Former Mungiki leader Maina Njenga has thrust himself into the centre of Mt Kenya succession politics by calling for a major meeting on New Year's Eve that he said would be attended by former President Uhuru Kenyatta.
Mr Njenga said the event – which he described as the mother of all political activities since the last general election – would provide leadership for the populous region.
He has held a series of meetings with thousands of youths in the region in the run-up to the meeting. He has also held meetings with some officials of the Kikuyu Council of Elders in preparation.
The escalation of his political activities has since sparked fresh fears that he may be trying to revive the outlawed Mungiki sect.
In an interview on Wednesday, Mr Njenga, who is emerging as one of Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua's main political rivals in the region, said his intention was to rally the region to speak with one voice.
He claimed to be in regular talks with Mr Kenyatta as well as Narc Kenya party leader Martha Karua and Jubilee Secretary-General Jeremiah Kioni to promote the Kamwene Leadership Forum. A Kamwene is a political platform that brings together politicians from the region, especially those in the opposition camp.
“We do not have a political kingpin as we speak after our former President took a back seat. This is the time when our people will decide on their next kingpin. It is the people who will decide who they want to follow,” said Mr Njenga.
He said he met the national chairman of the Kikuyu Council of Elders, Wachira Kiago, on Tuesday and they agreed to hold the New Year's Eve meeting in Nyeri Town at Kabiruini Grounds.
“We are organising the mother of all meetings that will bring together all leaders from the region, including the council of elders. We settled on Nyeri town. We are asking all the council of elders and all leaders interested in the unity of the region to turn up,” he said.
“Uhuru has confirmed he will be there. I speak to him any time because he is my friend and my former president. We talk about the unity of the region,” he added.
In recent weeks, Mr Njenga has held a series of meetings in the region. Earlier this month, he attended a meeting at Ruiru Stadium where he received a hero's welcome. The event was organised by Kikuyu artist Jose Gatutura as part of a talent search.
He later attended the Kikuyu Men's Conference (KMC), which was also attended by Nyeri tycoon Thuo Mathenge in Kimorori, Kenol town.
Top government officials – DP Gachagua and Cabinet Secretary for Internal Affairs Kithure Kindiki – have vowed to crush Mr Njenga "if he attempts to revive the Mungiki movement".
His recent activities have put the man, who has twice unsuccessfully contested the Laikipia senatorial seat, under intense scrutiny by the government and political figures allied to the ruling Kenya Kwanza Alliance.
But he said he was not intimidated by his opponents' plots, including arrests.
He said that a “leadership position is not given; you just take it and move on”, adding that it was wrong for people to continue to refer to him as an ex-Mungiki leader. He said he should be referred to as one of the leaders of the Azimio La Umoja-One Kenya Coalition, adding that he plans to register his political party.
“The Mungiki movement started many years ago when we were young boys. The initial stages of that movement was to bring people together for the sake of supporting each other. But when politics came in, things went bad,” he said.
“Those people are still there, they are not dead. They just changed and became Christians and Muslims. But the skills are still there. Once a soldier, always a soldier. Right now we are coming together because we want people to be together. It is no longer about the youth of Mount Kenya, but from all over the country. Every youth across the country has the same problem,” he said in response to Mr Gachagua's claims of a plot to revive the sect.
