Prof George Saitoti And His 9 Lives

Can Kibaki Dare Appoint A Fellow Kikuyu As VP?

Former vice president George Saitoti has surprised friend and foe over the years by his ability to weather the storm and bounce back to the center of things even after being dismissed as 'finished' by his numerous detractors.

This time round, the Topology professor has not only bounced back to the cabinet but has declared his interest to vie for the Narc-Kenya chairmanship and in effect going for the post of vice president to Kibaki.

Many say it is impossible to have a president and his deputy from the same community as both Kibaki and Saitoti are Kikuyu's but the latter poses as a Maasai and has literally discarded his kikuyu names, Kinuthia Muthengi.

Saitoti can not be easily dismissed for several reasons including the fact that he is fabulously wealthy and has his share of friends in high places with the ability to pull strings in his favor.

Among the other candidates going for the Narc chairmanship, Saitoti is the only one who enjoys some form of support countrywide as a result of serving as Moi's deputy for several years. It is this perceived countrywide popularity and clout that President Kibaki's handlers are salivating about and want t take full advantage of. Apart from the man's ill gotten wealth of course.

Many Kenyans also sympathise with Saitoti following the treatment he underwent in the hands of Moi who discarded him in the last minute and picked Uhuru Kenyatta as his successor.

In Kenya, the president does not have a running mate in elections and usually appoints his deputy after occupying state house which makes it possible to have Saitoti being given the number two slot to the chagrin of Moody Awori who has indicated he is not about to retire from politics in spite of being about 80 years old.

Another school of thought says that Kibaki's intention is to groom Saitoti to take over from him in 2012 so as to ensure he is protected along with his wealth and will not be subjected to any annoying investigations, especially the Anglo Leasing scandal which has rocked his administration.

Unfortunately Saitoti also has his own excessive baggage he has to deal with including his arrogant and short-tempered nature, which comes out often, like when he is confronted with questions from cheeky journalists.

Besides, all these intricate planning could be in vain if Kibaki and Narc-Kenya lose the forthcoming elections and if the past four years is anything to go by, the London School of Economics trained economist and his arrogant advisors will have a very difficult time making it back to State house.

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