Raila's office announced he will tour parts of Central province and all the
hell broke loose. It just showed how much some cowardly leaders from Central fear the prime minister although they seem to have changed tact and accepted the inevitable.
Recent opinion polls from Steadman, now called Synovet, show Raila is way ahead of Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta in Mt Kenya region which is his own power base. That has left many political analysts in disbelief but not to the common man from the region. I was in parts of Central over the weekend on a business tour. Whenever I travel, I like talking to the ordinary man to gauge the political mood on the ground. These are some of the reasons I found why man Tinga is zooming ahead of the great son of Jomo and also why Kikuyus are against Uhuru:
1. Uhuru has associated himself with Ruto, the man Kikuyus blame for 2007/8 election violence. The great Nyumba ya Mumbi will not associate themselves with the dubious outfit called KKK alliance created by the minted few that is Uhuru, Ruto and Kalonzo to bring the Kikuyu, Kalenjin and Kamba together. In fact, it sounds more like the dreaded Ku Klux Klan famed for lynching poor black folk in the southern states of the USA.
2. Many Kikuyus feel that it's time for a president from another community to take over. The great 'andu a nyumba' have already produced Kenyatta and Kibaki. And so as not to be seen as selfish, many believe it's time to back another horse- from a different tribe- that will protect their interests!
3. Uhuru is seen by many as not being his own man. Remember he was propped up by Moi and immediately labelled "Uhuru Project" by the media? And now we have Kibaki trying to impose him on Kikuyus yet again! It's time Uhuru cut himself loose from these outdated Wazees and stood in his own shoes.
4. President Kibaki has now become a figure of hate and ridicule in Kenya and more so in his own Central homeland for his failed leadership and rampant corruption in govt. In fact, many of my Kikuyu brothers tell me that Kibaki failed to protect them during the post election violence despite having all the powers to do so. Don't forget the IDPs are still in camps, two years on! Kibaki is also seen by many as having failed yet again to control Mungiki who are reigning supreme in Central causing all manner of brutal deaths and destruction. When Kikuyus reject Uhuru whom the president want to be the boss in Central and possibly Kenya, they are rebelling against Kibaki's poor leadership!
5. Many people felt really hurt when Kibaki opted for Uhuru to be the Deputy PM instead of Martha Karua who single handed defended his controversial re-election while her boss went AWOL. To make things worse, Martha quit the govt because Kibaki was no longer listening to her. This betrayal did not win young Uhuru many friends. If there was any justice, Kibaki would have made Martha the DPM and Uhuru should have declined the offer if indeed he was not selfish.
6. The Land Issue: It's true that the Kenyattas are some of the richest and most powerful family in Africa. Their combined total land mass is said to be larger than Nyanza province. This is despite many poor Kikuyus being landless and peasants who were forced to migrate to the Rift Valley when rich land barons grabbed their land. Many of those who were evicted or conned do blame the Kenyatta family for the mess that resulted in their displacement. Their children have grown up, wised and want sweet revenge. And who better to vent their anger than the son of Jomo?
7. Uhuru is seen by many to be a spoilt rich kid who is completely out of touch with the reality on the ground. He has really never felt the pain of the common man to fully grasp what many people go through while earning under a dollar a day. Many people doubt he can truly feel their pain.
