Has Uhuru come of age?

Of all the politicians who attended last Wednesday’s fundraiserfor the Mau evictees, Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta received the loudest cheers on his arrival.

Mr Kenyatta’s speech also attracted the loudest applause from the 50-plus MPs present, including nine Cabinet ministers. A number of MPs, especially non-Kalenjin, who turned up at the event which had been criticised by a section of the political class, confessed that they had taken a gamble.

Those allied to the Party of National Unity led by Energy minister Kiraitu Murungi were quick to clarify that they were attending “a dinner in the next room”. “We had to get a place to measure the temperature before we enter the meeting,” one of them told the Sunday Nation. But all said, one could see that Mr Kenyatta attracted the most attention with the audience listening keenly. He was treated like a celebrity – and he seemed to enjoy every minute of it.

By attending the meeting, reportedly against President Kibaki’s advice, Mr Kenyatta, one would say, killed two birds with one stone. By his uncharacteristic defiance of the President, Mr Kenyatta, who has been accused of hiding in the shadows of his political godfathers, appeared to demonstrate that he has come of age. In the 2002 General Election, Mr Kenyatta was labelled a “Moi project,” a tag he has been fighting to shake off with little success.

The Finance minister also seized the opportunity to re-build bridges with Rift Valley residents who overwhelmingly supported his 2002 presidential bid in which he was humbled by Mr Kibaki, the Narc candidate. Indeed, Mr Kenyatta confessed that a number of his allies had asked him not to attend the harambee “because their people were still in IDP camps.”

Speaking at the meeting where many speakers took turns to criticise Prime Minister Raila Odinga over what they called “inhumane,” treatment of the Mau evictees, an energised Mr Kenyatta declared that he supported the initiative because he wanted to decrease the number of IDP camps. Whether this energy and dalliance with the Rift Valley will bear fruit remains to be seen.

Also, he has to contend with Gideon Moi, with whom he is fighting for the control of Kanu and who regards Rift Valley as his political base.