Why Uhuru Kenyatta is the man to watch

Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta, overcoming troubled times, would like to play muigwithania (the pacifier). His low point was the aftermath of the 2022 presidential election, in which he supported Raila Amolo Odinga against Deputy President William Ruto.

He and Ruto had together faced the Hague political sword and in 2013 successfully campaigned as ‘UhuRuto’ to thwart perceived imperial desires. As ‘Vijana’, they talked of “kumi kumi” as an article of political faith which buoyed them through the 2017 double election.

Damaging cracks in their political armour, however, started appearing and dragged Uhuru down.

While Uhuru at times implied he was a reluctant president, Ruto was overly eager to grab the presidency. As president, Uhuru threw his hands up, asking, “Mnataka nifanye nini?” He talked of building a legacy, complained that Ruto was not helping to build that legacy, and embraced Raila.

Thereafter, two political camps emerged within Jubilee: the pro-Uhuru/Raila ‘Kieleweke’ and the Ruto-leaning ‘Tanga Tanga’. On his part, Ruto cleverly exploited Uhuru’s political mistakes to defeat a lackadaisical Raila side. The Uhuru-Raila side assumed it had won without voting and lost narrowly, mainly because perceived Raila voters failed to vote.

Raila’s 2022 election loss to Ruto seemingly hit Uhuru harder than it did Raila. The new Deputy President, Rigathi Gachagua, was unseemly ‘“beating’ a ‘beaten’ Uhuru on the inauguration day.

In doing so, Gachagua was staking his claim as the new leader of ‘Murima’ and craved for Muthegi (Gikuyu leadership staff) simply by virtue of his new office. Ignoring warnings that Raila and Ruto would gang up against him, Gachagua’s impatience for recognition as ‘leader’ led him to quarrel with his erstwhile supporters.

Despite his crowd-rousing tongue, he dis-endeared himself by dismissing those who challenged his leadership as ‘tugege’, when compared to Raila supporters.

Uhuru had met Gachagua’s attacks with measured maturity that garnered him much sympathy. As strange things happened to the Kenyatta family, Uhuru’s image as a victim intensified in proportion to complaints of the Ruto-Gachagua misgovernance.

The 2024 Ruto-Raila get-together at Gachagua’s expense by way of impeachment transformed him from an anti-Uhuru political predator to a victim of Ruto's machinations. He then started saying positive things about Uhuru. That way, he refused to stay politically dead despite Ruto’s effort.

Uhuru took time to come out of political isolation. With the courts restoring his wing of the Jubilee Party to leadership, Secretary General Jeremiah Kioni started promoting Fred Matiang’i as a presidential candidate.

Uhuru then increased Matiangi’s influence by making him the Jubilee deputy party leader. Uhuru also loudly told the youth, including his daughter Ngina, to speak up if things went wrong. 

Uhuru handled Raila’s death, which hit him hard, well. He made people relax when he talked about a “gumzo” stimulant called “uji”, which gained popularity. He then went to Murang’a seemingly to launch a political comeback.

The reasons he gave for choosing Murang’a included the fact that the county had repeatedly provided various types of national leadership. Most importantly, he said, it was Kangema that gave him a wife, Margaret, to console him. The event that captured imagination, however, was Uhuru instructing Kioni to stop insulting Gachagua. It was a signal of a political truce.

Uhuru’s maturity rambles throughout the country. He is the man to watch with his emerging political presence as a national rallying point. Despite his apparent preference for Matiang’i, Uhuru’s political ‘weatherman’ David Murathe intimated that Gachagua would be a good choice for president.

Gachagua’s big undoing, however, is his free tongue that knows no occasion. Since Gachagua previously indicated willingness to support ‘Wiper Man’ Stephen Kalonzo Musyoka, political eyes turn to Kalonzo, who, in turn, watches Uhuru’s every political move.

Playing national pacifier, Uhuru’s main problem would be to acknowledge and then avoid the glaring blunders of 2022.