As this blogger expected, news just in indicates that Nicholas Biwott is the new Kanu chairman as his list of new office bearers from the Mombasa delegates conference last week have been registered as the bonafide office bearers of Kenya's oldest political party.
It is unlikely that this is the end of the matter and what will probably follow is a long legal tussle. But one wonders whether it is really worth it, with the elections rapidly approaching, the Kenyatta faction would probably be better off concentrating their resources and time on their campaign within ODM Kenya.
It is hard to imagine Biwott as the official leader of the opposition in parliament, (have you noticed the way the man avoids TV cameras? He's not eloquent either.)
Kanu line-up after the government's decision today:
National Chairman -Nicholas Biwott
Deputy chairman-Noah Katana Ngala
Vice chairman-Prof Sam Ongeri
Vice chairman-Joash Wamangoli
Secretary General-Dr Josephine Ojiambo
Assistant Secretary General-Timothy Mwambia
Treasurer-Mohammed Sheikh Aden
Assistant Treasurer-Ayub Obara
Assistant Treasurer-Charfannu Moku
Organising Secretary-Nick Salat
Assistant Organising Secretary-Samuel Orore
Assistant Organising Secretary-Mary Kivuvi
Director of Elections-PK Sang
Secretary of Legal Affairs-Abdinassir Hassan Ali
Secretary for Information and Publicity-Yusuf Mbwana
Secretary for Environment-David Sudi
Secretary for Labour Affairs-Alex Mukabwa
Secretary for Gender-Aisha Mohammed
I received the email below from one of my political correspondents for this blog and I though I should reproduced it in full;
The die is finally cast.
Two horse race it is.
Moi, Kibaki, Biwott on one side, then Raila, Kalonzo, Ruto on the other side.
It is important that we get a third force to neutralize and then propel the youth to power.
We should reject anybody who has been a life member of KANU at one time or the other.
Moi wants to create another project in Biwott/Gideon Moi.
Why the deep hatred for ODM-Kenya?
Quote of the day:
Kalonzo: "We should not accept to be taken back to the dark days..."
Kalonzo sat with Moi and Kanu till the last minute!
Read more details on this development.
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
Monday, November 27, 2006
Why Nicolas Biwott Wants To Be Kanu Chairman So Badly
Many Kenyans can sense how desperate Kerio South MP Nicholas Biwott seems to be to get the chairmanship of Kanu.
But why? The man has all the money and power he needs. Why risk it all by going for such a high profile political seat? It is instructive that when the Kibaki administration took over power in 2002, they wanted to go after President Moi's wealth, but at no time was Biwott's billions ever under any threat. It clearly illustrates just how powerful the man still is.
It is also telling that this government still sings the old lie, which originated from Biwott, about businessman Alnoor Kassam of TradeBank and Diners Finance fame. It is claimed that he is wanted by Interpol and the Kenyan government to answer unspecified charges. Everybody knows that the truth of the matter is that this entrepreneur dared to cross swords with Biwott over the Yaya Center, which was collateral for a loan taken personally by Biwott from TradeBank (which finally caused the collapse of the Bank). In fact Kassam is lucky to have escaped with his life. Too many people who have simply been an irritation to the Kerio South MP have ended up mysteriously dead. The list is so long that it is worth two or three separate posts in this blog, which I should do later
The truth is that Nicholas Biwott is like any other politician extremely ambitious. He has no doubt watched the Kibaki administration with a lot of inetrest as it has moved from one blunder to another and wondered why fate did not give him a chance to be President Moi's heir.
Here is a man who was the main strategist in Moi's two successful re-election bids in 1992 and 1997 when there was some very clever rigging of votes in Moi's favor. Why can he not use the same tactics he used to help Moi, and see himself in power?
And this is not such a far-fetched dream after all. Of all possible current presidential candidates, Nicholas Biwott is probably the only one capable of going into a presidential campaign without having to worry about campaign funds. When you throw in Moi's financial support, what you get is a formidable campaign machine that is very capable of winning the race to State House, especially if he positions himself as a spoiler.
Why would Moi want to support such a candidate? It is really simple. Topmost on Moi's mind right now is how to protect his vast wealth and keep his favorite son, Gideon out of prison. He will literally do anything to achieve these objectives. The direction in which ODM is headed, unknown to many within the party, will lead to enormous pressure from the people for all corrupt leaders past and present to be prosecuted. You can be sure that if Raila were to win the presidency he would gladly hand them over.
This would also explain Moi's visit to President Kibaki shortly before the Mombasa delegates conference last week. Some analysts speculated that the retired president wanted an assurance from the president that there would be enough security in Mombasa. A visit to Vigilance House to see police commissioner Major General Ali would have easily accomplished that.
Nay, the two men were discussing something much more "technical" and sensitive. So technical and sensitive that even a lengthy telephone conversation would not have done it.
It is much more likely that their discussion must have touched on issue of the fielding of a third major presidential candidate in Nicholas Biwott. With the man's own huge financial resources and Moi's support his candidature would be at least more than adequate to water down the ODM Kenya impact. Enough to allow Kibaki to romp back into power without too much trouble.
Kenyans forget too soon. Remember how Moi and Kibaki worked together in the by Marsabit elections occasioned by the Marsabit plane crash? Granted the results may not have been as good as was expected but the general election could be a totally different ball game. I would expect Biwott to grab at least 60 per cent of Rift Valley with his limitless cash resources and Moi working in his favor. I picture him gaining tremendously from the widely expected anti-Kikuyu backlash from voters who are undecided about ODM Kenya and its' excess baggage of former Kanu kingpins.
Mercifully, this is one election, which will not quite succumb to the rules of past polls, and money will not be such a major factor. What Kenyans very desperately want right now is change and visionary leadership. Biwott can hardly give them that. And neither can Kibaki or even Raila's ODM.
==========================
Insecurity in Kenya: New Clues In Mombasa Random Shooting Raises Questions.
----------------
Which top 3 Kenyan women politians have been involved in sex scandals in recent months?
You can join my Kumekucha Confidential list and read the absolutely amazing answer to this question. Just send an email now to kumekucha-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
----------------
Better than Kenyan Yellow Pages. Sell Your Product Like Crazy, This Festive Season
But why? The man has all the money and power he needs. Why risk it all by going for such a high profile political seat? It is instructive that when the Kibaki administration took over power in 2002, they wanted to go after President Moi's wealth, but at no time was Biwott's billions ever under any threat. It clearly illustrates just how powerful the man still is.
It is also telling that this government still sings the old lie, which originated from Biwott, about businessman Alnoor Kassam of TradeBank and Diners Finance fame. It is claimed that he is wanted by Interpol and the Kenyan government to answer unspecified charges. Everybody knows that the truth of the matter is that this entrepreneur dared to cross swords with Biwott over the Yaya Center, which was collateral for a loan taken personally by Biwott from TradeBank (which finally caused the collapse of the Bank). In fact Kassam is lucky to have escaped with his life. Too many people who have simply been an irritation to the Kerio South MP have ended up mysteriously dead. The list is so long that it is worth two or three separate posts in this blog, which I should do later
The truth is that Nicholas Biwott is like any other politician extremely ambitious. He has no doubt watched the Kibaki administration with a lot of inetrest as it has moved from one blunder to another and wondered why fate did not give him a chance to be President Moi's heir.
Here is a man who was the main strategist in Moi's two successful re-election bids in 1992 and 1997 when there was some very clever rigging of votes in Moi's favor. Why can he not use the same tactics he used to help Moi, and see himself in power?
And this is not such a far-fetched dream after all. Of all possible current presidential candidates, Nicholas Biwott is probably the only one capable of going into a presidential campaign without having to worry about campaign funds. When you throw in Moi's financial support, what you get is a formidable campaign machine that is very capable of winning the race to State House, especially if he positions himself as a spoiler.
Why would Moi want to support such a candidate? It is really simple. Topmost on Moi's mind right now is how to protect his vast wealth and keep his favorite son, Gideon out of prison. He will literally do anything to achieve these objectives. The direction in which ODM is headed, unknown to many within the party, will lead to enormous pressure from the people for all corrupt leaders past and present to be prosecuted. You can be sure that if Raila were to win the presidency he would gladly hand them over.
This would also explain Moi's visit to President Kibaki shortly before the Mombasa delegates conference last week. Some analysts speculated that the retired president wanted an assurance from the president that there would be enough security in Mombasa. A visit to Vigilance House to see police commissioner Major General Ali would have easily accomplished that.
Nay, the two men were discussing something much more "technical" and sensitive. So technical and sensitive that even a lengthy telephone conversation would not have done it.
It is much more likely that their discussion must have touched on issue of the fielding of a third major presidential candidate in Nicholas Biwott. With the man's own huge financial resources and Moi's support his candidature would be at least more than adequate to water down the ODM Kenya impact. Enough to allow Kibaki to romp back into power without too much trouble.
Kenyans forget too soon. Remember how Moi and Kibaki worked together in the by Marsabit elections occasioned by the Marsabit plane crash? Granted the results may not have been as good as was expected but the general election could be a totally different ball game. I would expect Biwott to grab at least 60 per cent of Rift Valley with his limitless cash resources and Moi working in his favor. I picture him gaining tremendously from the widely expected anti-Kikuyu backlash from voters who are undecided about ODM Kenya and its' excess baggage of former Kanu kingpins.
Mercifully, this is one election, which will not quite succumb to the rules of past polls, and money will not be such a major factor. What Kenyans very desperately want right now is change and visionary leadership. Biwott can hardly give them that. And neither can Kibaki or even Raila's ODM.
==========================
Insecurity in Kenya: New Clues In Mombasa Random Shooting Raises Questions.
----------------
Which top 3 Kenyan women politians have been involved in sex scandals in recent months?
You can join my Kumekucha Confidential list and read the absolutely amazing answer to this question. Just send an email now to kumekucha-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
----------------
Better than Kenyan Yellow Pages. Sell Your Product Like Crazy, This Festive Season
Who Is Nicholas Biwott?
Could This Man Be President? Can His Vast Wealth Buy The Presidency?
Picture shows Nicholas Biwott and former President Moi discussing something. Moi once described Biwott as a Kirigit whom he could not abandon. In the Kalenjin language this means the cow that leads the rest of the herd home.
It is said that the day Moi assumed the office of President of the republic of Kenya in an acting capacity for 90 days, following the death of President Kenyatta in the early hours of August 22nd 1978, a man who was destined to be very powerful in his government was heading to Industrial area in Nairobi on foot. He had a hard day of manual labor ahead of him to earn his daily bread at some factory. That man's name was Mark Too, whom many believe is a biological son of Moi (don't ask me from which woman, because I don't know).
On the same day, some little known civil servant who had already unsuccessfully tried out his hand at politics was waking up to a day that he must have carefully planned for, for many years. I say this because the speed and precision with which he moved with over the next few years was definitely something that had been carefully planned over many years. Within a very short time, that man moved from being an unknown hard-up for cash former civil servant to becoming one of the richest Kenyans who ever lived. His name is Nicholas Biwott.
The first time I met the rather diminutive MP for Kerio South, was at a function for one of the Aga Khan's numerous interests in Kenya. It was 1986 and few people even realized that this was the most powerful man in President Moi's government.
I had been informed earlier that the man used to stammer, but somehow this aspect had mysteriously vanished shortly after Moi came to power in 1978. Biwott spoke softly and with a heavy accent that told you immediately that he belonged to the same Kalenjin tribe the then President hailed from. But he was the sort of man that was easy to ignore and so I never really though about that encounter for a number of years. A few years earlier, and prior to the 1982 coup attempt this man's name had come up as one of the three individuals who caused a stir in the early days of the Moi presidency by regularly rididng with him in the presidential limousine. Nairobians cynically called them "the president's three wives." They were Nicholas Biwott, GG Kariuki and Charles Njonjo. Everybody realized that the 3 had to be very close to the president. Still nobody took much notice of Biwott.
All that changed shortly after the murder of former foreign minister Robert Ouko. The Internet had yet to come but people were already making use of fax technology to pass on news. Some Ugandan newspaper published a very detailed account of how Ouko had died in the presence of Moi when Biwott suddenly drew a pistol and shot him. By that time, Ouko had already been seriously tortured by security agents. That incident brought out the ruthless nature of this man whom Kenyans knew so little about.
By this time, Biwott had already become the most feared cabinet minister since the days of Mbiyu Koinange, President Kenyatta's bossom buddy. One day he quipped I parliament about the need for any person of the make species and especially a politician to be "a man, a total man." Thus he earned the nick name Total Man.
It was clear that as Kenyans fought for the reinstatement of multi-partyism, Biwott was a major hindrance in any effort to get President Moi to soften his stance towards allowing more political parties. Biwott became the most loathed cabinet minister.
To understand how deep and total this hatred was, it is useful to note that newspaper editors in Nairobi quickly realized that their papers sold very poorly if they had a headline with the name Biwott on it. But the Nation set a record that is unrivalled to this day, when it carried a headline detailing the arrest of Biwott and Internal security PS Hezekiah Oyugi in 1991. That day over 331,000 copies of the Nation newspaper flew off the newspaper stands at a ferocious rate as Kenyans hungrily took in, with glee, the news that they had waited for and fantasized about for years. Alas, the whole thing was some façade from tricky Moi, to cool political temperatures and pressure on his government. It is said that Biwott was held for a few hours at a luxury facility within the GSU (General Service Unit) headquarters in Nairobi. He was released shortly after and that was the end of that matter.
Biwott has also been caught up in various sexual scandals. The embarrassing "Auckland Bull" is widely believed to be Biwott. In the sensational incident reported in the press in the late 90s, a very senior member of a high-powered Kenyan delegation that included Pesident Moi himself, attempted to rape a chamber maid at a hotel in Auckland. The identity of that official was kept secret from Kenyans. However word soon spread through the rumour mills of Nairobi like wild fire. It was the total man who had gone totally berserk over some young mzungu maid at the hotel in Auckland.
Picture shows Nicholas Biwott and former President Moi discussing something. Moi once described Biwott as a Kirigit whom he could not abandon. In the Kalenjin language this means the cow that leads the rest of the herd home.
It is said that the day Moi assumed the office of President of the republic of Kenya in an acting capacity for 90 days, following the death of President Kenyatta in the early hours of August 22nd 1978, a man who was destined to be very powerful in his government was heading to Industrial area in Nairobi on foot. He had a hard day of manual labor ahead of him to earn his daily bread at some factory. That man's name was Mark Too, whom many believe is a biological son of Moi (don't ask me from which woman, because I don't know).
On the same day, some little known civil servant who had already unsuccessfully tried out his hand at politics was waking up to a day that he must have carefully planned for, for many years. I say this because the speed and precision with which he moved with over the next few years was definitely something that had been carefully planned over many years. Within a very short time, that man moved from being an unknown hard-up for cash former civil servant to becoming one of the richest Kenyans who ever lived. His name is Nicholas Biwott.
The first time I met the rather diminutive MP for Kerio South, was at a function for one of the Aga Khan's numerous interests in Kenya. It was 1986 and few people even realized that this was the most powerful man in President Moi's government.
I had been informed earlier that the man used to stammer, but somehow this aspect had mysteriously vanished shortly after Moi came to power in 1978. Biwott spoke softly and with a heavy accent that told you immediately that he belonged to the same Kalenjin tribe the then President hailed from. But he was the sort of man that was easy to ignore and so I never really though about that encounter for a number of years. A few years earlier, and prior to the 1982 coup attempt this man's name had come up as one of the three individuals who caused a stir in the early days of the Moi presidency by regularly rididng with him in the presidential limousine. Nairobians cynically called them "the president's three wives." They were Nicholas Biwott, GG Kariuki and Charles Njonjo. Everybody realized that the 3 had to be very close to the president. Still nobody took much notice of Biwott.
All that changed shortly after the murder of former foreign minister Robert Ouko. The Internet had yet to come but people were already making use of fax technology to pass on news. Some Ugandan newspaper published a very detailed account of how Ouko had died in the presence of Moi when Biwott suddenly drew a pistol and shot him. By that time, Ouko had already been seriously tortured by security agents. That incident brought out the ruthless nature of this man whom Kenyans knew so little about.
By this time, Biwott had already become the most feared cabinet minister since the days of Mbiyu Koinange, President Kenyatta's bossom buddy. One day he quipped I parliament about the need for any person of the make species and especially a politician to be "a man, a total man." Thus he earned the nick name Total Man.
It was clear that as Kenyans fought for the reinstatement of multi-partyism, Biwott was a major hindrance in any effort to get President Moi to soften his stance towards allowing more political parties. Biwott became the most loathed cabinet minister.
To understand how deep and total this hatred was, it is useful to note that newspaper editors in Nairobi quickly realized that their papers sold very poorly if they had a headline with the name Biwott on it. But the Nation set a record that is unrivalled to this day, when it carried a headline detailing the arrest of Biwott and Internal security PS Hezekiah Oyugi in 1991. That day over 331,000 copies of the Nation newspaper flew off the newspaper stands at a ferocious rate as Kenyans hungrily took in, with glee, the news that they had waited for and fantasized about for years. Alas, the whole thing was some façade from tricky Moi, to cool political temperatures and pressure on his government. It is said that Biwott was held for a few hours at a luxury facility within the GSU (General Service Unit) headquarters in Nairobi. He was released shortly after and that was the end of that matter.
Biwott has also been caught up in various sexual scandals. The embarrassing "Auckland Bull" is widely believed to be Biwott. In the sensational incident reported in the press in the late 90s, a very senior member of a high-powered Kenyan delegation that included Pesident Moi himself, attempted to rape a chamber maid at a hotel in Auckland. The identity of that official was kept secret from Kenyans. However word soon spread through the rumour mills of Nairobi like wild fire. It was the total man who had gone totally berserk over some young mzungu maid at the hotel in Auckland.
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