Could Mutava Musyimi be Kenya's fourth president?

By MOSES NJAGIH

Gachoka MP Mutava Musyimi may have kept Kenyans guessing when his name was widely fronted as a possible compromise candidate among the political party heads who were so keen to dislodge Kanu from power in 2002.

Then Secretary General of the National Council of Churches of Kenya (NCCK), Mutava kept a tight-lip even as talk of him being fronted by then National Alliance for Kenya (NAK) leaders Mwai Kibaki, the late Kijana Wamalwa and Charity Ngilu gained momentum.

But nine years later, Mutava, who has since joined elective politics is no longer keeping secret his desires to toss himself into the murky waters of seeking the electorate’s nod to be the next tenant of State House.

In an exclusive interview with The Standard, the reverend disclosed that he had made up his mind to vie for the Presidency in next year’s election.

Mutava featured, with some reasonable degree of prominence, in the former President Moi’s succession plan and coincidentally, his candidacy has surfaced in President Kibaki’s succession.

The only difference is that unlike in 2002 when he was being rumoured as a compromise candidate for the opposition, then keen to end Kanu’s rule, the MP will this time be pushing his own candidature.

“This journey must now start. There is no alternative, it just has to begin,” said Mutava, letting the cat out the bag about his candidature during the interview at his Continental House office.

The MP will declare his candidature at a rally he has organised in Nakuru on July 2, after which he says he will start the journey of helping Kenyans reclaim their sovereignty from those he says have held captive the proceeds of the political game in the country, making Kenyan politics their own reserve.

Mutava said he already has a campaign team and strategy ready for the elections slated to take place in August 2012 following the stipulations of the Constitution.

The MP moved to dispel fears that he is docile and naïve at the national political platform to stand any significant chance of winning the presidency, saying over years he had developed a strong spine and the muscle to wade through the rigours that come with the contest.

Good student

The MP further says he has been a good student of the Kenyan society and understands well the politics of the country, which he says he is prepared to counter in his quest for the top office.

Like in 2002, his name has been featuring among those mentioned as possible candidates for next year’s presidential race. Last month, the legislator revealed that he had commissioned a survey to look into the viability of his possible candidature.

Then last week, Mutava said he had received the report, from which he had decided to run for the post.

But unlike in 2002 when the Anglican Church cleric appeared to enjoy charismatic support, especially following the critical role he had played — steering the then popular Ufungamano Initiative on the Constitutional Review — the MP will now have to fight criticism that he has attracted since joining elective politics and easily capturing the Gachoka seat, which had since independence been dominated by former minister Jeremiah Nyagah’s family.

The legislator has courted criticism with many arguing that he is a pale shadow of the Mutava that Kenyans knew, especially when he was at the helm of the NCCK.

But the MP has defended his perceived silence. “I was then shouting, but now I am working, and seriously so. We cannot keep talking, when given the chance you start the work and that is what I am doing,” he said.

Mutava says he has learnt better the dynamics of Kenyan politics since he joined Parliament, admitting that from within, one gets a different picture of the politics of the land.

“Siasa ya Kenya ina wenyewe (Kenya’s politics has its owners). Ours is politics of entitlements, where many get in office to take care of their interests and look after their gate-keepers. Many are there to make money and protect their wealth. Only a small group is there to serve,” says the MP.

Mutava says Kenyans must mine the benefits of the new Constitution to fight off this culture, saying as it is, the country is owned by the few who possess the means and who dictate the political tides.

Mutava says since he joined politics he has learnt the contempt that the political elites have over the electorate, saying Kenyans must use the strengths of the Constitution to liberate themselves.

“The electorate must use the power they have to get it right from the top. If they do not fix the right values from the top, they will not cascade downwards. Kenyans will have to take responsibility of the decision they make, simply put; make your bed and lie on it without complaints,” he says.

Genuine

Mutava says from the report he has received supporting his candidature, Kenyans are ready to embrace another kind of leadership “of a people that genuinely feel with them”.

“There is a deep sense of betrayal, the cry is very deep among the disillusioned Kenyans who feel lonely and let down by the people who speak much about being their leaders, only when they are fronting their interests,” he said.

But Mutava says it is still disappointing that there is a population that has not awoken to the realisation they are only used by the politicians for their selfish gains and thus opt to remain with the status quo.

“My conviction and belief in Kenyans to understand what is good for them is very high. I have been a good student of this society for long to know the time is ripe. Not everybody is prepared to make the paradigm shift, but gradually even those who want to continue being held captive by those holding the strings of the country’s politics will joins us,” says the Gachoka MP.

Yet another challenge, and possibly the strongest, that the MP will have to deal with is fighting the embedded culture that politics has to be played by those with the economic muscle, which he admittedly lacks.

Mutava says though he understands that Kenyans are used to politics dictated by the money factor, where those with deep pockets stand a high chance of clinching positions, he is ready to wade through the murky waters and fight this culture.

“I am not naïve on this society, but the journey has to start. We cannot hang our gloves and pave way for people with big money. The culture of money is embedded but I will go out to try and change it,” he said.

Mutava says he faced the same challenge when he decided to contest the Gachoka seat with meagre resources, facing candidates with big finances to oil their machinery.

He says the Gachoka experience has emboldened his belief that Kenyans can ignore the money and even the tribal backing syndrome, when they have a better option.

“There gets a point where no amount of money can redeem one’s career. I do not offer money to my electorate and they have come to appreciate how bad the culture of dishing money at the expense of delivering on their service is. I believe the same can be applied at the national level,” he said.

The MP is not afraid of facing candidates enjoying the strong backing of their ethnic groupings. When he contested the Gachoka seat, he was from the minority Kamba community living in  Mbeere District.