Jimmy Kibaki and the folly of betting big on political rejects

By Denis Galava

If the boy is the father of the man, then Jimmy Kibaki is not Emilio Mwai.

In ambition and demeanour, father and son are politically incompatible. Where Mwai is reticent, Jimmy is garrulous. And where the old fox is meticulous, the younger one is recklessly clueless.

Since he discovered his political mettle, Jimmy has been gallivanting all over the country with the excitement of a toddler who has realised it’s cool to walk naked.

Today he’s talking about stoking a youth revolution; tomorrow he’s the guardian of the family python. Which is fine, except that you don’t talk national, act domestic and at the same time expect us to toast to your leadership prowess.

We know the young buck wants to be Othaya MP, but he lacks the courage and strategy to be the stud in the lair, so to speak. He wants to be the principal heir to his father at home and nationally, but try as he might, he is still a distant second to his sister Judy on matters strategy.

Jimmy also lacks a mind of his own. The last two times he has come out to defend the family name it has been after his assertive mother, Lucy. And every time there has been a national furore, he has waited for the family angle to jut out to respond.

A man who is dreaming big acts big and keeps enlightening company. Jimmy, the father of Emilio, finds solace in a caucus of has-beens.

He seems to be attracting all manner of riffraff to his camp, the way flies are drawn to the dustbin. His lead strategists are Tony Gachoka, Kiema Kilonzo, Kambi Kazungu, Tom Namwamba, Maureen Ochido and a host of other people whose only claim to fame is lack of clout.

Perhaps his father knew from the start that he was not cut out for the competitive world and that’s why he declined to loan him money to start a business, but that’s another story.

But this is not to say Jimmy is daft or a failure. He’s just on a fool’s trek to prominence, just like the sons of other prominent people before him.

It happened to Uhuru Kenyatta in 1997 when Moi foisted him on Gatundu South people.

The electorate spurned the son of Jomo like the plague. Gideon, the son of Moi, has become more prominent outside Parliament, drumming up support for his party Kanu than when he was Baringo Central MP.

Uhuru took on Kibaki to become his own man, and now Gideon has trained his sights on William Ruto and Uhuru.

For Jimmy to be his own man, he must take on the politicians who call the shots in Mt Kenya region. There’s Uhuru, Martha Karua, and George Saitoti. Can he confront them without shouting mama saidia?

And we are not talking about Mary Wambui yet, the woman who stirs up violent emotions in the Kibakis’ hearts. Unless she relocates to Ol Kalou as whispered or keeps off elective politics, Jimmy has a long wait to become a mheshimiwa.

His father found the staying power in waiting on the wings of his rivals to fight themselves out of the contest. He sat back as Moi and Kenneth Matiba fought it out, and when Matiba was vanquished, he readily gobbled up his support base. When the two-term limit ruled out Moi, he took over the presidency.

But then Kibaki did not ride to the top with a truckload of rejects.

He hung around a meticulous, combative and focused lot that not only boasted of brains, but also the constituency and the financial muscle to help him ride to State House.

His romp to the presidency was planned and executed by the finest politicians of the day—Raila, Wamalwa Kijana, Kalonzo Musyoka, Charity Ngilu, you name them.

The people rooting for Jimmy are neither convincing nor popular beyond their bedrooms. That’s why the more they shout Simama Kenya, the more tempting it becomes to look at their bank balances weekly.

As illustrated by Uhuru and Gideon, politics knows no royalty; you must be ready to fight dirty to get to the top. That is, unless you are Oburu Oginga and you have a younger strategist brother like Raila.

In other words, Jimmy, you don’t need foreplay to get into politics; you are either in or out.

—The writer ([email protected]) is Senior Associate Editor, Weekend Editions