For many decades, Mt. Kenya region has been a colossal, integral presidential dream’s builder or destroyer during the past general elections.
The region has reliably majorly contributed to seeing former president H.E. Mwai Kibaki and the/outgoing H.E. Uhuru Kenyatta each enjoy the constitutional presidency term limit of 2 terms.
The region wholly submits to the pro-divine voice of Kiama kia Ma council of elders in the spirit of keeping uthamaki (Kenyan presidency) in the hands of the powerful community.
Held by the fear of a rumoured “ancient prophecy prophesying many years of enjoying presidential cold after the presidency slips out of the community’s grip,” the region has unanimously mustered in politically in compliance with the Gikuyu proverb, “Kamuingi koyaga ndiri” translating to “Unity is power,” and “Ngarî îhîtagwo nî mûndû na mûthoni we,” (For a leopard attacking family herds to be hunted down and killed, in laws have to join forces).
And the “leopard” that has been unanimously hunted down and killed under the auspicious voter colossus of Mt. Kenya region for the past 3 general elections is none other than Hon Raila Odinga!
What irony that the same person that muthamaki Uhuru Kenyatta has been branding the leopard out to finish the Mountain’s flock turned out to be the shepherd he wants to progress his legacy and protect his community’s interests!
In 2013, when president (muthamaki) Uhuru Kenyatta joined with his deputy Dr. Ruto to hunt the leopard (Raila), he publicly promised to leave the presidency to his deputy after his two terms are over.
Not until the later part of his 2nd term when he started portraying his apprentice shepherd Dr. Ruto as the real leopard in sheepskin and Raila as the true shepherd mistaken for the leopard!
Being accused of masterminding corruption, Dr. Ruto was technically degraded into the opposition leader in the same government he is part of and humiliated by being stripped off his constitutional responsibilities to be done by majorly the Ministry of Interior Security cabinet secretary. Hilariously, Raila Odinga, the opposition-leader-turned-government-ally began enjoying the oftwhiles welcomingness of the State House.
Most stupefyingly, most of Dr. Ruto’s allies (nicknamed Tangatanga) were hunted down for corruption in the fight against corruption while those pro Uhu-Raila Handshake’s side (alias Kieleweke faction) remained sanitized as political saints protected from the one-direction-driving saw of anti corruption under the warm wings of the Handshake-cum-Azimio!
And now the shepherd’s sheep are confused; between the tussle of believing Muthamaki’s former or latter-day word.
With the Azimio platoons resurrecting the horrendously haunting ghosts of 2007 PEV especially about the Kiambaa church massacre in the Rift against Kikuyus, the Raila presidency allied politicians have a far out objective.
They are aiming at opening and salting healed wounds to make the Kikuyus abhor the Hustler tune as singing the region’s dirge in the battlefield and to vive the Azimio’s Baba the 5th praise song as the legitimate war song the Mt. Kenya region should drum up in the war against immanent bad leadership and corruption projected to be orchestrated by a Dr. Ruto’s UDA regime.
They refer to a sin that was mediated, forgiven and evened out between the Kalenjins (Dr. Ruto’s community) and Kikuyus (Uhuru’s community) and culminated into the making of the ruling Jubilee party by the agreement of the Kalenjins to back up Uhuru for two terms in condition that the Kikuyus will seal the deal by supporting Dr. Ruto’s presidency from 2022-2032.
Well, with the practicality of a mammoth “Sipangwingwi” young population not registered as voters; the guilt of the middle aged and elderly reliable female voter population being catalyzed by UDA platoons; the guilt and fear of handing out presidency to either Raila or Ruto; the factor of the Kenyatta family and other “Dynasty” tycoon families progressing the Azimio agenda being taken as disguised tricksters out to fend for themselves at the expense of the majority poor;
With the factor of considerable voter population declining to line up for voting only to be flabbergasted as usual; the factor of Dr. Ruto being feared to progress corruption and tribalism against Mt. Kenya region; The immanent fear of Luo tenants taking advantage of a Raila presidency and making a reality of the 2017 threat of refusing to pay rent to Kikuyu landlords; the fear of post election violence against Kikuyus and ethnic wars may they refuse to hand over presidency to other tribes;
2022 general elections Mt. Kenya region political arithmetics become a complexity for political analysts and campaign strategists for presidential teams to sum up the best formula for gaining the Mt. Kenya voting block support into their respective voting ballots.
But it’s an open secret that voter turnout may reduce significantly, Mt. Kenya will not produce the next president; Raila will get more votes than previous elections and perhaps the most, Ruto remains an almost indispensable Mt. Kenya voters darling and that most of the potential, ignorant young voter population will not turn up unless miraculously.
After all, said and done, it’s an unmistakable truth that the next president will not rule from the mountain.
So, who will clad the Mt. Kenya region’s voters bridal shower between Hon Raila or Dr. Ruto and how will they vote if at all they’ve lifted the veil off their heads?
Will the said Gikuyu ancient prophecy prove a truth or a Mt. Kenya king maker’s manipulative fable to remain the quintessential Kenyan politburo and politico-commercial stewards now to be discarded for the politburo’s place to stand indestructibly the dynamic sandstorms of time and political happenstance?
Will Mt. Kenya region be politically reunited next general election or will August throw the region into perennial political ramshackles and really make the Kenyatta’s legacy in the community more villainous than heroic?
Gitau wa Kung’u is 3rd year English/Literature student at Moi University.
Dennis Dibondo