Breaking News: Raphael Tuju to receive President Kibaki’s backing for presidency come 2012 elections

Posted by African Press International on August 28, 2011

By API

Unless he is placed there to reduce Raila’s Nyanza votes! Raphael Tuju to succeed Kibaki?  There is no doubt that he has the president’s ear! He has done so for 9 years now. Former adviser to President Mwai Kibaki, Raphael Tuju who served in Kibaki’s  government as Information minister and Foreign Affairs minister has declared his candidacy for the presidency come 2012 general elections.

Tuju says today that he will not form tribal alliance will rely on the youth, unemployed and others who do not go for tribal alliance politics. This may earn him acceptance than the others.

Kibaki has not stated who he will support in the elections. Having been adviser to the president for almost 4 years and having served him for 5 years, Tuju knows where president Kibaki’s ears are and who his heart has chosen to support.

All the other candidates have alliances that can easily be seen as tribal supported.

For Kibaki, this is an easy way out. To say he supports Tuju because Tuju is not building alliances. It is not clear as yet whether Tuju plans to stand as and Independent candidate – with no party affiliation, because that will even help him more as  a man with a national agenda and not one based on tribal control.

Kenyans should not forget that the youth may decide the next president of the Republic. With the new constitution in place, the youth and marginalised are empowered and have a say never heard of before in Kenya.

Some may question reason why Kibaki may support Tuju. The president appointed Tuju his information minister and later Foreign affairs minister. When ODM removed Tuju as MP for Rarieda in 2007, the President embraced him and made him presidential adviser. That should tell the country where the president’s mind is, especially when we now see that Tuju tells Kenyans that the president gave him a go ahead to resign as adviser. This will give Tuju enough time to travel around the country and campaign.

There are those who may say, Tuju’s entry as presidential candidate has been engineered by PNU with Kibaki’s blessing. The purpose would then be that Tuju is being used as a spoiler of votes for Raila Odinga who hails from the same Province as Tuju. If Nyanza turns against Tuju because he is now the only one from the province challenging Raila’s might there, that will help Tuju. People will say, it is his democratic right to stand and challenge anybody vying for the presidency.

People will argue. In Kalenjin there are more than one, Ruto and Koech - the army retired man, in Luhya there is Wamalwa, Wafoli, Jirongo, Watengula, in Kikuyu area we have Uhuru, Karua etc. So why attack Tuju from Nyanza where there will only be two, Raila and Tuju?.

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