Mr Chirau Ali Mwakwere (left) and the former Higher Education minister William Ruto during Mr Ruto’s visit to the Coast. The two struck a political deal ahead of the 2012 General Election. PHOTO | NATION
By JULIUS SIGEI, juliussigei@gmail.com
Posted Friday, July 15 2011 at 19:02
Posted Friday, July 15 2011 at 19:02
At the height of protocol wars pitting Prime Minister Raila Odinga and Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka, Trade Minister Chirau Ali Mwakwere belittled the whole debate by saying if all the PM wanted was a toilet, then he could as well have one built for him in every constituency he visited in the country.
Barely a day after he was appointed Trade Minister after successfully defending his Matuga seat in a by-election, Mr Mwakwere found himself in more problems with the Mzalendo Kibunjia-led Cohesion and Integration Commission, which accused him of engaging in hate speech during his campaigns.
“I am not aware of any hate speech by me. What I did was to respond to hate speeches,” he charged at a press conference in his office.
Described by some as foul-mouthed and quick-tongued, Mr Mwakwere says he has three political mentors.
“Having worked as the Kanu Deputy National Executive Officer for three years, I earned my first degree in politics under the tutelage of President Daniel arap Moi; then as a high commissioner to Zimbabwe for seven years, President Robert Mugabe conferred upon me my masters degree in politics and finally as a Democratic Party official and later as a minister, I have earned my doctorate degree under President Mwai Kabaki,” he says.
Leadership qualities
Asked why he spares choice vitriol for his age mate, Mr Odinga, (they were both born in 1945), he says he has better leadership qualities and a longer experience in government than the PM. “I am a better presidential material than Raila. Cumulatively, I have served one year longer than him in government,” says the father of two sons and a daughter.
A great dancer of Sengenya, a popular Digo song, Mr Mwakwere is a crowd puller who uses gestures in his speeches and spices them with local proverbs.
“Young people call me Zipapa, a huge shark, while old men call me Mwinza Mukulu, the great hunter, hence my slogan Zipapa lamkani kutzacha kamata adui kamata (Huge shark, arise it is dawn get hold of the enemy, get hold).
Limited reach
Asked why he chose the war-like slogan, the minister said it was his Shirikisho Party of Kenya’s choice, and that an enemy could be anything from illiteracy to poverty.
A political analyst in Mombasa who did not wish to be quoted, however, said despite his grassroots mobilisation skills, Mr Mwakwere’s influence is not felt outside Matuga as he is seen as a spoiler for the coastal unity.
Malindi MP Gideon Mungaro, who is an ally of Mr Odinga, had similar sentiments. “His efforts at wooing the Coast for Eldoret North MP Ruto are doomed. You saw the small crowds they attracted in their meetings,” he said referring to the recent forays by suspended Higher Education Minister, who has picked on ‘Zipapa’ as his point man in the region after his erstwhile ally, Mr Najib Balala, appeared to be going back to Raila’s fold.
“I am going for nothing less than the presidency. Which means I am either the presidential candidate or his running mate. I have what it takes,” he told Saturday Nation.
The saxo-phone and golf-playing MP says he opts to be tension free. He kept to this self definition in the hour-long interview on Thursday.
He says he wants to be remembered as a patriotic, honest and corruption-free man.
“Have you seen a minister who sacked a whole managing director in the recent past?” he said referring to his removal of former Kenya Ports Authority MD James Mulewa.
He says he is a strong family man who, despite being Muslim, has lived with his Christian wife, Rose, “for 33 blissful years despite she being a Christian and having Ugandan ancestry”.
His critics, though, accuse him of not leaving any mark in the ministries he has headed. Mr Mwakwere differs.
“My critics only judge me on the basis of the so-called Michuki rules, which are really an issue of regulation whose implementation lies in other ministries. My predecessors, Mr John Michuki and Dr Chris Murungaru, put emphasis on transport regulations and privatisation of parastatals respectively, which was really a great job, but I have put stress on development of infrastructure, which my detractors have chosen to turn a blind eye to,” says the former headmaster of Krapf Memorial Secondary School.
He cites development of Mombasa port, foundation laying for the Lamu port, upgrading Kisumu Airport to international status and revival of railway transport as some of his successes.
He cites development of Mombasa port, foundation laying for the Lamu port, upgrading Kisumu Airport to international status and revival of railway transport as some of his successes.
Labour laws
He prides himself for developing the new labour laws, which he says even Cotu secretary-general Francis Atwoli will acknowledge, were his input. The latter is, however, on record demanding the sacking of the minister accusing him of sleeping on his job.
He says of his tenure at Foreign Affairs: “I managed to negotiate for the release of three drivers who were being held hostage in Iraq. We were the only country in Africa to manage the feat.”
Dr Adams Oloo, head of the political science and public administration department at the University of Nairobi calls the MP a political survivor.
“He first dabbled with Musyoka, then Kibaki and now Ruto. He left Kanu to help found Liberal Democratic Party, and then joined Shirikisho Party of Kenya, sought re-election on a PNU ticket and he is now hobnobbing with William Ruto’s United Democratic Movement,” Dr Oloo says.
A Kaya elder whose history, he says, dates back to the 14th century, Mr Mwakwere is at home with traditional ceremonies.
“I have a home in Ziwani, but I sleep anywhere in Matuga. How many ministers sleep in ordinary villages?” he posed.
He says his Constituency Development Fund’s ranking at number two in the latest report was erroneous “as I can only be number one.” But some of his constituents claim he is hard to reach and has been rarely seen in the constituency since his re-election.
Education
He counters: “I have done a lot for my people. I have built many secondary schools using my own salary and I pay fees for more than 100 young people in overseas universities.
What do you do when you have educated your own children and they are living comfortably?” the alumnus of Shimo La Tewa High School chortled.
While agreeing the minister’s claims were true, Mr Ali Mzee, a resident of Kwale, says most of those he helps are close family members.
One of the few MPs who updates their websites, Mr Mwakwere’s Curriculum Vitae is rich. “Perhaps it is this CV, which despite near unanimous assessment of his performance as lackluster, President Kibaki has seen it fit to keep him in high profile ministries,” said Mr Herbert Kerre, a political analyst.
Like his gynecologist colleague, Ikolomani MP Boni Khalwale, Mr Mwakwere leads a double life. On one hand, he is this suave academic speaking in international forums.
On the other, he is steeped in his people’s culture performing ancient rites in his capacity as a Kaya elder or he is on the campaign trail shooting from the hip, much at home with the dancing women of Matuga.
On the other, he is steeped in his people’s culture performing ancient rites in his capacity as a Kaya elder or he is on the campaign trail shooting from the hip, much at home with the dancing women of Matuga.
At the height of transport chaos after the collapse of the famous Michuki rules, he dismissed the complaints, saying he was a minister, not a traffic policeman, or a driver or a conductor.
“If there is madness on the roads I am not to blame,” argued the holder of a Master of Science degree in Maritime Studies and International Transport from the University of Wales, Cardiff.
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