President Mwai Kibaki this Sunday officially announced his candidature in the upcoming general elections in characteristic style – matter of fact, simple announcement that he is running and that he is running in the new consensus based vehicle, Party of National Unity.
The announcement was to start at three and ten minutes before three, the president arrived at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre in a black Mercedes limousine, with private license plates, the significance of which was appropriate. He should not attend private matters – such as the candidature of the next presidency, with the officialdom of the current presidency.
For some time, the president and his team disappeared into an ante-room at the refurbished plenary hall, where the team was arranged in order to be paraded. At 3.10 or thereabouts, the president walked to the plenary hall, with Moody Awori and Musikari Kombo at his right and left respectively, and the rest of the team, which included incidentally KANU Chairman, Uhuru Kenyatta.
The president then went straight to the podium where in a short speech – barely 800 words, I surmise – he announced that in the spirit of the pursuit of unity, he would run for the next general elections under the ticket of the newly founded Party of National Unity, which he said, comprised of several parties that were thinking alike – KANU, Ford Kenya, Ford People, Shirikisho, Narc Kenya and others. He listed them in that order.
Once he had finished the speech that was interrupted many times by hearty applause and shouts of “Kibaki tena,” a number of the leaders in his team – the significant ones that is, were allowed to say “one or two words.”
In order, Ford People’s Simeon Nyachae, Kanu’s Uhuru Kenyatta, Ford Kenya’s Musikari Kombo, Shirikisho’s Shakombo and Narc Kenya’s Raphael Tuju, stood to reaffirm openly that their parties had agreed to support Kibaki for the next presidency. Minister for Agriculture, Kipruto arap Kirwa also spoke in this line-up, ostensibly to represent the Rift Valley people (regional balancing).
By Four Fifteen, the event rounded up to a close.
And with that, Kibaki has strategically placed himself in the position of winner. It is no secret that the overwhelming majority of Kenyans want him to come back to “finish the job”. It is also no secret that at this point, none of the other candidates has strategically positioned himself (invariably they are all men now), to get the support of all Kenyans, in Kibaki’s stead.
The main problem that was hampering Kibaki all through was the style of elections traditionally held previously. Before, the president was the head of a party or coalition and everyone that followed that coalition had to be issued a ticket – by the party or coalition, certainly not their party of choice, which was swallowed in the process.
What Kibaki and his strategists did, is that they ensured that he is the only individual candidate to run under the coalition vehicle, PNU, and everyone else was free to run under the auspices of their own party. This means that people will vote KANU, ODM, Ford Kenya etc and still vote for the president.
Essentially, this means that the 10th parliament will be an interesting one, to be sure. While Kibaki will have the presidency again, parliament will be a much more independent thinking one, than all nine preceding it, because even while the parties support the president, they are doing so on the understanding that he will represent their interest in the implementation of his duty – such as in Shirikisho’s case, Majimbo (Devolution of government resources).
For the first time, in Kenya’s four and a half decade history, the sitting president will have little control of parliament and he will have to work hard to retain its (parliament’s) support of his initiatives. To take credit for this and to ensure that we shall live in interesting times over the next five year term, I suppose, we have the president and the next leader of the official opposition, The Hon. Raila “Agwambo” Odinga, MP.
You heard it here, first. I’m so excited.
…true to that, the 10th parliament have new faces and i believe better politicians who in the past have lost to “party nominations”, with the forth coming elections, everyone will be on his own and PRESIDENT for us all……..
Would you blame Kibaki for being tribalist?
He had tried to balance govt regionally ACCORDING to qualifications and political support but some of these so called regions have produced leaders who are extremely disoriented when it comes to development priorities but hey….. here we go again voting by Euphoria.
Same guys, same slumberjacks in parliament claiming to have reinvented themselves. Forgotten already that these same guys vote simultaneously for their stomachs. Change my foot………
Beware the devil who sings the sweet songs to woo the lady….
Kibaki has not won and will not win the forthcoming election.I will proceed to bash him.He had the audacity to reappoint the corruption tainted trio of Saitoti,Mwiraria and Kiraitu. NEPAD recently gave him a tongue lashing for not doing much on corruption.This is in itself a great irony,considering the fact that he was elected on an anti-corruption platform.His actions afterward baffled both friend and foe.He was well aware of the Anglo-Leasing scam but never raised a finger even after being presented with evidence by his former anti-corruption czar, John Githongo who since fled into self-exile, fearing for his life.He has failed to tackle the endemic corruption prevalent in Kenya today and in the words of one Zachary Ochieng’,”it makes no sense to establish several anti-corruption bodies and committees whose findings are never made public. It is not lost to observers that these findings are usually withheld mainly because they present damaging evidence against the president’s men. This is one of the reasons the Goldenberg report has not been made public, months after its compilation.”
He has recently jumped into bed with retired president Moi,the very man he “fought” tooth and nail to oust from power.In this instance,he has forsaken all of his principles in a desperate attempt to cling on to power.It is now emerging that he reneged on his promise to be a one term president.
He may go around the country using his development record as a campaign tool,all good but he loses the point here,development is a fundamental right of every citizen,so really,there is nothing new in that.The key arteries leading to Uganda and beyond,namely the Nakuru-Eldoret and Nakuru-Kericho-Kisumu highways but sadly,roads around Nyeri,Murang’a and other “Kibaki friendly” areas are in great shape.If this is development then kudos to the great man.
The economy has grown and Kenya is a “good place” to set up business;that is if you own the business;what about the people in the village? Surely five years into Kibaki’s reign,they should be able to feel the effects of the “economic growth” but they are still grappling with poverty.Prices of basic commodities are soaring through the roof almost on a daily basis;in my neck of the woods,a loaf bread recently hit Ksh 33,a one kilo packet of maize flour fluctuates around the Ksh 60 mark. Transport costs(bus fares) have shot up drastically.My understanding is that with such growth,standards of living should go up too.Just who benefits from this economic growth?
Forget “development” and “economic growth”, Kibaki has made Kenyans a laughing stock in more ways than one.I fully subscribe to the outrage and sense of betrayal that Charity Ngilu,Raila Odinga and millions of Kenyans feel. Kibaki must go. It is the only way to rescue our country from the jaws of misrule.On a personal note,I am fed up of a government that promised so much and delivered so little.My bold prediction,”Kibaki will not win the election.”
Kibaki has not won and will not win the forthcoming election.I will proceed to bash him.He had the audacity to reappoint the corruption tainted trio of Saitoti,Mwiraria and Kiraitu. NEPAD recently gave him a tongue lashing for not doing much on corruption.This is in itself a great irony,considering the fact that he was elected on an anti-corruption platform.His actions afterward baffled both friend and foe.He was well aware of the Anglo-Leasing scam but never raised a finger even after being presented with evidence by his former anti-corruption czar, John Githongo who since fled into self-exile, fearing for his life.He has failed to tackle the endemic corruption prevalent in Kenya today and in the words of one Zachary Ochieng’,”it makes no sense to establish several anti-corruption bodies and committees whose findings are never made public. It is not lost to observers that these findings are usually withheld mainly because they present damaging evidence against the president’s men. This is one of the reasons the Goldenberg report has not been made public, months after its compilation.”
He has recently jumped into bed with retired president Moi,the very man he “fought” tooth and nail to oust from power.In this instance,he has forsaken all of his principles in a desperate attempt to cling on to power.It is now emerging that he reneged on his promise to be a one term president.
He may go around the country using his development record as a campaign tool,all good but he loses the point here,development is a fundamental right of every citizen,so really,there is nothing new in that.The key arteries leading to Uganda and beyond,namely the Nakuru-Eldoret and Nakuru-Kericho-Kisumu highways are in a sorry,neglected state,claiming lives on a daily basis but sadly,roads around Nyeri,Murang’a and other “Kibaki friendly” areas are in great shape.If this is development then kudos to the great man.
The economy has grown and Kenya is a “good place” to set up business;that is if you own the business;what about the people in the village? Surely five years into Kibaki’s reign,they should be able to feel the effects of the “economic growth” but they are still grappling with poverty.Prices of basic commodities are soaring through the roof almost on a daily basis;in my neck of the woods,a loaf bread recently hit Ksh 33,a one kilo packet of maize flour fluctuates around the Ksh 60 mark. Transport costs(bus fares) have shot up drastically.My understanding is that with such growth,standards of living should go up too.Just who benefits from this economic growth?
Forget “development” and “economic growth”, Kibaki has made Kenyans a laughing stock in more ways than one.I fully subscribe to the outrage and sense of betrayal that Charity Ngilu,Raila Odinga and millions of Kenyans feel. Kibaki must go. It is the only way to rescue our country from the jaws of misrule.On a personal note,I am fed up of a government that promised so much and delivered so little.My bold prediction,”Kibaki will not win the election.”
Ati kibaki will win.kibaki is a tribalist and its pathetic that they r making this election a kikuyu vs the rest of kenya affair when the ordinary kikuyu is still suffering like everyone else.kibaki,his golfing buddies and mt.kenya mafia will certainly be leaving state house if elections are free and fair.
My take is simple. One more term run by a Kikuyu government will piss off the rest of the country and there will be more tension. I’m thinking give every tribe a shot at the presidency, till when we are exhausted with the 42 tribes.
Yes it might take years but hey we’ve only garnared some odd 40+ years of indepence in comparison to the 200+ years the western countries have managed (since we love emulating them.)
Then when we are done we can finally get over the tribalistic politics. Wake me up when we finally start voting people who can work over dazzling personalities, issues instead of invocations repeated at rallies!
I say let’s just vote in Raila to shut the Luo up then we’ll start on the next frustrated tribe, and on and on till we are ALL satisfied that we all once ruled!
why are yall complaining kibaki will win kikuyu damu
Kibaki STOLE the election