ODM leader Raila Odinga has big promises for the estimated eight million voters in the Mt Kenya region.
With the bible in his hand and kneeling down, Mr Odinga Sunday read Jeremiah 29:11 to a church congregation in Murang’a: “For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future…”
If elected president in next year’s elections, the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) leader said he would improve the plight of Mt Kenya farmers by prioritising value addition to improve on earnings from their harvests. He would also seek to diffuse the “ticking youth time bomb” by setting up income generating projects for the unemployed youngsters.
Raila Odinga speaks to Murang'a residents
Mr Odinga has several times attempted but failed to win over the hearts of Mt Kenya voters, winning only a handful of votes from the region in his failed past presidential bids.
But having reached a working agreement with his erstwhile political rival-turned-ally, President Uhuru Kenyatta, the former Prime Minister is once again wooing the vote-rich to boost his chances of clinching the top seat in next year’s polls.
“How good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity… it is like precious oil poured on the head, running down on the beard…” Mr Odinga read from the book of Psalms 133, saying it was the same unity he was fostering with President Kenyatta through the 2018 handshake that birthed the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI).
He declared that he is “open to dialogue in defining the best contest partnership with region,” igniting speculation that he is considering picking a running mate from the area.
If he succeeds in his quest to become president, Mr Odinga said he will ensure that the area youth are cushioned against economic exclusion that has disillusioned them, and pushed many into delinquency and substance abuse.
At the Bible Fellowship Church in Kigumo Constituency, the clergy prayed for Mr Odinga, who knelt down for two minutes, wishing him blessings as he commences his campaigns in the Central Kenya region.
His long-time political ally, industrialist Samuel Kamau (SK) Macharia, however, warned him that the mountain region ground is still very rocky for him, in reference to his perceived low popularity among the voters.
“Do not feed him (Odinga) with a lie that the ground is all that good… I own media houses that inform me on timely positions on the ground. If the vote was to be called today, those in Mt Kenya who have been demeaning and belittling you, who even include our president, would take it…If you have to win, you have to move with speed to reverse that reality,” he told him.
Mr Odinga said he was aware of the situation, and that is why he was seeking God’s blessings and launching his campaigns in Murang’a, which he termed as the cradle of the Agikuyu community.
You must work hard for Mt Kenya votes, SK Macharia tells Raila
He added that he will also campaign on his past development agenda for the area, asserting that he is the author of the roads being built in central Kenya during his time as a Cabinet minister for Infrastructure.
Kigumo MP Wangari Mwaniki hosted the ODM leader, who was joined by Ndaragwa MP Jeremiah Kioni, nominated MP Maina Kamanda, Suna East MP Junet Mohamed, Nairobi Woman Rep Esther Passaris, Dagoretti North’s Simba Arati, Kasipul Kabondo’s Eve Obala. The host County Assembly members Charles Kahoro, Moses Murigi (Gaichanjiru and Passy Njeri (Kandara) declared themselves part of Mr Odinga’s 2022 presidential bid.
As Mr Odinga spoke in Murang’a, his political ally, presidential hopeful and ODM benefactor Jimmy Wanjigi, made an uncharacteristic declaration that the ODM leader’s time to govern the country was “up”.
Speaking at the St Peters ACK Church in Nyeri, Mr Wanjigi said it was time for young people to lead from the front and take over power.
"The challenges we are facing as a country need people with a different world view," he said, and urged young people to come out and challenge the old guard that have clung on power for decades.
He added that some of them have been in power for more than 30 years and cannot offer solutions to problems ailing the country.
"They are the root cause of the social and economic ills that Kenyans are grappling with now," he said, citing unemployment and economic recession.
At the Murang’a meeting, those absent with apologies included Transport CS James Macharia, Mathioya MP Peter Kimari, Gatanga’s Nduati Ngugi and former Gatanga MP Peter Kenneth.
Ms Mwaniki said “the president has directed us to remain steadfast behind Mr Odinga’s 2022 bid “and come the voting day, we will reward your record, which is written in golden letters for development and fighting for the democratic gains of this country,” adding that “Mr Odinga has the best experience our president is banking on”.
Mr Kamanda reminded the congregation that in 1992 he managed to sell Democratic Party’s presidential candidate Mwai Kibaki in Murang’a which was dominantly a Kenneth Matiba zone “and that is exactly where we are heading to and we will have Mr Odinga’s presidential bid prevail”.
Mr Odinga’s lieutenants in the entourage took wide-ranging swipes at Deputy President William Ruto, the presumed top presidential rival in next year’s polls, whom the ODM leader accused of behaving like a mother who abandons her child (Jubilee government) on the excuse that the husband has extended friendship to other families in the village.
“I shook hands with the President when Dr Ruto was Deputy President. He started saying that the President was now supporting me politically. He ran away and launched a war against the Jubilee government saying it was not his product. If that is not hypocrisy, then I don’t know what it is,” he said.
Mr Mohamed accused DP Ruto of being an enemy of Mt Kenya region, by opposing BBI which sought to guarantee people in the region equal representation, justice in resource allocation, gender parity and peace for their enterprises.
“Ruto does not even respect the president. He sits looking every bit amused when his loyalists insult the president in public rallies. He sits without restraining them, enjoying the insults as if it were music,” he said.
He said the Mr Odinga candidacy in Mt Kenya will make it a duty to explain to area people DP Ruto’s deceit and bad intentions for their interests as captured in his opposition for the one-man-one-shilling revenue share formula as well as rejecting BBI.
Mr Kamanda accused some clergy in the country of feeding their brethren with lies in exchange for bribes from DP Ruto, saying when the critical moment of voting comes, “they will be surprised since we have a habit of turning full circle degrees against where our interests are not catered for”.
He said the president is bringing together a team of loyalists to block the lie that DP Ruto is spreading in Mt Kenya.
Ms Passaris said “we will not accept to be mobilised to reject one of our own (President Kenyatta) in support of a stranger (DP Ruto).” She said Mt Kenya is determined to follow President Kenyatta’s preferred successor, who is Mr Odinga.
Kioni speakns about Uhuru, Raila handshake
Mr Kioni described the deputy president’s forays in the region as “scaring”, claiming his real intention is to use the community to ascend to power just for the sake of it with no tangible evidence that he will reward it for the worth of its votes.
He said the best succession route for Mt Kenya is that which trusts the President to chart with Mr Odinga since the community will have a guaranteed negotiated pact that will safeguard the area’s economic, social and political development.
Mr Arati accused DP Ruto and his lieutenants of behaving in a way that makes post-election peace a condition.
“They are forever telling us to cease joking around with fire. What fire? What are they planning? President Kenyatta and Mr Odinga have given us a guarantee that peace and prosperity are not negotiable going forward. The Handshake politics is our best bet into the future and that is why DP Ruto must be defeated,” he said.
