Peter Kenneth: Candidate of death (Part 1)

Peter Kenneth, the Mt. Kenya presumptive candidate for Jubilee Party in 2022, is starting on a well trodden path, having watched President Uhuru successfully retreat to his ethnic cocoon and rise to the top, albeit with so much ethnic loyalty (Kalenjin) buying which nearly bankrupted the Kenyatta family, according to insiders.

Unknown to many people, it is the corruption scandals that ‘stabilized’ the Kenyatta family after the 2013 polls that has led to the current spate of scandals.

Inside government, people know President Uhuru has no “moral authority” to stem corruption; having partook of it in numerous multi-billion shilling tender deals particularly in the infrastructure, security and health sectors. But this is for another day. 

Kenneth is what can be referred to as the “candidate of death”, because there is no way the Mt. Kenya bloc will vote for him to the last man without massive bloodshed from the Rift Valley, where, as we’ve been hearing from a number of Kalenjin politicians, short-changing current Deputy President is tantamount to betrayal.

“We are telling them that dawa ya deni ni kulipa. In 2022, they have to vote for Ruto,” Uasin Gishu Governor Jackson Mandago said, with no equivocation.

“We even know at night where they meet to plan games against Ruto and we will soon name those involved,” he added.

The former Gatanga MP announced his endorsement of President Uhuru’s re-election; his reason being that the president has “held the country together” and should be supported.

Despite being the most ridiculous reason, Kenneth, who just four months ago blasted Uhuru regime of patronising multi-billion shilling corruption scandal after scandal, did not see the irony of endorsing Uhuru at a time Kenyans worry more about corruption than “unity”.

Unity is smokescreen, for at no point under Uhuru regime has ‘unity’ become the gravest concern for ordinary Kenyans. In their daily lives, Kenyans are ever united, neighbours helping neighbours, regions pooling resources together in new economic blocs.

In short, Peter Kenneth’s unity bogey is  empty. He is a liar and a closet tribalist. Kenneth’s endorsement of Uhuru is bereft of any logic, if not posturing for the Kikuyu tribal vote. The same vote DP Ruto is banking on.

For Kenneth, the 2022 race, which is obviously his endgame, is more of Mt. Kenya trying to make itself relevant in a future that’s increasingly appearing bleaker and undefined than at no other time in history.

DP Ruto has never been the candidate for Mt. Kenya. Forget the opportunistic politicians praising him after every “envelop”. The miracle, however, is; how do they do away with him in the ala Kalonzo manner?

Fact is, Mwai Kibaki reneged on his MoU with Raila Odinga and Mr. Odinga moved on to fight another day, and has always avoided playing the “victim card” so that by the time 2007 elections were being held, it was like the two had never been in any political arrangement.

In other words, there was no expectation of reciprocity.

If the relationship between Kibaki and Raila throughout their marriage was ever antagonistic, Ruto has for his time under President Uhuru attempted to create a fraternal camaraderie, sometimes to the point of appearing ridiculous.

The Luo, who were cheated by Kibaki in the post-NARC era, never banked on future support of the Kikuyu, like is the case now with Kalenjins. And the Luo, unlike the Kalenjins, never faked any friendship with the Kikuyu. The Luo were always aware Mt. Kenya would not respect and keep any deal; which provided a level of acceptability for the final eventuality. The deal was not kept.

This is not the case now and is exactly why Kenneth’s candidature, announced on the same ethnic terms as Uhuru did but laced in “development-minded” rhetoric, is not a walk in the park. Because, now, the park is infested by Kalenjin wolves.

Kalenjins expect the Kikuyu to support William Ruto to the last man. For this to happen, Peter Kenneth must completely be out of the equation.

Kikuyus don’t trust DP Ruto and don’t want him to be the face of President Uhuru’s re-election; that’s why Mt. Kenya “think tanks” are desperate to rope in anyone consequential in the larger scheme of things who can quote an acceptable buying prize.

Jubilee Party, therefore, struggles between giving itself a political identity with DP Ruto in the periphery (which isn’t working) and reviving the usual Mt. Kenya “plan B” political vehicles.

It shouldn’t surprise you that PNU has conveniently “de-linked” itself from Jubilee. Same to DP. And in Kisii, Peter Kenneth’s KNC made a mini statement, meaning if Jubilee becomes unsellable in some regions, Kenneth’s party can be used for the bidding, including dividing “opposition” votes.

For now, how to put the “candidate of death” as the prime mover of Uhuru re-election remains the miracle.

Part 2: Peter Kenneth’s Corrupt Past and How it Shall be Sanitised (don’t miss).  Kenya Today is serializing tectonic political developments as they happen ahead of the 2017 polls.

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