Bwana Dawa: From milkman to Kanu political wheeler dealer

At about 7pm of July 30, 2005, I received a call from one Mark Kiptarbei arap Too. He sounded anxious, far removed from the usually jovial Bwana Dawa I had become used to.

“What news, Peter?” He asked. “I’ve not heard of anything,” I responded. “Garang’ is missing, just check, meanwhile let me call Rebecca (Garang’s wife),” he insisted. I could feel the sense of urgency on his part.

Barely 10 minutes later, Too was back on the line, this time to break the news that indeed, the South Sudanese liberation hero and then president had died in a plane crash en route to Juba from Uganda where he had held talks with President Yoweri Museveni.

What struck me was Too’s deep understanding of the politics of what was referred to as the Great Lakes region covering Uganda, South Sudan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda and Burundi.

At the touch of a button, Too would reach one Colonel Eddy Kapend, a close security advisor and aide-de-camp to then DRC president Laurent Kabila.

“How is the war?” He would inquire, referring to the border conflict between DRC and Rwanda. “You must attack from the north with ground missiles,” he would go on.

RISE OF MILKMAN

In a 2007 interview, Too explained his rise from a milkman to the inner sanctums of political power in Kenya and beyond to his association with now retired President Moi and then Lonrho Group founder Roland “Tiny” Rowland. He would later become the Lonrho East Africa chairman, a position which he owes for his influence in the great lakes region where the company had massive interests.

To an extent, both President Uhuru Kenyatta and Cord leader Raila Odinga owe their meteoric rise in politics to the man famously known as Bwana Dawa or simply “Mr Fix it.”

In 1997, Too had tried his hand in politics by contesting the Mosop parliamentary seat, losing to John Sambu. He was then nominated to Parliament by his political mentor, retired president Daniel Moi.

Bwana Dawa’s role, it would appear, was to woo Mr Odinga’s National Development Party (NDP) into a loose co-operation with the ruling party, Kanu, whose inferior numbers against a united opposition would make life difficult for the government, especially in Parliament.

Almost single-handedly, Too would spearhead the two parties into the 2001 Kanu-NDP conference which led to Mr Odinga and the late Dr Adhu Awiti being appointed to the Cabinet and the late Orwa Ojode and Peter Odoyo being named assistant ministers.

The appointment would set off a series of events that culminated in Mr Odinga leading the exodus from Kanu in the run-up to the 2002 General Election and playing a pivotal role in Narc’s formation and victory during the election.

CONTEST THE PRESIDENCY

Too would also play a direct role in President Kenyatta’s nomination to Parliament in 2001.

When it dawned on Moi that Uhuru was the best placed to succeed him as President, he stealthily embarked on a scheme to get him nominated to Parliament with a view of appointing him to the Cabinet which would put him in good stead to contest the presidency on the Kanu ticket.

To pave the way for Uhuru’s nomination to Parliament, Kanu had to relinquish a slot in Parliament, and Too happened to be the foul guy. With Too out of the way, Moi duly nominated Uhuru and appointed him Local Government minister, this time at the expense of the late Joseph “JJ” Kamotho.

Moi would proceed to hand-pick Uhuru to run for the presidency on a Kanu ticket, leading to the 2002 bruising battle with Narc’s Mwai Kibaki.

Uhuru lost and readily conceded defeat, promising to fight another day, this day ended up being March 4, 2013.

Upon his exit from Parliament, Too kept a low profile, too cautious not to offend his political mentor, Moi.

He would only emerge in 2007, when he tried his hand in elective politics again, this time contesting the Eldoret South parliamentary seat.

As in 1997, he would again suffer humiliating defeat at the hands of the baritone voiced Jesse Mais. He was done with politics.

At the height of his influence, Too would fight off claims that he was Moi’s illegitimate child.

“Nothing like that. I am not Moi’s son. I am his friend,” he once told journalists.

On his own account to journalists once, he said: “Too was born in plot number Nandi/Ngekek140 and I own a plot at Nandi/Kokwet 493.”