Raila on Mt Kenya charm offensive

By MWANGI MUIRURI    And KENNEDY KIMANTHI

ODM leader Raila Odinga’s quiet visit to Murang’a where he sought to unravel damaging political narratives in a region where his votes have averaged three per cent in his previous four presidential runs was heavy with symbolism.

Mr Odinga’s visit to Kangari market on Wednesday was his only publicised event to monitor collection of signatures for the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) constitutional review since they launched the exercise with President Uhuru Kenyatta a week ago.

Murang’a is perceived to be the bastion of Deputy President William Ruto’s campaign to wrestle control of Mt Kenya from President Kenyatta, with two firebrand MPs — Ndindi Nyoro (Kiharu) and Alice Wahome (Kandara) — who support him, coming from the county.

The county witnessed the recent bloody political violence in October when two people were killed in a chaotic church event attended by Dr Ruto, which the DP’s camp blamed on ‘deep state’ operatives seeking to scuttle his visits to the region.

By prioritising Central, a region perceived to be hostile to the BBI constitutional change crusade, as his first and only stop for signature collection, and on the back of reported postponement of his anticipated reciprocal visit to Nyeri since the tour by Kikuyu council of elders to his rural Bondo home in what was projected as beginning of Kikuyu-Luo rapprochement, Mr Odinga was apparently sending a political signal.

And his choice of speech on Wednesday, heavy with historical political anecdotes to debunk the myth his presidency would harm Mt Kenya, was a pointer that going into the 2022 elections, Mr Odinga is keen to reverse the trend that has seen him begin the presidential campaign at a disadvantage in a region that has proved a hard nut to crack for him.

Mr Odinga has failed to make inroads in the populous Mt Kenya in four unsuccessful presidential bids in 1997, 2007, 2013 and 2017 due to scarecrow tactics his opponents have effectively deployed against him.

Rivals have exploited the suspicions that have persisted between the two communities since the frosty relationship at independence between President Jomo Kenyatta and his first Vice-President, Mr Oginga Odinga, a conflict sustained by bitter rivalry between their two sons until March 2018 when Mr Odinga and the president reached a truce.

During Wednesday’s visit, Mr Odinga, who was accompanied by Kigumo MP Wangari Mwaniki and his pointman in the region, Mr Kamau Mweha, was warmly received by the locals. The absence of his key ally from the region, Peter Kenneth, who is speculated could be his running mate in 2022, was notable.

The ODM leader said his family has since 1952 fought from the same political terraces with Mt Kenya region where for example, his father the late Jaramogi was instrumental in helping Mzee Kenyatta become the founding father of the nation.

“Every other time my community comes together to unite with Mt Kenya region there emerges all sorts of propaganda to break the friendship and the walk towards shared goals…That is how mistrust crept in the relationship of Jaramogi and Kenyatta,” he explained. Mr Odinga reminded the region that in 1992 and 1997 he was on the side of Mt Kenya region “where our shared political target was to kick (then President) Daniel Moi out of power and where we failed since we approached the issue in a disjointed version.”

Yesterday, Mr Odinga’s charm offensive intensified the feud between the Tangatanga faction allied to the DP and the Kieleweke camp that supports the handshake.

The president’s allies, Gatanga MP Nduati Ngugi and nominated MP Maina Kamanda, said the scare tactics rivals have used to sow fear in Mt Kenya’s electorate won’t work in 2022.

But DP Ruto’s ally Ndindi Nyoro dismissed Mr Odinga as a political conman whose only agenda is to trick the region to support him and thereafter “annihilate them.”