Talk of strange bed-fellows.
The announcement this week that Mrs Charity Ngilu will be George Saitoti's running mate for the presidency was mostly ignored by the media. And with good reason because this is a ticket headed nowhere.
Ngilu still holds the record as the only serious woman presidential candidate so far and it remains to be seen if Martha Karua can make a bigger impact this time round. And so it is rather strange that "Mama Rainbow" as she was affectionately known to the electorate in 2002 would accept to be the running mate of perhaps one of the most corrupt Kenyans to ever be Vice President.
Just to illustrate how politics has benefited George Kinuthia aka George Saitoti, a friend of mine who used to work at the now defunct Barclays Bank Union Towers branch was shocked when Moi announced a relatively unknown man called George Saitoti as his new vice president. "That is the man whose Kenya shillings 500 cheque bounced" was how he described him. The man who did not have Kshs 500 in his account is today one of the wealthiest Kenyans around and one of the very few capable of financing a presidential campaign on his own. Politics is the "business" that has made the mathematics professor stinking rich. How a man with such a track record would want to be president just beats me. But then even Nicholas Biwott who makes Saitoti look like Mother Teresa in comparison will also be running for the presidency this time round, my sources tell me.
And so why would Ngilu want to damage her favourable political image with the public by working with somebody like Saitoti? It is instructive that although Saitoti has been the minister in charge of internal security, the Kibaki administration preferred the late John Michuki to handle sensitive national security issues irrespective of what docket he was holding. Apparently somebody felt that they could not be entirely sure that Bwana Saitoti would resist taking a bribe when it came to national security matters. That speaks volumes about the character of the man.
Keen political observers are saying that Ngilu is currently going through some serious financial problems and it is possible that the Saitoti project is less about politics and more about repairing finances.
Fascinatingly both these two politicians have been named as possible running mates to Raila Odinga's bid for the presidency this time round. It is one of the reasons why Mudavadi decided to swing into action (read sample issues of my raw notes for FREE)
Still it will be interesting to see these two contrasting politicians campaign together for the presidency for purely entertainment purposes.
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Ngilu should be running mate of Mudavadi.
ReplyDeleteChris you can take this to the bank just like your buddy took Saitoti's bouncing cheque: that the next president of Kenya will be one hell of a crooked Mafia.
ReplyDeleteWhy do I say this? There's no way the corrupt elite who rule over this land will choose a clean guy who has not been tainted by big scandals. If you are squeaky clean and have good morals, it simply means you will turn against the Mafia, seize their assets and lock them up.
That's why the Mafia want one of their own. You see, someone like Raila will never rule Kenya. Kenya ina wenyewe and rigging elections start one year BEFORE the voting. Raila can't be trusted by the elites since they know he will lock them up.
That too goes to the Iron Lady Martha Karua and kina Mutava. If the next president will not be a closet Mafia, then he must be a puppet like Mudavadi or a hostage of ethnic interests like baba jimmy. Ask yourself why not a single big shot has ever been jailed in Kenya since independence in 1963 over corruption. Some world record indeed!
So you can take this the bank, we have a new katiba but "eating" will never stop since a very crooked man has already been anointed by the dirty Mafia to take over in one of the many night meetings to look after "their interests" whatever that means. If they opted for otherwise, it would mean own funeral.
Wakenya hana bahati!
Doesn't matter who's whose running mate.
ReplyDeleteThe only thing guaranteed is Raila the liar is going home to sell mandazi's.
My goodness, is someone trying to remind the voters that all that's expected of Mh. Kaluki Ngilu, is nothing more than her being viewed as a bona fide worn-out second fiddle to the political interests of any willing wild west presidential contender that shouts out his bid for the Static House.
ReplyDeleteWhy can't a seasoned politician of Kaluki Ngilu's stature have the guts to take over the political reins and be in charge of her own presidential campaign for a change?
And how does Kaluki expect to earn the much needed respect and overall support from potential voters nationwide if all she seems to care about is only being warm and contented with riding the political coattails of old guard politicians with worn-out ideas?
Where are the likes of Kimenchu when they are needed to take care of business this time around?
Kaluki Ngilu may soon end up being inducted into the 'Hall of Siasa Oblivion' like Ms. Mutindi, the one time fiery politician from Kibwezi.
@M-Pesa,,
ReplyDeleteI personally think the corrupt elite will never support Raila not because he will lock them up but because he will block their feeding frenzy.
Raila, just like Kenyatta, Moi, and Kibaki, is completely steeped in corruption. The only difference is Raila tries to control everything and he does not tolerate dissent at all (recall the "he's a dictator" tag from anyone who knows him well). Also, and this is importatnt, Raila will do anything to please the western imperialists. Anything! And the corrupt elite know this.
Poor Raila. Bewfore 2007 he was a communist damu and now he the WEST's lapdog.
ReplyDeleteAgwambo is damn either way. And there lies the truth - FEAR of ....
2/23/12 @7:18 AM
ReplyDeleteBe careful what you wish for - for it will surely be yours when the next president guarantees that your children and grandchildren end up trading in jua kali mandazi stock exchange for the next three decades in the same way King Mugabe [Atakufa Hivi Karibuni] has done with the children of Zimbabweans who had a very deep seated hatred for Joshua Nkomo.
By the way, while Kaluki Ngilu continues to search for a dying baobab tree to patch her soon to be clipped wings on, Raila has no one to blame but himself, his handlers and the company that he has kept in all seasons, dating back to the early 1980s. The sooner he stops being his own worst enemy the better it will be for his political fortunes.
ReplyDeleteKumekucha,
ReplyDeleteYou knew all along something was brewing up some where in Ukambani days before you decided to release 'Charity Ngilu's Biggest Political Blunder'.
Talk of Kaluki and her political horns appear while more blunders continue to multiple themselves in public gatherings, like the latest at Ukambani.
Where she didn't hesitate to accuse Kalonzo (si wewe uliwaleta!) for having bused in the crowds of hired hecklers that booed her off the little podium where the microphones were placed for the usual irrelevant and time wasting speeches from politicians who have nothing to better to contribute or add to the memorial occasion.
Where was Saitoti to dispatch the cavalry to her immediate rescue?
How frustrating it must be for Kaluki when the booing and jeering originates from her own people and from some where near her own backyard.
There are those are still waiting and hoping for the other shoe to fall off.