Four-horse race: Your work made easier as IEBC bars 53 hopefuls

Only four of an initial 57 candidates have been cleared to battle it out for the top seat. [Checkpoint, Standard]

The clearance by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) of four candidates for the August 9 presidential race marked the end of a lengthy preliminary winnowing process to identify President Uhuru Kenyatta’s successor.

Out of an initial 57 candidates that sought to take up the presidential baton, only four got the nod from the electoral agency, setting the stage for a gruelling race – a battle for the minds and souls of more than 22 million voters, through wit and tact.

The ultimate cast is varied. There is a one-time spy cum lawyer, turned marijuana advocate. The man-made a name for allegedly trying to topple a government and has had numerous “Canaan” moments. He is a greenhorn who has been in and out of government for 20 years, but has never contested the presidency. He is a lawyer doubling up as a cleric. He has unsuccessfully contested to be MP, and now wants to be the 5th president. 

The wildcard in this race is a first timer, Prof Wajackoyah George, whose candidature and antics have been most captivating and gripping to the masses because of his unconventional campaign strategies and pledges.

Illegal substance

His declaration that he plans to promote the legalisation and exportation of marijuana - an illegal substance - to settle Kenya’s huge debt and reduce working days from Monday to Thursday has set tongues wagging. Wajackoyah’s story tells of a man who has had a Damascus moment.

Prior to his signature durag, ragged jeans and combat shirt manner, he donned crisply tailored suits, silk ties, pocket handkerchiefs and wore a professorial white goatee accentuating a veneer of sophistication.

The 61-year-old professor enjoyed the confines of well-lit, leather seated and air-conditioned offices during his 25-year stint as a practising lawyer in Kenya and the USA, and is a founding partner of Luchiri & Co Advocates.

At one point, he had to flee Kenya to escape persecution by authorities. His woes emanated from his role as an inspector in former President Moi’s intelligence unit, the special branch. Following the murder of Foreign Affairs minister Robert Ouko in February 1990, Wajackoyah was among those tasked with investigating the incident.

“When Ouko was murdered, there were a lot of contradictory stories. I was commissioned by Mr (James) Kanyotu, the then director of intelligence, to find out from the system who might have been involved. We did what we did,” said Wajackoyah in a recent media interview.

Things would however spiral out of control and he found himself with a bull’s-eye on his back, prompting him to flee for safety.

The leader of the Roots party then got the chance to study law at the University of Wolverhampton in the United Kingdom, where he graduated in 1996. He also graduated with a Master of Law in development from the University of Warwick in 1998 and a Master of Laws (us law) in 2006 from the University of Baltimore.

Wajackoyah claims to have taught law and economics, human rights, and comparative constitutional and international law at US, UK and Kenyan universities.

Prof Wajackoyah George. [Edward Kiplimo, Standard]

But before his involvement with government or law, it took the intervention of the late Joseph Kamotho for Wajackoyah to complete his A levels.

The professor had fled their home in Matungu – following his parents’ divorce – in search of his mother and ended up a street urchin in Nairobi. It took years, but when Kamotho, then the Education Minister, was informed of his predicament, he helped pay school fees at St Peter’s Mumias Boys High School.

The jury is still out on why a cerebrated lawyer, who is also part of Kenya’s political history, had a Damascus moment and chose his newfound controversial path. It also remains to be seen whether his plan to curb corruption by hanging corrupt judges and magistrates will be implemented should he clinch the presidency.

His running mate is Justina Wambui, whose first act as a Deputy President would be to smoke bhang during their swearing in.

Exit the law professor, enters William Ruto.

As Kenya’s 11th Deputy President, William Ruto made his bones young. His first tenure in political office was in 1997 when he emerged victorious in the Eldoret North Constituency at the age of 31. His quest for presidency also reflects his ascendance from the Youth for Kanu (YK’92) treasurer – a lobby group used to promote the ruling Kanu party in 1992 – to the country’s second in command.

When Moi’s reign was threatened by growing dissatisfaction over his rule and the repeal of Section 2A of the Constitution in 1992, the lobby group sprung up  to counter the opposition.  

Ruto and other young leaders like Cyrus Jirongo, who was fresh from university, joined the group and had massive resources at their disposal, which they used to promise opportunities to unemployed youth to dilute the growing distaste for the Kanu government.

“I have been engaged in political leadership and associated activities since my university days. Obviously I did not have opportunities in those days to seek presidential nomination,” said Dr Ruto during the UDM National Delegates Conference in March.

But it was the political actions of the year 2002 that elevated him and added to his mounting influence.

Immediately Moi named a young Uhuru Kenyatta as his preferred successor, and Raila Odinga - then Kanu secretary general - exited as a result of his messy rupture with the party. But his departure saw Ruto elevated to the secretary general position.

But when Kanu “disintegrated” after the 2002 elections, Ruto and Raila would rekindle their friendship and were in the camp championing the “No” campaign in the 2005 referendum.

In 2007, Ruto contested for the presidential ticket within ODM but lost to Raila. They went on to the General Election, but lost to Mwai Kibaki in the disputed poll.

Deputy President William Ruto. [File, Standard]

Ruto was, however, steadfast that ODM had won the election and soon after his camp refuted the results, post-election violence - spurred on by ethnic antagonism - broke out.

The situation was worsened by the police’s use of live bullets. More than 1,000 people were killed while at least 500,000 people were displaced.

The events warranted international intervention and later a coalition government headed by Kibaki and Raila as the Prime minister. Ruto was appointed Minister of Agriculture and later Minister of Higher Education. But after the International Criminal Court (ICC) linked Ruto to the election skirmishes, he was fired. The case against Ruto was later thrown out.

In 2013, Ruto teamed up with Uhuru, a former political rival, to form TNA, which went on to win the General Election. In 2017, the duo won again under the Jubilee ticket, after a repeat election.

An unprecedented handshake between Raila and President Kenyatta would however complicate matters for Ruto, who was now relegated to the sidelines.

But motivated by his quest to succeed Mr Kenyatta, he marshalled support from his allies within Jubilee and in 2020 launched the UDA that he is using to vie for the presidency deputised by Mr Rigathi Gachagua.

Raila is considered a man of many “Canaan” moments and has  been likened to a black Joshua in the Bible; the leader that finally leads his followers to Canaan. This enigma of Kenya politics has lost presidential elections four times, but was in all the successive governments.

Raila will be making his fifth stab at the presidency in the August 9 election. Known to form a new political outfit in every election he has participated, his followers wait with bated breath to see whether, this time, his last bullet will deliver him the presidency.

This time, he is vying for an Azimio la Umoja One Kenya alliance ticket.

“This Azimio vision honours the sacrifices of preceding generations, builds on the gains already secured and will in no way corrode the common wealth and our national heritage by succumbing to greed, corruption and culture, which only abets self-advancement of a few individuals,” said Raila during his Monday manifesto launch.

An iconic figure in the achievement of multi-party democracy in the country, Raila cut his political teeth at the tutorage of his father Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, who served as Kenya’s Vice President. His contributions to Kenyan politics were even more notable after 1992. His quest for power has however been elusive.

Having officially been elected as Lang’ata MP under a Ford-Kenya ticket in 1992, Raila ran for the presidency in 1997, coming third with 665,725 votes behind former Presidents Daniel arap Moi and Kibaki.

Azimio la Umoja presidential candidate Raila Odinga. [Jonah Onyango, Standard]

In the run-up to 2002, his National Democratic Party (NDP) warmed up to Kanu and they signed a merger agreement in a plan that was ultimately expected to have Raila inherit the historically-rich party as his State House ticket.

But when Moi endorsed Mr Kenyatta as his preferred successor, Raila exited the party and was instrumental in the formation of the National Rainbow Coalition (Narc), which won the 2002 elections and saw Mwai Kibaki sworn in as president.

A fallout between Raila and Kibaki occurred and in the 2007 elections, they were competitors.

The disputed elections saw Kibaki declared winner, but Raila’s camp was convinced they had won. Their rivalry spiralled into the 2007 post-election violence that uprooted hundreds of thousands from their homes while more than 100 people died.

After the mediation of United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan, the formation of a grand coalition government was implemented and he was appointed Prime Minister.

This, however, did not quell his quest to be president and in 2013, he was on the ballot again; this time against two of his political rivals Uhuru and Ruto. He lost.

In 2017 Raila lost to the duo at the ballot, but got a reprieve after the courts nullified the lection and ordered for a re-run.

Raila boycotted

Raila however boycotted the repeat polls, citing the failure to create a level playing field.

In 2018, he made good with Uhuru, leading to a handshake that gave him the impetus to vie for the top seat in the coming August polls, with Martha Karua as running mate.

In the same race is David Waihiga, the  Agano party’s flag bearer.  In 2011, he vied for the Kamukunji parliamentary seat under the Agano party ticket after the seat was declared vacant following the nullification of Simon Mbugua’s election by the High Court. He was, however, unsuccessful.

Agano party flag bearer David Waihiga. [Kibata Kihu, Standard]

In January 2021, his party endorsed him to run for Nairobi Governor following the impeachment of Mike Sonko, though no fresh election was conducted.

He is now making his second attempt at the presidency after he offered himself for the position in 2013 but later shelved his ambition. He is deputised by Ruth Mutua.

Waihiga is a senior counsel with experience as an advocate spanning over 35 years. He completed his Law degree in 1981 at the University of Nairobi. He is also a holder of a Master’s in Leadership from the International Leadership University and is currently pursuing a PhD in the same field.