Uhuru allies trash talk of Peter Kenneth as next Mt Kenya kingpin
Mr Peter Kenneth addresses mourners during the burial service of Cabinet Secretary Raphael Tuju’s brother Kefa Oduor Tuju in Rarieda on December 5, 2018. PHOTO | FILE | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- Mr Irungu Kang’ata insisted that it was not only unfair but also premature to engage in succession politics while the President was still in office.
Ms Wa Maua said that, much as Mt Kenya should be organised politically, it was premature to start behaving as there was a leadership vacuum in the region.
Allies of President Uhuru Kenyatta on Saturday tore into what they termed premature campaigns by former Gatanga Member of Parliament Peter Kenneth and asked him to stop scheming to succeed the Head of State as the Mt Kenya kingpin.
They also trashed suggestions that Mr Kenneth has been chosen to be a possible presidential contender in 2022 with President Kenyatta’s blessings.
Senator Irungu Kang’ata, Maragua MP Mary wa Maua and her Kigumo counterpart Wangari Mwaniki who oscilate around the Kieleweke wing of the Jubilee Party that is opposed to Deputy President William Ruto accused some of their colleagues of engaging in premature politics.
SUCCESSION POLITICS
In Saturday’s meeting in Murang’a, Mr Kang’ata – the Senate majority chief whip – insisted that it was not only unfair but also premature to engage in succession politics while the President was still in office.
He maintained that it was not the time for such plans as all leaders ought to be behind the President supporting him to achieve his many unfulfilled promises to the people.
He said leaders meeting for lunch or breakfast were a good thing as long as they remembered that one never goes about scheming to inherit the father when he is still alive.
Ms Wa Maua said that, much as Mt Kenya should be organised politically, it was premature to start behaving as there was a leadership vacuum in the region.
She said President Kenyatta has made it very clear that he is only interested in achieving his development agenda and forging a united nation. She said “those leaders who are purporting to be the most qualified to plant spokesmen in our midst should use that energy to improve the quality of life for the people and help the President achieve his goals on important projects such as the Building Bridges Initiative and the Big Four agenda.”
PREMATURE AMBITIONS
She said the region risks disintegrating if premature ambitions were not shelved and leaders learnt to first consult and get consensus before going public with such weighty declarations.
Ms Wa Maua said Uhuru Kenyatta is still the region’s kingpin and warned leaders meeting in hotels in Nairobi to wait for the elections.
She said they should instead give recommendations on how to revive stalled projects, complete new ones and revive the agricultural sector. Education Chief Administrative Secretary Zack Kinuthia has been fronting Mr Kenneth as the most ideal leader to partner with President Kenyatta in charting the future of the region.
Mr Kinuthia’s ally in the campaign is Gatanga MP Nduati Ngugi, who said Mr Kenneth, as his constituent, is a tested and proven national leader who can help the President achieve both political and economic legacy within the remaining two years of his tenure.
The two leaders have urged the President to appoint Mr Kenneth into the Cabinet in the expected reshuffle that is aimed at accommodating Mr Kenyatta’s new-found allies.
Jubilee Party has entered into a working partnership with Orange Democratic Movement leader Raila Odinga, Wiper’s Kalonzo Musyoka, Kanu’s Gideon Moi and Chama Cha Mashionani’s Isaac Ruto.
Recently, some Mt Kenya governors and cabinet secretaries met at the Panafric Hotel in Nairobi where tellingly, Mr Kenneth was an invited guest, a political happening that has kicked up a storm within the region.
