Mt Kenya 'rejection' will not deter Raila, allies say

Politician Raila Odinga’s allies have told off Mt Kenya’s Tangatanga wing over a vicious letter to President Uhuru Kenyatta in which they warned that they will not support him (Mr Odinga) should he vie for the presidency in 2022.

The politicians allied to Deputy President William Ruto said they cannot sell the former Prime Minister or any other ‘imposed’ presidential candidate to the region.

They warned the head of State of a full-brown rebellion if he ignored their grievances.

The DP’s brigade in the vote-rich Central region wants President Kenyatta not to influence his succession and instead emulate his predecessor Mwai Kibaki, whom they said never interfered with the people’s democratic right to choose their leader.

But Mr Odinga’s lieutenants on Friday came out guns blazing in his defence, saying their rivals should focus on their own candidate, DP Ruto.

Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) chair John Mbadi, who is also the Minority Leader in the National Assembly, said their party leader will continue making inroads in the region without the help of those allied to the second-in-command.

The Suba South MP alleged that Mr Odinga is the one who has been gaining in Mt Kenya, partly because a number of leaders from the region have accompanied him on tour to a region he did not visit before.

“How can people who have been busy say they will not sell Raila’s presidency in the region? You cannot sell two presidential candidates in a region. Let them focus on their candidate,” Mr Mbadi said in an interview with the Nation.

He added: “Raila has not lost anyone in Mount Kenya. In fact, he has gained because whenever he visits the region, he is accompanied by the likes of [Nominated MP] Maina Kamanda.”

Handshake benefits

Mr Mbadi further said ODM politicians are working on an elaborate scheme aimed at exploiting Mr Odinga’s handshake with President Kenyatta.

“We will continue engaging Mount Kenya leaders who share our perspective, meet the elders and engage the masses,” he said.

Mr Odinga has said in the past that he is ready to tour the region to popularise the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI), amid preparations for the 2022 General Election.

The former PM dismissed the narrative that the region is hostile to him and the proposed constitutional changes.

ODM Secretary-General Edwin Sifuna told the Ruto-allied MPs from Mount Kenya that neither President Kenyatta nor Mr Odinga has to ‘sell’ the presidential quest.

Mr Sifuna also noted that the former Prime Minister is yet to declare that he vie for the top seat, which makes “demands by some 41 MPs from the President's region absurd”.

“What we know is that should he decide to run, Raila has the demonstrable capacity to traverse the entire country, canvassing for votes on the strength of his countrywide network of supporters,” he said.

Nominated Senator Rose Nyamunga added that 2022 succession politics will be decided by the people, “not pedestrian politics driven by a few legislators”.

“Those talking of not selling Raila in the region must know that they will also go to the people when the right time comes for the sake of their re-election. Therefore, it is not they who will decide for the Mount Kenya region come 2022. Raila will present himself to voters because he cuts across divisions,” she said.

Critical region

The Mount Kenya bloc has been flipped into a battlefield that could swing the 2022 State House bid of any serious presidential contender amid the raging BBI debate.

With President Kenyatta leaving office come 2022, the region has not fronted any ‘serious’ candidate, unlike in the past, making the region a crucial one for Dr Ruto and his political nemesis, Mr Odinga.

Bearing in mind that the region voted overwhelmingly for Mr Kenyatta and Dr Ruto both in 2013 and 2017, the DP is said to be treading carefully to avoid making a move that can hurt the Central region and his allies, because any split will jeopardise his quest for the country’s top seat.

The eight Mount Kenya counties - Meru, Tharaka Nithi, Embu, Nyandarua, Nyeri, Kirinyaga, Murang’a and Kiambu - have 4.1 million and were the Jubilee Party’’s catalyst to State House, hence the DP’s  intensified campaigns in his bid to succeed Mr Kenyatta.

Other views

Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro defended the Tangatanga association with the DP, saying members respect the head of State and will stick with their alleged power deal.

“In terms of losing grip, that can only be measured if there's competition. For now, the President is retiring and the people of Mt Kenya are behind William Ruto as earlier instructed by the President,” he said.

Nyeri Town MP Ngunjiri Wambugu said President Kenyatta has not told anyone to sell Mr Odinga in the region but noted that every presidential contender is free to access the region to market his agenda.

“Every candidate, including Ruto, will have to come to the people and sell an agenda. Mount Kenya’s people will then decide who they can trust to continue the work started by the President, without manipulation by anyone.

He added, “Who told them to market Ruto in Mount Kenya?” 

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