How Uhuru's silent power is influencing Kenyan politics

Many allies of Kenya's fourth President Uhuru Kenyatta were outraged when Kenya Kwanza leaders accused him of sponsoring the recent Generation Z uprising that seemed sent President William Ruto’s administration back to the drawing board.

As the country recovers from the bloody protests that left a trail of death and destruction, ODM leader Raila Odinga’s remarks that Uhuru prompted him to reach out a political deal with President Ruto has stirred up a hornet’s nest.

Scores of leaders and political commentators termed Odinga's claim as convenient to cover his political mischief to help him stem the tidal wave of political backlash, which has arisen from his decision of working with the Ruto administration.

Some leaders drawn from the Mt Kenya region said Odinga was attempting to cling to Uhuru’s political coattails to salvage his dwindling political fortunes after jumping into a ship sailing in a turbulent sea.

Political analysts further argued that by dragging Uhuru’s name into his political maneuvers, the ODM was trying to appease the one million voters in the region who supported his presidential bid and were now accusing him of political betrayal.

The analysts argued that Uhuru would not advocate for the formation of amorphous political structures of governance as is the case currently following the appointment of some four ODM party top brass into the Kenya Kwanza government.

Other observers argued that although they could not establish the veracity or otherwise of Odinga’s claims they genuinely believe that Uhuru was a statesman who would go to any length to ensure the stability of the country.

They nevertheless cautioned that Uhuru would advocate for well-structured talks and dialogue to resolve fundamental issues facing the country and ensure key stakeholders were involved to move the country forward.

Immediate former Nakuru Governor Lee Kinyanjui in a terse statement said: “Although I do not speak for Uhuru Kenyatta, for the country to descend to anarchy would be a cause for major concern. However, power sharing without a long-term commitment to resolve matters raised by Gen Zs is suicidal.”

A Nakuru-based political observer Andrew Nyabuto said that although he could not fully vouch for Odinga’s claims, Uhuru has a good grasp of events that pose a threat to the national stability and would not allow the country to go to the dogs.

“Everybody knew the country was on edge following the Gen Zs demonstrations that rocked over all major towns and trading centres across 40 counties in the country. Uhuru as a former president has a network that could effectively brief him on the state of the country and trigger him into seeking for solutions to restore stability,” Nyabuto said.

Nyabuto said claims by Raila, though unverifiable, “further plunges Uhuru at the centre of the country’s power matrix where he is the key player in the stabilization of the country.”

Nyabuto added that Uhuru remained a dominant political force in the country and that is why many leaders including DP Rigathi Gachagua, Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka and DAP K leader Eugene Wamalwa were aligning themselves with him.

“Raila has also realized that he needs Uhuru to advance his political cause and more so, redeem his image,” Nyaburo added.

Other leaders argued that Uhuru has over the past few months evolved into a dominant political force in Mt Kenya and many political actors in the country were undoubtedly portraying themselves as having his blessings.

“Raila is engaging in high-level political mischief to captivate the hearts and souls of Mt Kenya voters whom he betrayed. He is using Uhuru’s name to sanitize himself. But unfortunately, he has put his legs very wide asunder, one in UDA and the other in Azimio. Nobody will trust him as he talks on both sides of his mouth,” said Kabue Mathenge, a political commentator.

Mathenge said although Uhuru currently enjoys huge political clout in the Mt Kenya region despite leaving power nearly two years ago, it was inconceivable he could reach out to Raila to strike out a political deal with Ruto without consulting leaders from the region.

Mathenge said; “Raila is desperately trying to find his footing after stumbling following his unholy alliance with Ruto at a time when Kenyans are angry with his administration, which is dysfunctional and incompetent.”

“Raila has realised that Mt Kenya voters are angry with him for betraying their trust in him and just as a drowning man holds on a straw, the ODM leader wants to hang on Uhuru’s coattails with the hope of extricating himself and from Ruto’s snares.”

Mathenge previously served as the Rift Valley regional presidential campaign coordinator for former Presidents Mwai Kibaki and Uhuru Kenya in four different elections.

Mathenge said by embracing the Ruto administration at a time when Kenya was on the threshold of a new political dawn ushered in by the Gen Zs protests, the ODM leader has aborted the revolution and the stemmed the tide of change eliciting anger from Kenyans who were yearning for meaningful social, economic and political gains.

“Due to his apparent greed for power, Raila has shot himself in the foot and has consequently fallen from grace to grass. By trying to drag Uhuru into his mess Raila is attempting to re-enact the scene at the Garden of Eden where Adam and Eve who were in great shame used some tree twigs to hide their nakedness from God after falling prey to the machinations of the serpent who tricked them into eating the forbidden fruit. They had to face the consequences of their actions and were banished from the Garden of Eden,” Mathenge said.

Immediate former MP for Bahati constituency, Kimani Ngunjiri said Raila invoked the name of the former president to gain the confidence of the Mt Kenya people who are accusing him of betraying their cause.

Ngunjiri said Raila had exposed himself as a leader who could not be trusted as he had given several conflicting accounts on what transpired before he accepted to work with President Ruto.

“He initially stated that the four ODM leaders who were given CSs positions went to work with the government on their own. He told us that President Ruto had begged him to help him stabilize the country following the challenges brought about by the demonstrators only to fabricate another new story,” Ngunjiri said.

Ngunjiri said  both Uhuru and Gachagua,  the deputy president were the dominant political forces in the Mt Kenya region and that is why Raila had realized that he would need their support in case his African Union Commission chairmanship bid flops and decided to run for the presidency.

Ngunjiri called on leaders and residents of Mt Kenya region to reject any form of manipulation “from political conmen and other actors who are out to divide them. Mt Kenya region will not fall prey to political mischief again.”

“Currently we are happy that President Ruto and Gachagua have narrowed their differences and this has lowered the political temperatures, nevertheless we will soon start laying structures to solidify the unity of Mt Kenya region to ensure we have our dog when we go out hunting in 2027,” Ngunjiri added.

On his part, lawyer Hari Gakinya said: “ Raila has perfected the art of political conmansUhuruhip. He is invoking Uhuru’s name to continue reaping dividends from his deal with Ruto while at the same time seeking to remain relevant on the national political scene. He cannot cook his pie and have it.”

The lawyer added that Raila by dragging Uhuru into his mess was seeking to sanitize his image so that he could pull out of the illicit political arrangement with Ruto at his convenient time and vie for the presidency should his AUC chairmanship bid flops.

Hari, however, stated that the retired president was mandated by the law to play a consultative and advisory role to the government and the people of Kenya.

“We know the former president would be concerned if the country were to plunge into anarchy as he is playing a key role in conflict resolution in other parts of Africa, but he cannot exercise conflict resolution role in Kenya casually and recklessly that entrenches a regime that does not enjoy the confidence of the people,” the lawyer stated.

A former Naivasha Mayor, Mr Samson Nkatha said Raila was bolstering his image to continue enjoying the support of Mt Kenya people even while at the same time benefitting from his working arrangement with President Ruto.

“I have worked with Raila since the crusade for the introduction of multi-party politics in the country and he is a person who cannot be trusted,” Nkatha stated.

The former mayor said that Mt Kenya had emerged as a major political force in the Central Kenyan region and that was why Raila felt he needed to continue associating with him to advance his political cause.

A Political activist,  Njihia Muchiri stated that Senator Oburu Odinga and MP Peter Kaluma had already announced to Kenyans that ODM would be joining the government before President Ruto appointed its officials to the cabinet.

“It is therefore cheap propaganda for Raila to tell us that he was prompted by Uhuru Kenyatta to enter into a political deal with President Ruto while his hatchet men had broadcasted the deal to all Kenyans,” Muchiri said.