‘Handshake’ is trending as opponents attract a presidential dressing down

The “Handshake” is beginning to really shake.

At the requiem service for Kenneth Matiba at Ihura Stadium in Murang’a on Thursday, those with ears to hear heard what was said.

President Uhuru Kenyatta noted that opponents of the handshake were in both Jubilee and Opposition ranks, but this would not deter him and Raila Odinga from pushing ahead.

He had unkind words to say about those whose sights were only focused on 2022 succession politics, telling them the handshake was bigger than them.

Uhuru, who clearly wanted to vex somebody, went on to say that the handshake deal would go beyond 2022, 2027 ... “up to 3000”. Kula wembe!

UNITY PACT
Present at the gathering was Deputy President William Ruto, who had come accompanied by his pal Elgeyo-Marakwet Senator Kipchumba Murkomen.

Raila was there, of course, together with his wife Ida and his political team of Senator James Orengo and Governors Anyang’ Nyong’o and Hassan Joho.

To make himself very clear, Uhuru added that he would form a committee together with Raila to look into the matter of rewarding heroes who had sacrificed for the country.

Aha, together with Raila, not with anybody else. I imagined somebody fidgeting, all the while as Raila sat grinning broadly like a Cheshire cat.

The Opposition leader himself gave a lengthy oration about his long political journey with Matiba, which started way back with the football politics of the 70s.

SUCCESSION POLITICS

Ruto, incongruously, referred to Matiba as his inspiration when he formed his own political party after leaving ODM. Mmmm ... an inspiration indeed.

Later, on his way back to Nairobi, Uhuru stopped to address a crowd at the Kenol township on the junction of the Thika superhighway and warned those he claimed were angling to become DP in another regime to style up and focus on their elected jobs first.

He mentioned Governors Ferdinand Waititu of Kiambu and Mike Sonko of Nairobi who, together with a certain noisy bandwagon of youthful MPs from Central Kenya, have made a habit of trooping behind Ruto all over the region in premature campaigns for 2022.

I am still trying to work through Murang’a Senator Irungu Kang’ata’s cryptic message at Ihura Stadium, delivered in Kikuyu: “Once bitten twice shy.”

LAW REVIEW
I am reliably told Ruto’s close allies held a crisis meeting later that evening to “re-strategise” in light of the sudden, unexpected presidential broadsides in Murang’a.

Uhuru barely mentioned the contentious issue of a constitution review, which has lately been gathering interest across the country. It is an issue which has made Ruto to panic.

In his speech at the Governors’ bash in Kakamega earlier, Raila had said that time has come to reorganise the devolution structure with 14 regions, without expressly calling for a constitution review.

His own ODM party has been more specific.

Its chairman, National Assembly Minority Leader John Mbadi, recently said they want a parliamentary system with a PM as part of a wide-ranging constitutional settlement.

Nobody seems to be paying any attention to Majority Leader Aden Duale’s petitions that constitutional changes are not on the cards.

REFERENDUM
Ruto has likened the clamour to a bad workman who keeps quarrelling with his tools when he fails in his job.

Never mind, the constitution review vibes are everywhere.

The NCCK has called for a referendum to recreate the office of a prime minister and two deputy PMs.

Catholic bishops had earlier called for constitutional changes, but fell short on details.

The Tiaty MP William Kamket has published his own proposal to create something similar to that of the NCCK’s.

Kamket is a crony of Senator Gideon Moi, and he featured the other day launching some sort of campaign in his Baringo constituency.

Gideon, as we all know, is not exactly a bosom buddy of the DP’s.

Ekuru Aukot, a lawyer who was a presidential candidate last year, has the most detailed blueprint that even proposes how many MPs we should have. Let the dance begin.

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