Nowrojee Is Engaged In A Smear Campaign Against Uhuru

THURSDAY, 08 MARCH 2012 00:13 BY OTIENO WEDA

RIGHT TO REPLY

I have read assertions by Wambugu Ngunjiri appearing in the Star newspaper on March 5 2012 with amusement. He has made a baffling allegation that Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta is practicing the politics of older generation. He did not explain what he meant by this. Wambugu has not alluded to the dynamics that comprise politics of older generation even though his assertions tend to display Mr Kenyatta in a negative light.

First, there is nothing inherently wrong with the older generation, leave alone their politics. Being in a generation is a matter of time. Cabinet minister John Michuki and politician Njenga Karume were members of a different generation to Wambugu’s yet that alone did not make them different. It is their generation, which gave birth and rise to the Wambugu-Uhuru-Weda generation. To insinuate that there was something amiss with that generation is to insult your own past.

Second, the Wambugu generation came into a country which was up and running. Things may not have been running in a way that Wambugu would have loved, but they were. It would be presumptive and arrogant to ignore this. These things were run by people that Wambugu calls old generation and desires to be shunned. It is impossible to successfully run away from our past. If they did not exist and found the Kenyan nation, Wambugu would not be. The old generation he is vilifying is the generation of his parents and grandparents. It maybe that if today you look at Wambugu Ngunjiri’s mouth, you would not believe he suckled his mother’s breasts.

Third, Mr Kenyatta is not coming to invent the wheel, a new country or a new people. He is in a country that is inhabited by the old, the current and the new generation. As an elected leader, he has to lead all the generations. It is not open to him to discriminate or ignore any of the generations. Wambugu is attempting to box Mr Kenyatta into a bad form of leadership where one generation ignores or lords it over the other. He must lead everybody. He knows this very well and that is why Wambugu may be suffering the illusion that Mr Kenyatta is playing the politics of the old generation.

Fourth, the allegation that central Kenya leaders are threatened with natural attrition with no effective transition is baseless. One only needs to open his eyes to see that the Uhuru-Jamleck-Githae-Kiunjuri-Kabando-Kabogo-Nguyai generation has been limbering along for a considerable while. They have been practicing for over a decade. In fact, any continued delay will see their replacement by the latest generation. To suggest that there is or could be a vacuum in leadership is to say these leaders do not exist. Even Wambugu himself is welcome to replace the departing generation. He is part of the troop.

Finally, Mr Kenyatta is the Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Kenya, a national leader. Trying to project him as a central Kenya leader is to limit his horizon and to cheapen his leadership prowess. He has declared his intentions to gun for the presidency and to lead the 40 million Kenyans. Purporting that his domain is central Kenya is mischievous. Opinion polls show that he is one of the most popular politicians of our times. He has popular support across generations and all over the country.

He has conducted himself and his politics in a dignified and polished manner. Mr Kenyatta’s vision is clearly of the people of Kenya. As Minister for Finance, he initiated policies geared to improve the living standards and welfare of the Kenyan people collectively. The Sh22 billion Economic Stimulus Package was not intended for the old generation or central Kenya, but the entire population of Kenya. I urge Wambugu to get his facts correctly and join in building one country, one people with a common destiny. Join Mr Kenyatta in uniting the people of Kenya, preaching peace and working for prosperity. Let the dead rest and encourage the living to prosper.

The writer is an advocate of the High Court of Kenya ( okilweda@gmail.com. This article was submitted by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.