President Uhuru Kenyatta is reportedly laying the ground for former Gatanga MP Peter Kenneth to be his successor in Mount Kenya region.
And to achieve this goal, Uhuru and his strategists are out to have the Building Bridges Initiative passed and have Kenneth as the prime minister.
The picking of Kenneth as prime minister is part of Uhuru’s power game to win back the confidence of his Kikuyu tribesmen who incidentally together with others, are not happy with his leadership and claim he has been pushing for BBI so as to remain in power as prime minister after his tenure as president ends.
Another claim has been that Uhuru and Raila Odinga are pushing for the PM slot to have the president’s younger brother Muhoho Kenyatta land the post.
Sources say that Uhuru is aware of the ramifications and backlash in his Mount Kenya region if he grooms his kinsman to succeed him, hence the emerging Kenneth factor in the region, and nationally.
According to a local daily, Devolution CS Eugene Wamalwa is part of the power-sharing formula and he is likely to be in the Raila-Uhuru lineup after Musalia Mudavadi refused to play ball.
Eugene may go for the Kiminini parliamentary seat 2022 in his plan to land a cabinet seat being as it is that if BBI is adopted, CSs would be MPs.
Surprisingly, in the new lineup,it is said that Raila is out to block Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka getting a position and prefers Kitui Charity Ngilu.
Claims by ODM secretary general Edwin Sifuna that Kalonzo is hijacking and staging a coup in the handshake deal clearly shows that they are uncomfortable with him.
Baringo Senator Gideon Moi is another key player in the political arrangement. In Central region anti-Uhuru sentiments, and to an extent entire Kenyatta family, are widespread and a rebellion is largely looming.
Perhaps, aware that the Mt Kenya ground is not accommodative to him, Uhuru is working on plan B to endear himself to the vote bloc.
Together with powerful Kikuyu tycoons working under the umbrella of Mount Kenya Foundation, they are slowly grooming Kenneth to take care of the region’s interests.
Uhuru sometimes back told Kikuyus the person he will pick to unify them will surprise them.
It is true, picking on Kenneth, is a surprise political card as in 2013, Kenneth ran for presidency opposing Uhuru.
In 2017, Kenneth ran for Nairobi governorship and was Uhuru preferred Jubilee candidate, but William Ruto, who read the move as aimed at positioning PK to play a key role in Uhuru succession, decided to back Mike Sonko.
Locked out of Jubilee, Kenneth went for the top city seat as an independent candidate. Those surrounding Uhuru mostly from Murang’a county wanted to have Kenneth as city governor controlling billions of shillings and number two politician after Uhuru and easily succeed him as regional kingpin.
They have never forgiven Ruto for blocking the plan in 2017 thus Mt Kenya having a leadership vacuum.
