Nyeri readies for exit of most famous son

The aura of power pervades Othaya.

The picturesque area, carpeted with tea plantations has returned Mwai Kibaki as its MP since 1974.

They speak with pride of his impeccable development record in the constituency… and remember a down-to-earth and friendly man, who used to sit with his buddies enjoying a White Cap beer.

Yet nowadays, in stark contrast with his predecessors in the Presidency, Mr Kibaki is a rare sight on his home turf.

Unlike President Kenyatta, who used to live at his home in Gatundu, conducting matters of state from there, and Moi, who turned Kabarak into a power base, Mr Kibaki prefers to stay at State House, Nairobi.

However, he keeps a close eye on developments in his constituency, initiating projects comparable to the ones President Moi concentrated in his rural area in the Tugen Hills, which became a centre of power during his lengthy tenure.

Kibaki lieutenants who stand in for him in Othaya are the high profile Finance PS, Mr Joseph Kinyua, also from the constituency, and close confidants like nominated councillor James G. Muturi, aged 60, a retired policeman who swears that Mr Kibaki is the best leader Othaya and Kenya ever had.

And in the way that presidents Kenyatta and Moi held sway in their home areas, so, Mr Kibaki holds immense influence in his constituency and the greater Nyeri and Mt. Kenya region.

Mr Kibaki’s rise to power is still the stuff of legend in the region, where he is hailed as the man who patiently waited his chance to bust the myth that Kenya’s flag would never cross River Chania.

In doing so, he put paid to what his constituents saw as the arrogance of the Kiambu elite that dominated post-Independence politics.

Today Othaya people view Mr Kibaki as a son of the land, with many vividly recalling his humble origins and the landmarks of his life since he came into the world as the last-born son of Mr Kibaki Githinji and Mrs Teresia Wanjiku.

Today, the marks of his leadership are there for all to see, and his constituents hold him in awe, making him a revered figure.

Mr Jackson Muturi, aged 41, and Mr Francis Kabingu, a local freelance photographer, who were both attending prize-giving at Othaya Boys’ Secondary School are typical of the constituents’ regard for their MP and President.

The school is one of the constituency’s best known institutions, and the two have sons in different classes there.

They have long accepted that national duties mean Kibaki cannot spend too much time with them, but that, according to them, did not detract from his work as their MP and his ability to take the pulse of Othaya through an intricate delegation system.

“He left his mark on the constituency as the MP during his pre-Presidency days,” said Mr Kabingu, adding that his development projects have made Othaya a centre of excellence.

Mr Muturi believes Mr Kibaki has transformed Othaya, mostly through Constituency Development Fund projects.

These included clinics, rural electrification, schools and a growing number of village polytechnics designed to drive development at the grassroots.

They have made Mr Kibaki a much-admired leader, according to Othaya Boys principal Dedan Muriithi Muhindi.

“Kibaki has continued to provide the enabling environment for development in many spheres, including the provision of bursaries for needy students, mainly through the Ministry of Education and the CDF,” he said, adding that the President has continued to play a major role in managing the tea industry.

“Kibaki has persistently nurtured a culture of transparency, responsibility and hard work, leaving little room for foul play, and we don’t decry the fact that he is unable to visit us more often,” he said.

The most outstanding changes, according to Mr Muturi, were the tarmacked roads that criss-cross the constituency.

Mr Kibaki’s development record was also praised by Mr Francis Kirira, the Nyeri South District development officer.

“Kibaki has pumped billions into infrastructural development in Othaya, and there has been accelerated development in the constituency during his tenure as both MP, Cabinet minister, Vice-President and finally President,” he said, explaining that today there was piped water in almost all homes, and that the education, health and tea sectors have recently boomed.

Gatuyaini village, where Mr Kibaki was born on November 15, 1931, is past Munaini Primary School on the left of the C70 highway.

The school is where the President has voted, together with his family, during all past elections in Othaya.

The President’s three-storey rural home, is clearly visible from the C70 approaching bustling Othaya Town.

Across the road is Silent Lodge, located in a crowded neighbourhood marked by little shops selling a wide range of goods.

The lodge contrasts sharply with the President’s other old haunts like the Muthaiga club and the Norfolk Hotel, in Nairobi.

Barman Shem Macharia, recalled serving the President with White Cap beer during the many years he patronised the place, usually in the company of bosom buddies from the old Democratic Party days like Munene Kairu, the late Kieni MP.

An outstanding feature of the lodge and nyama choma joint is the Thingira (traditional hut) where Mr Kibaki used to hold court with his allies, just next to the entrance.

But the President no longer calls there during his rare visits to Othaya.

However, his son Jimmy reportedly pops in once in a while when doing his rounds of his father’s rural stronghold.

But as Kibaki prepares to retire in 2012, it is unlikely that Jimmy will succeed him as MP.

He is believed more likely to support a Mr. Gichuki Mugamba, who has expressed interest in the seat.

Whoever stands will also face Mr Gichuki King’ara, a lawyer, and Mr Jeremiah Wachira Ichaura, a businessman from the constituency who challenged President Kibaki during the 1992 General Election but later stepped down.

Although some leading Nyeri politicians have been tarred by the infamy that has bedevilled Mr Kibaki’s tenure as a result of major scandals such as Anglo Leasing, many from his original Kitchen Cabinet are still hovering on the margins of the county’s political scene, ready to spring into action come next year’s election.

This is causing concern within some quarters who feel Nyeri’s politics have been dominated by Kibaki’s peers for too long.

Mr Muchiri Nderitu, a 35-year-old businessman from Tetu, said many of the problems bedevilling the county are as a result of age-old neglect of the younger generation.

“Older generation tycoons dominate politics here, and rather than vote for them, I’d rather not vote at all,” he said during an interview in Nyeri town.

“We have for years been importing leaders from Nairobi who have no contact with the ordinary people, and it is unfortunate that the youth are easily influenced by local political brokers to sell their birthrights,” he said.

Cabinet Minister and Nyeri Town MP Esther Murugi conceded that women and the youth in Nyeri require special attention.

However, she disagreed with the assertion that the older generation should be sidelined from political leadership.

“We need a mixture of the old and the young, men and women,” she averred.

“This should be the case, so long as whoever wants to be elected governor is a person of integrity with a good track record for managing huge projects like the ones we expect to embark on once we gain county status,” she said.

There is a need, she added, to create jobs for the youth, while also talking to them and acting as their role models.

With regard to Nyeri politics being the preserve of the super wealthy, Ms Murugi said she herself was not in that category, but accepted that money plays a big role in the county’s politics.

“You actually need to have big money to become a senator or a governor in this county,” she said, adding that many potential leaders also tend to avoid Nyeri politics since it can be very violent.

Clergyman Erastus Njoroge of Nyeri Town is also convinced that the youth have been sidelined which, he says, explains their sense of hopelessness and indulgence in reckless consumption of cheap alcohol.

“The older generation of leaders has failed the youth and Nyeri at large, which is why the county is the third poorest in Central Province, despite having numerous resources,” said the churchman, 52.

“We need a new generation of leaders who have the interests of the county at heart, and who can rehabilitate the disillusioned youth and show them the way forward.”

Mukurweini MP Kabando wa Kabando, himself fairly youthful, agreed that there is a need to focus on youth and women’s groups.

“That’s what I’m concentrating on in my constituency instead of joining the clamour for political positions in the county when the elections are so far away,” he said.

On the national stage none of the Nyeri stalwarts of the Kibaki Administration has so far shown any interest in inheriting his Presidency.

Given the humiliation Nyeri people went through as they watched their Kiambu cousins virtually monopolise power during the Kenyatta years, it is surprising that many have declared their support for Mr Uhuru Kenyatta, who is fighting to escape ICC charges over the 2007/8 election chaos.