By Mwangi Muthee ………………………………………………
The defunct Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) was geared towards creating a united country, as President Uhuru Kenyatta told Kenyans. Of course, there is another school of thought that alleges an attempt to create positions for politicians but I am strongly persuaded to side with President Kenyatta that he may have viewed the additional executive slots of Prime Minister and two deputy premiers as a way of accommodating more communities to the top leadership thus reducing bickering, and therefore fostering unity in a divided country. On the other hand, a conniving and cunning Raila Odinga may have viewed the new slots as a way to accommodate more bigwigs into his leadership and campaign matrix hence making it easy for him to win the 2022 contest.
We have since learnt that President Uhuru’s plan all along has been to retire with Raila Odinga from politics, as it was revealed by National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi, a close confidant of the President, and a man who is not known for blabber and babble.
With BBI dead, the election itself avails a GOLDEN chance for President Kenyatta to strike once, strike hard, and give Kenyans a united country.
And that is by supporting a man called Wycliffe Musalia Mudavadi, a man who is easily acceptable by everybody everywhere across this republic.
In the Rift Valley, a Gideon Moi who hates William Ruto and must fake friendship with Raila Odinga as a counterbalance to Ruto does not have to fake affection for Musalia Mudavadi. He easily gets along with the man.
From the land of the only long distance traders the country has, the Akamba, the Supremo of the land of “nesa” Hon. Stephen Kalonzo Musyoka gets along with Musalia with neither forcing nor faking. Musyoka sees in Musalia a man who not only holds him in high esteem, but also endeavours to keep his word. It won’t be surprising if Kalonzo Musyoka readily accepts to deputize Musalia or occupy some pole position in a Musalia-led administration. Musyoka has already stated that he’d be the most stupid politician if he supports Raila for the presidency of this country. That is a tough and solid position that he is not going to revise.
Mt. Kenya people have always expressed their extreme comfort with Musalia. History reminds us of how Musalia was the fallback guy had Uhuru and Ruto ended up as guests of the International Criminal Court (ICC) following their post-election violence-related cases. In Musalia Mt. Kenya residents see a man who mirrors former President Mwai Kibaki in numerous ways. He understands the economy, he is neither confrontational nor anarchic, he is not out to settle scores, and has a thorough knowledge of statecraft to steer this country forward without sinking in a payless sea of blood.
Other groups have fond views of Musalia. He is easily embraced in Kisii by elders who view him as one of their own. A story is told of Kisiis who went to teach Luhyas how to farm and they remained there, ending up with the name “Abaragori,” who the Kisiis think are the modern-day Maragolis. Musalia Mudavadi is from the Maragoli subtribe of the Luhya Nation. The entire Rift Valley will be extremely comfortable with a Musalia Presidency as opposed to the intense discomfort, hate, bitterness, and anguish that will arise out of a Raila presidency.
In Raila’s Luo-Nyanza, Luhyas are “mashemeji,” meaning that they will be celebrating a Musalia win as hard as a Raila win. Well, almost. But even a below-average thinker knows that Luos will be seething with anger and disgust if Ruto wins the 2022 contest.
In simple terms, there is no place in Kenya where anyone will be angry over a Musalia presidency.
History is very mean with opportunities and the few lucky ones who get them have an obligation to utilize them accordingly. President Uhuru Kenyatta is lucky to have a candidate such as Musalia Mmudavadi who can carry the torch of unity and actualize it, which will be a fulfillment of Kenyatta’s own dream. Historians will remember him fondly for knowing the midwife to deliver baby “Unity,” who will also be gladly called “Peace.”
So what next?
President Uhuru Kenyatta must stop making use of the same clueless advisors and operatives who took BBI into the sewer. He has to seek opinions from a diverse team and utilize the counsel of true statesmen, men who understand the history of this country, the temperament of the top contenders, and their suitability in preserving the life of the Republic. Most importantly, he must learn from the actions of his political godfather, the late President, Daniel Toroitich arap Moi. Moi knew of a possible Mwai Kibaki win and felt comfortable enough to facilitate it for the sake of a country he loved. He had Raila who had joined KANU, but he was wise enough to know that he was not presidential material. He was right, methinks. He overlooked the late Saitoti who had served as Vice President for decades.
His choice of Uhuru was rooted more in the idea that this was a fresh face with no baggage and no bones to pick with anybody than anything else. Kenyatta also enjoyed the luxury of an iconic name that required no introduction to the country’s political scene. But he also empowered Kibaki financially and made sure that Charity Ngilu and Michael Kijana Wamalwa would support him, and that he had the resources to buy in the Raila team. What some Kenyans do not know is that the “Kibaki Tosha” clarion call came with a fat wallet valued in the hundreds of millions. Ask yourself who gave Kibaki the money that ended up in Raila’s bank account.
But Moi played the game like the master he was, knowing that either A or B, Kenya would remain intact. Of course, it did until Raila found his way to the ballot against Kibaki in 2007, and we all cried.
The beauty of settling on Musalia is that he is not someone to build from the ground up. He has relatively high name recognition, he is immensely likable, he has limited baggage if any, he has existing operational centres that can quickly become Presidential Campaign Offices, and he is not a poor man.
But most importantly, he will be accepted very quickly and by almost everybody.
If President Uhuru loves this country and truly wants it united after he exits office in August 2022, he does not have to fly to Nigeria to consult a witch doctor or listen to confused politicians such as Maina Kamanda. He just needs to sit down with a few people, listen to their opinions of Musalia, make a decision, and speak it out there like the statesman he is. He does not have to ask Raila or Ruto to back out of the race. He just has to tell Kenyans that for the sake of unity and prosperity, the man to rally behind is Musalia.
Alternatively, he can direct resources towards the Musalia for President Effort. He can also advise his Mt. Kenya groundsmen to start warming up to Musalia in a bigger and more serious way.
The Martha Karua, Justin Muturi, William Kabogo, and Mwangi Kiunjuri delegation was a good start.
The notion that a certain politician must be appeased or a perceived long-running grudge cleaned up must not be placed ahead of the life of the nation.
Kenya is too important to be traded off for the raffled ego of one man or one family.
Mr. President, make it happen.
Musalia must also stand advised that he has a duty to go out there and demonstrate seriousness….as a man deserving of the presidency. It is calling. He must answer the call.
Musalia Mudavadi, make it easy for President Uhuru to endorse you. Go out there and do more. Get those rallies going. Get those polls out there. Get those bloggers working. Get your merchandise out there….and continue acting presidential….ask this question more often: In whose hands are you safe?”
I am sure even Ruto and Raila supporters know that they are safest in Musalia’s hands.
By Mwangi Muthee,
for the Centre for African Progress (CAP)
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily capture the position of the Centre for African Progress (CAP).