Yes, I’m fit to run for highest office in the land, says Kaparo

Francis Xavier ole Kaparo has come a long way.

From a haplessshuka-clad, wiry young boy being rounded up by tribal police to attend school 23 miles away from his home in Laikipia in 1950s, he rose to become a three-term Speaker of the National Assembly, only the second to achieve such a feat in the country’s history.

He has been quiet for the past years, but his recent political forays has stirred speculation that he could be the compromise presidential candidate for the G7 Alliance, a grouping of politicians coalescing around deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta and Eldoret North MP William Ruto. (Read: Kaparo endorsed to head Ruto party)

Mr Uhuru and Mr Ruto are among the six Kenyans facing cases at the International Criminal Court in The Hague over the 2008 post-election violence.

Their charges could be confirmed or dropped by the end of the year.

While Mr Kaparo denied in an interview that he had been approached by Mr Uhuru and Mr Ruto, he insisted he was qualified to vie for the Presidency.

“Neither Uhuru nor Ruto has approached me on such an issue. I have joined United Democratic Movement to make my humble contribution to the country by building a national party where every Kenyan is free to exercise his democratic right,” he said in an exclusive interview with Saturday Nation.

He added that it was “not treasonable to entertain the thoughts that I can be president. But you see I’ve got to have a party first and build it to a national stature.”

He said his hosting of leaders from across the country last week at his Naibor home in Laikipia was an important statement by his Maa community.

The one-time MP for Laikipia East hosted Mr Ruto, ministers Chirau Mwakwere and Samuel Poghisio, several assistant ministers and MPs and councillors from across the country.

“My 16-year stint as a Speaker, where I managed conflicting interests, places me in a good position to unite the country,” he said.

The meeting had earlier been billed to bring together Mr Kenyatta, Mr Ruto and Mr Kaparo for secret talks, but Mr Uhuru did not show up.

It will be interesting to see how Mr Kaparo’s return to elective politics will be taken by Heritage minister William ole Ntimama’s supporters.

The elderly ole Ntimana is the de facto leader of the Maasai. Keen not to antagonise Mr Ntimama, with whom he has had run-ins in the past over Maasai land rights, Mr Kaparo said: “I am not in competition with any tribal chieftain. I am a Maasai by birth but I have great respect for Mr Ntimama, who is my elder.”

Mr Kaparo, who is barely four months old in UDM, has been endorsed by Mr Ruto to take over the leadership of the party.

The party is, however, locked up in a case where General (rtd) John Koech has gone to court to prevent the Ruto group from wrestling it from him.

Mr Koech announced this week that he would vie for the presidency on the party’s ticket.

The move has sent jitters with some in the Ruto camp toying with the idea of forming another party.

“While we are confident that the (Hague) case against Mr Ruto will not be confirmed, we are intent on vanquishing Mr (Raila) Odinga by all means. That is why we have toyed with the idea of fronting Mr Kaparo. He is acceptable to both our camp and Uhuru’s,” said an MP who did not wish to be seen to be divulging the G7 secrets.

He had kind words for the suspended Higher Education minister: “Mr Ruto is a brilliant young man with the right message. He has the message of youth and women empowerment as well as food production policies.”

Talking of the past, some of Mr Kaparo’s colleagues accuse him of having resisted the repeal of section 2 (a) of the Constitution when he argued that multi-partysm would not work.

A newspaper in the early 1990s quotes him telling delegates at Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani: “I am telling you this as a lawyer. Multipartysm will not work.”

Mr Kaparo is, however, credited with steering Parliament through the stormy days after the return of plural politics in 1993, during which time he endured stiff opposition from such fiery Young Turks of the time as James Orengo.

Some analysts say the former Speaker is Mr Ruto’s project to revive former President Moi’s networks.

“Ruto is a good student of both Mr Moi and Mr Odinga and his choice is a formidable one. It is a ploy to bring together the so-called small communities, some of which have in reality grown in numbers to become some of the biggest,” said political analyst Kipkirui Telwa.

Some, however, see Mr Kaparo as a representative of an old order and that could not be sold to reform-minded voters.

“As a bait for the minority groups, Kaparo is a good choice. However, he might be bogged down by his past. He is seen so much a Kanu era stalwart,” said Narok University College lecturer, Solomon Waliaula.

“The Uhuru-Ruto alliance is using him as a bait for the Maasai, Samburu and Turkana. Through him, the alliance hopes to completely block the region from Mr Raila Odinga,” he said.

His sentiments were shared by University of Nairobi Political Science lecturer Adams Oloo who, however, added that Mr Kaparo does not have national appeal. 

“He was better than most speakers, but he is not remembered for any Solomonic ruling the same way his successor Mr Marende has come to be associated with,” said Dr Oloo.

He added that the only advantage with Mr Kaparao is that he does not evoke any particular animosity with any group as he has no political baggage.

Former Ntonyiri MP Maoka Maore said the former minister for Industrialization was a good man but faulted his chosen vehicle and the manner of entry.

“He is a political novice entering from the top. He should have been a member first before seeking the highest office in the party,” said Mr Maore.

Dujis MP Aden Duale, who is a prominent member of the G7 alliance and a close confidante of Mr Ruto, insisted that Mr Kaparo was not being considered as a compromise candidate.

“We brought in Mr Kaparo so that UDM could have the face of Kenya. As a senior pastoralist leader, he will certainly change our fortunes for the better. But we have never and shall never prepare him for something bigger,” he said rather categorically.

Mr Kaparo was born in 1950 at Ildigiri village of Dol Dol, Laikipia.

Nine years later, he was among the pioneer group of Maasai boys to attend school in Laikipia district.

“We trekked for 23 miles not knowing why we were engaging in the tortuous journey,” he says.

He would, however, distinguish himself as a brilliant and hardworking young man who easily passed to join Nanyuki and later Shimo La Tewa high schools.

His hard work caught the eyes of then Laikipia District Commissioner Julius Kobia who appointed him to the non-existent position of Assistant District Officer.

He, however, later left to pursue law studies at the University of Nairobi from where he graduated in 1976.

After being admitted to the bar, he immediately opened a law firm in Nyeri.

In 1988, after joining Parliament on his first attempt, he was appointed assistant minister in the amorphous ministry of National Guidance and Political Affairs.

He would later admit to a journalist that he did not know his brief.

“The ministry lasted exactly one year before it was wound up. I did not really know what I was supposed to do in the office,” said Kenya’s Chief Scout and the chairman of National Environmental Management Authority.

He would move through several other assistant ministerial positions before ending up as minister for Industry before losing his parliamentary seat in the 1992.

He was swiftly nominated by former President Moi and thereafter elected the first Speaker of the post-one party rule House.

Faced with opposition from a suspicious Opposition, one time he ejected a troublesome Mr Orengo and four other colleagues in less than 10 minutes.

Gradually, though, through a mastery of the standing orders and sheer diplomatic charm, he managed to win over MPs from across the political divide, leading to his being elected three times.