Jimmy will pay for Kibaki’s sins

Nothing has angered the Kikuyus more than the news that Jimmy Kibaki is interested in succeeding his father as the MP for Othaya. They see the move as an attempt to create a dynastic pyramid that will see the few privileged families always occupying the top position in political leadership of Central Province and other areas dominated by Kikuyu settlement.

Apart from anything else, the announcement by Jimmy Kibaki that he plans to mobilize the youth to take over the leadership of Kenya after his father’s departure, has opened very sore wounds among the Kikuyus - wounds that were caused by Mwai Kibaki's misrule of Kenya. Paradoxically it is the very youth among the Kikuyus who have suffered most under Kibaki’s administration. Literally hundreds of them have died as the wars between the haves and the have-nots continue to escalate in Kikuyu homeland including the President’s own Nyeri District.

The Kikuyu fury against Mwai Kibaki is caused by a number of things. First there is the disappointment by both the rich and poor caused by the total failure of the Kibaki administration to bring about any meaningful economic development to them. The tycoons supported Kibaki’s reelection in 2007 hoping for greener pastures in economic preferential treatment by the Government. They hoped to get all the lucrative Government tenders and other top job opportunities in the public service under President Mwai Kibaki. 

Unfortunately the crucial position occupied by Prime Minister Raila Odinga, coupled by the amount of noise he makes every time he feels marginalized by Kibaki’ strongmen in the Government, has not made the plan to use Kibaki’s rule as a gold mine for the Kikuyu rich, work successfully. Yet the President has refused to use his powers to come to their aid. Talking to them about the possibility of Jimmy Kibaki getting any political office after his father’s departure is like piercing their hearts with a poisoned arrow. 

Then there is the neglected Kikuyu IDPs. There are thousands of them still living in tents following the 2007 election clashes. These people blame Mwai Kibaki directly for their miseries as they lost their homes, farms and other properties for supporting him in the last elections. No sooner did the PNU leader get into State House, however, than he totally forgot his supporters in the Rift Valley. There is no one among the IDPs who wants to hear Kibaki’s name mentioned to them in any conversation. Telling them of a possibility of Jimmy Kibaki taking over from his father in any way, shape or form, makes them wish the polling day came faster than 2012 so that they could register their anti-Kibaki sentiments by voting against his son or anyone else associated with him.     

The ordinary Kikuyu’s dislike for the Kibaki’s administration is first based on the fact that the Government seems to be doing absolutely nothing when the entire community is terrorized by the Mungiki gangsters who have virtually established a government of their own among them. They collect tax illegally from matatu owners and other Kikuyu business enterprises under the very nose of the impotent Government. And instead of using legitimate security means to end the Mungiki terrorism, the Government has established yet another terror gang known as the “Kenda Kenda” vigilante, which has set up kangaroo courts that pass death sentences on innocent people. 

The name Kenda Kenda or Nine Nine is what the police is referred to in the Kikuyu rural areas. And sure enough, whatever crimes are committed by the Kenda Kenda, the police don’t want to hear about. Indeed they are known to escort the Kenda Kenda groups as they slaughter suspected Mungikis. 

The matter was brought to Parliament by Martha Karua who had names of people hanged by the Kenda Kenda terror group. All in all the Kikuyu wananchi feel they have been caught between the devil and the deep blue sea as the Mungiki and Kenda Kenda slaughter each other in the most bloody panga attacks seen in recent times, which have left scores of innocent young people dead. The ordinary Kikuyus see the Kibaki administration as no different from the colonial regime that killed hundreds of them as it fought the Mau Mau rebellion. Asking the Kikuyu wananchi to elect Jimmy Kibaki today is like asking the Kikuyu’s of the Mau Mau era to vote for the tyrannical colonial masters. That is next to impossible. 

Of late Jimmy Kibaki has shared political platform with Uhuru Kenyatta in which a very conspicuous game of flattery, deceit and treachery was played by the two sons of Kikuyu political giants. Jimmy was trying to use Uhuru’s popularity with Mungiki to at least get elected in Uthaya when his father steps down in 2012; and Uhuru Kenyatta was simply trying to please his boss Kibaki who has given him two important jobs as the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for finance . By attending Jimmy’s meeting Uhuru was only protecting his jobs but he had no intention what so ever of forming any political alliance with Mama Lucy’s son. 

Uhuru would hate to repeat the mistake he made when he lost his parliamentary seat in 1997 because he backed an unpopular Kanu at that time. This time he would not be caught by his supporters trying to salvage Kibaki by backing his son. In any case, Uhuru has his own plan for 2012 when he hopes to join forces with Kalonzo Musyoka to remove Agwambo from power. The plan of establishing a Kikuyu-Kamba alliance at that time will be a force to reckon with and Raila himself is aware of that fact, hence the protracted enmity and war against Kalonzo. 

In 2012 Kalonzo is likely to get the backing of not only Uhuru Kenyatta but also that of Kiraitu Murungi. Their hope is to get the support of the Miji Kenda people of the Coast who are extremely disappointed with Raila Odinga whom they backed in 2007 only to end up even more poverty stricken than before the elections. And to make matters worse, their land is still owned by rich people from Bara including Raila himself. Besides the Miji Kenda the Kalonzo-Uhuru pact is also hoping to get the support of the Kisii people who have never fully accepted Raila’s leadership. The political misunderstanding between the Prime Minister and Agriculture Minister William Ruto is another good hope for the Kalonzo-Uhuru scheme. But the Kalenjins cannot be trusted by anyone as they have their own plan to only back the winning horse at the very last moment and in their own terms.Right now their main concern is to make sure the Rift Valley is not divided by anyone. 

In all these game-planning schemes Jimmy Kibaki does not feature anywhere and in fact not a single serious politician would like to be associated with him. Martha Karua, who is another force to recon with in Central Province, would not touch Jimmy with a barge pole. She has her own plans of becoming the first female Prime Minister under President Raila Odinga. There is not a single political scenario which accommodates Jimmy Kibaki in the 2012 elections. In fact he will be extremely lucky to win the Othaya seat vacated by his father. May be he will be paying for Kibaki’s sins.