Raila Tosha! Sagana III Declaration.
Written by Odhiambo Shem on February 24, 2022
By Collins Teurey.
24th, February, 2022.
The much anticipation that was attached to the Sagana III meeting held yesterday, 23rd, February, 2022 leaves one question unanswered—will it change the political landscape in Kenyan politics notably at a time when the country is grooming to hold General Elections to usher in a new leadership? That is one imperative discussion you cannot afford to miss in those village-bench political discourses and entertainment joints full of the “ big boys” imbibing from long-necked bottles not to mention the political class in entirety.
Well, for a protracted while now, the deputy president has been perceived as one politician that enjoys a huge support-base from the vote-rich region of Mount Kenya, purportedly commanding about 70 percent support from the region if opinion polls from research firms are anything to go by. The second in-command has been for along time pitching camps at the hill to popularize his presidential bid following the political deal of “ Kumi yako na kumi yangu” he, ( Ruto) signed with Uhuru Kenyatta in 2013 and 2017 respectively that saw the dissolution of other political parties that hitherto formed the Jubilee Coalition which faced off with Raila’s CORD, a dissolution that culminated in the birth of the Jubilee party which staged a political duel to statehouse again against NASA in 2017. However, the outcome of the election in 2017 was highly disputed based on alleged poll anomalies, a discontentment that would later plunge the country into social mayhem for an ephemeral and economic stalemate.
It is indeed more glaring that the DP has been more obsessed with the succession politics which commenced barely a year after the UhuRuto’s second-time ascension to power, with the second in-command making appearances and holding endless political trips and rallies almost in every corner of the country, an activity that has been met with an over- the-fence criticism from different leaders from various political cadres, but how defiant is the deputy president! Latest, vividly joining the list of critics was his boss( Uhuru) who has been chiding the deputy against politicking, calling him out to focus on spearheading the Big Four Agenda initiative and shun premature campaigns. A move, that has been since met with futility.
Sagana III Meeting and Mount Kenya Politics.
Mount Kenya region for record, has been known to be a political weighing scale whose political role in determining the presidency in elections cannot be repudiated. It is no big deal that presidential hopefuls have not let anything to chance by building nests in the region to earn political bonuses and woo the people to buy their political narrative especially at a time that it has become crystal clear, that the mountain will most likely not field a candidate to contest for the country’s topmost seat. The deputy president seem to read from the marking scheme and embarked on the journey of making political romance in the region, a move that has earned him plaudits among the locals. However, it is against this backdrop that president Kenyatta has sworn to tear away the DP from the clutches of Mount Kenya in favour of his handshake partner and a one-time fierce political foe, Raila Odinga, in his bid to statehouse against his deputy, William Ruto.
In his address in the Sagana III meeting held in Nyeri yesterday, the president disclosed a number of reasons why he chose to throw his weight behind the ODM boss and not his deputy contrary to their “kumi yangu na kumi yako” agreement. The head of state went ahead to lay bare the cause of rift between him and his deputy disputing that the handshake had absolutely nothing to do with it adding that his deputy has been going round peddling lies that he ( Ruto) was never informed when the handshake was taking course, explaining that Ruto was the last person he informed about his political truce with Raila, an idea that the latter rubbished.
In his call to Mount Kenya to back Raila Odinga in his pursuit to presidency, Kenyatta termed his deputy as not ripe enough to lead the country mentioning among other reasons eminent graft within the public coffers and his misgivings about the wherewithal of the deputy to galvanize the country to unity and brotherhood. The head of state promised he was ready to champion for Raila’s presidency including debunking some narrative that the mountain have been for along time fed with that Odinga is an enemy to the people from the mountain. ODM and Jubilee parties are expected to hold joint party primaries ahead of the August 9th polls.
Will Sagana III Meeting Change The Political Landscape in Central Kenya?
The Sagana III meeting that saw president Uhuru Kenyatta officially endorse Raila Odinga as his most preferred successor has been received with mixed reactions from all political divides and the country in general, as it received criticism from the rivals and backing from those allied to Azimio political faction. The big question that now incessantly begs for an answer is, will the Raila tosha declaration and appeal by the president to the people of Mount Kenya to support Raila Odinga reshape the political landscape in the region and in Kenya in general, owing to the fact that DP Ruto had already spread his political roots deeper into the mountain soil and won the trust of most locals?
Different leaders from Kenya Kwanza Alliance have since rubbished Odinga’s endorsement terming him as a state project that is unsellable to the people. Dp Ruto in his response, asked the president to stop meddling in the succession politics but instead focus in his honourable exit from power. The second in-command further made fun of the Sagana meeting adding that it is the wananchi who will decide who the next head of state will be and not the conveners of the Sagana III. Moses Wetangula on the other hand laughed off the endorsement telling the president he is bound to terribly fail in his attempt to midwife the succession politics.
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