitor because I voiced my displeasure of the elders' handling of the money. I am saying anything new about how money given by Kikuyu politicians to the Wachira's group was spent.” But Wairimu now also says that the Wachira-led council of elders is not the bona fide Kikuyu Council of Elders. “I can testify to the fact that their association is registered as a self-help group that hoped to cater for a clique of Kikuyu businessmen. But with a general election in the offing, it might as well serve as a vehicle to cash in on the windfall that is 2012 general elections.” Wokabi says the differences arising with the Karume group has to do with his “unilateral decision to be anointed as the ultimate Kikuyu elder without consulting us (Wachira-led elders).” He says it was an abomination for Thuita Mwangi, the diminutive chairman of the expansive Embakasi Ranching Scheme to coronate Karume. “I fault Thuita. He crowned Karume as what? As Njamba (the warrior), Gitonga (wealthy man) or Muthamaki (leader)? In the Kikuyu epistemology, elders were generally crowned at least on one of the three or all the three levels. Wokabi said the council of elders he belongs to, does not recognise Karume’s elevation as the Kikuyu nation spokesman. Wokabi also stated that nobody is sure whether Uhuru was crowned as the prince of the Agikuyu people. “We (the elders) do not know and these issues need to be straightened out.” With Uhuru Kenyatta being publicly declared the richest man in Kenya by Forbes magazine, his supporters are in no doubt that one of the reasons why he was handed the githii (the crown or mantle) is because he is a Gitonga.Like many of the elders I interviewed, Wokabi fell back on the “bad influence theory” and told me that, “Karume is not a bad mzee. The people surrounding him are misleading him". Without saying much, I got the sense that Wairimu, the brazen Kikuyu nationalist and who is considered to be well-regarded by Karume could be one of the people “misleading” Karume, when Wokabi said, “it is the likes of Wairimu who are causing divisions among us.” Kimunya Kamana, the 81 year old former mayor of Nakuru and from the same age-set group with Karume—they were circumcised together in Molo where they grew up together—came for the meeting. He is the chairman of the Kikuyu Council of Elders, Nakuru branch. Shocked to learn that there are two sets of Kikuyu Council of Elders, he said that, there are some things that “I had heard and they had duly distressed me.” One of the things that seemingly disturbed Kimunya was Karume’s apparent going ahead with the“controversial” coronation that has visited disrepute on the Kikuyu nation's shrine, "even after we warned him not to". “Njenga, as far as I am concerned, is a jolly good old man. Somebody must have misled him to bring shame on himself and the shrine. But now that I am in Nairobi I will look for him and hear his side of the story,” said Kimunya. Some of elders who did not want their identity revealed said some elders who are exploiting the long-held differences between Karume and Stanley Githunguri want to now also paint Karume as a “traitor” because he had conspired with outsiders to crown himself the sole Kikuyu spokesman “so as to sell the community's political interests to our enemy (meaning Prime Minister Raila Odinga).”Githunguri, who finally beat Karume in the 2007 general elections to become the MP for Kiambaa after a long struggle to “dethrone” Karume from the seat has openly declared that he will be supporting Raila for the presidency and urged fellow Kikuyus to do the same. In the current political dispensation, insofar as the Kikuyu nation is concerned, the easiest way for a Kikuyu voter to earn himself or herself the tag “traitor” among the diehard Kikuyu nationalists is to be seen not to be toeing their hardline stance—that of supporting Uhuru Kenyatta unconditionally, unquestioningly and unreservedly.Amidst all the hue and cry over his coronation, Karume has maintained a studious silence and eschewed public altercations arguing that he will not be drawn into arguments with elders some of whom are agemates of his “children”. Karume, who is also the patron of GEMA says it is “preposterous and incredulous” that the Wachira-led group of elders are insinuating that he desecrated the shrine and that his mission is kwendia ruriri (trade the Kikuyu nation) to the Prime Minister. According to elders who are both known to Wachira and Karume, the battle is about getting a stranglehold over the Gikuyu people as the country heads to one of the most epochal general elections in 2012. “Wachira's ambition to become the leader of the Agikuyu people is not in doubt,” confided an elder. “He believes that this is his time because as he argues, Maina Njenga who had a grip on the community especially its influential youth is in bad books with the government. In short, he is seeking to replace Maina Njenga and supplant the old man Njenga Karume who has been synonymous with Gema for almost 40 years.” www.the-star.co.ke/weekend/siasa/51129-battle-for-central-kenya-supremacy |
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Post by Titchaz on Nov 28, 2011 0:32:29 GMT 3
Meanwhile Raila was touring central: Raila calls for unity before poll Prime Minister Raila Odinga acknowledges greetings from the faithful at St Paul’s ACK where he attended a function on November 27, 2011. He was on a tour of Murang’a and Kirinyaga counties. Photo/PMPS By SAMUEL KARANJA samkache@gmail.com Posted Sunday, November 27 2011 at 22:30 Prime Minister Raila Odinga on Sunday asked Kenyans to ignore the KKK Alliance, saying the time for tribal politics was over. He instead urged Kenyans to work towards a united nation. Mr Odinga was speaking in Murang’a County where he made stop-overs in various towns in the county on his way to a church fundraiser in Kutus, Kirinyaga County.While addressing a crowd at Kenol town, the ODM leader said Kenyans should not go to next year’s polls using tribal tags. Shun KKK alliance“You should shun the KKK Alliance and go to 2012 elections as people from one ‘K’ that stands for Kenya,” said Mr Odinga.The Premier, who is in the race for the presidency in next year’s elections said “All of us should live as brothers not minding whether one is a Kikuyu, Luo, Kalenjin, Kamba or any other tribe,” he said. He hailed development projects that have taken place in the country and cited the near completion of the Nairobi-Thika Super Highway as one of the mile stones of the coalition government. Mr Odinga added that the Kenol-Murang’a-Sagana road will be upgraded into a dual carriage way to ease transportation of farm produce in the area. In a move aimed at endearing himself to Central Kenya region, Mr Odinga while addressing a crowd at Saba Saba town described himself as a Muthoni-wa (In-law) of the Kikuyu community. He further said he had helped campaign for President Kibaki in the area ahead of the 2002 elections using the ‘Kibaki Tosha’ slogan but stopped short of asking the locals to reciprocate by voting for him in next year’s general elections. While at Maragua town, Mr Odinga thanked the electorate for voting in the constitution adding that it had many benefits which would be realised fully after next year’s elections. At the same time, he urged residents to shun alcoholism which he said was derailing development in the area and urged all to maintain peace even as the country prepares to go to the polls. “Alcohol is adversely affecting development in Central and the youth are mostly affected, I want to urge you to shun drunkenness and embrace development. Alcohol is a good passenger but a bad driver,” he added. He said structures will be put in place next year to help the country fight poverty, hunger, illiteracy and bad governance. Mr Odinga was accompanied by his wife Ida, former AG Charles Njonjo, Kiambaa MP Stanley Githunguri, and Media owner Samuel Macharia.www.nation.co.ke/News/politics/Raila+calls+for+unity+before+poll/-/1064/1280480/-/1joo6wz/-/index.html |
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Post by Titchaz on Nov 29, 2011 17:40:26 GMT 3
Now the Jamlecks of this world are understanding that the 'center is not holding' and they start these 'Raila tantrums'...  PM is dividing Mt Kenya vote alleges MP By SAMUEL KARANJA samkache@gmail.com Posted Monday, November 28 2011 at 22:00 An MP has accused Prime Minister Raila Odinga of sponsoring candidates in Mt Kenya in order to split the region’s vote in 2012. Kigumo MP Jamleck Kamau also told off the premier for criticising the G7 alliance and KKK saying they had representation from across the country. Speaking while addressing a crowd at Kiiriangoro Catholic Church on Monday, Mr Kamau claimed some of the presidential candidates from the region who are aspiring to succeed President Kibaki were working for ODM. They were also out to block Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta from ascending to power, he said. “We know that Raila and his party have sponsored some people to spoil votes for Uhuru who is our preferred candidate,” said the Kigumo MP. Calling on voters to shun what he termed as imposters, he urged presidential candidates from the region to unite and field one candidate. While on his way to Kirinyaga for a fund raiser, Mr Odinga told area residents on Sunday to shun the KKK and G7 alliances saying they were tribal and aimed at dividing Kenyans along ethnic lines. “You should shun the KKK Alliance and go to 2012 elections as people from one ‘K’ that stands for Kenya,” he said while addressing a crowd at Kenol town in Murang’a. The ODM leader also criticised the G7 Alliance claiming it was a tribal union with no national agenda. But Mr Kamau warned that Mr Odinga’s comments were likely to create disunity among Kenyans. He also accused the premier of being tribal since he had formed the defunct Pentagon which he said was made up of tribal chiefs. “I want to tell Raila to stop branding our unity as tribal. They started it with Pentagon which was led by tribal chiefs,” said the law maker who is the PNU vice chairman. G7 and PNU were national alliances with representation from all corners of Kenya, added the Kigumo MP while defending both PNU and G7 alliances. Despite defending it, he denied the existence of the KKK alliance. www.nation.co.ke/News/politics/PM+is+dividing+Mt+Kenya+vote+alleges+MP++/-/1064/1281248/-/j11yl5z/-/index.html
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Post by adongo23456 on Nov 29, 2011 18:17:56 GMT 3
Titchaz,
Interesting shifts and turns. I have said before that the alliances that will compete for the 2012 elections are yet to be formed. Some people have already danced themselves lame before the big dance. It has been KKK, G7, UDF, UDM, Wiper Democratic Party and counting. Expect more of the same.
I think the alliances will start shaping up after the ICC ruling next month. Whether we like it or not the ICC case will have profound impact on the Kenyan political alliances. Once that dust settles we will see how the alliances reshape. Kalonzo still holds hope that he can wipe the floor with the political carcas of his friends. Others have been hallucinating that the ICC case will have no impact. Some have even come up with the fiction that the ICC has already cleared the suspects even if they are indicted or even convicted to run for elections. Of course the ICC cannot and will not tell Kenyans how to run their elections or even who can stand or not stand. That is up to Kenyans and Kenyan laws and the jury about that is not even in session yet.
The next factor will be the limited positions available. It is the president and the deputy president pretty much for the big ticket. There is nothing left. Leader of majority party is a myth nobody is going to be duped with. Right now every politician thinks they can be governors and senators. It is not going to be that easy. Political alliances are going to die or live based on what is on the table. Then we have tribal kings who want to be able to go and offer something to their tribe. There is not much out there other than wishful thinking.
When all is said and done I think Kenyans are going to take a good hard look at the options they have and choose whoever gives them a sense of hope, a sense of stability, a sense of reliability and a good team player who can bring different parts of the country together. Bombastic noise makers may have some difficulties. People are tired of fighting so that a few leaders can be kings. A unifying character may very well win the presidency thing. Who is that going to be? Raila, Uhuru, Kalonzo, Ruto, Martha Karua, Peter Kenneth? May be none of the above. The complications are infinite whichever way one looks at it.
But if we elect the same selfish baffoons to parliament, to the senate and to be governors then we deserve what is coming down the pipe. There is too much obsession with the presidency and not much attention at the local level. That is where things will get done. The almighty presidency is highly overated after 2012. That will take time to sink in. Right now it seems like the only political seat available in the country is the one at State House. We are still prisoners of the past order of baba na mama. Ita poa. But it will take a while.
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Post by njambaa on Nov 29, 2011 21:09:40 GMT 3
To clear up the artificial smoke screen ,central kenya still remain the strongest politically and economically.central still remain the biggest exporter of raw and refined democracy.back to my point karume and crew are in what i would call political junk yard,its not news in central they are obsolete and outdated politically.All there major businesses are still in central they are the largest employers in central Nairobi Naivasha Nakuru and mombasa,if pm want to deal with them, he should start from that level .This pple sit on billions of dollars(N.b not shillings)The p.m already knows he is not going to be the next president,but the pressure is to much for him to give up.if the pm is smart he can use the"elite "to create employment in his strong holds since he does not have the capacity.to be continued .
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