By MUCHEMI WACHIRA mwachira@ke.nationmedia.com
Posted Thursday, December 27 2012 at 00:30
Posted Thursday, December 27 2012 at 00:30
IN SUMMARY
- The county is endowed with various resources that range from geothermal power, tourist attraction sites, and the biggest floricultural industry, besides boasting of rich agricultural land
Ethnic harmony is the biggest issue in Nakuru county ahead of the elections and beyond.
Nakuru is an important transit county at the heart of Kenya where almost every ethnic group is found.
But its politics has, since independence, been dictated by ethnic considerations. And it is the Kikuyu community — the largest group inhabiting the county — that has the political power.
This dominance has over the years generated hostility from the Kalenjin, the second largest group, who claim to be the original “owners” of Nakuru.
It is this hostility that has resulted in the killings of many people and destruction of property that has motivated the coming together of Mr Uhuru Kenyatta and Mr William Ruto in the Jubilee alliance.
Will the history of violent ethnic rivalries end with this alliance? This is the question Nakuru is grappling with. The coalition’s principals are convinced that the answer is a resounding Yes, but not everybody is convinced.
“Never again will people fight over elections,” vowed Mr Ruto when the pair announced creation of the alliance at Afraha Stadium recently.
Mr Kenyatta added: “We are here to announce that we are prepared to work together for the sake of unity of all Kenyans.”
Mr Joseph Omondi, a civil society activist who is seeking a TNA ticket to vie for Nakuru West Parliamentary seat, believes the alliance is good because it will bring harmony. “The level of political tension has gone down, which is good for us,” he says.
But questions are still being raised whether the Uhuru-Ruto marriage is sincere and if it could end the recurrent ethnic violence that afflicts Nakuru.
“The alliance puts Nakuru at the mercy of ethnic politics,” says veteran politician Koigi wa Wamwere, who is seeking the senate seat on his own Chama Cha Mwananchi ticket.
“It’s inherently divisive,” he adds. “It has split Nakuru into two — one part is a colony of central Kenya and the other one belongs to Eldoret.”
Instead, Mr Wamwere believes that Nakuru should have been left to decide its own political destiny.
Mrs Jayne Kihara, a former Naivasha MP who is also in the race for the senate seat on a Narc Kenya ticket, agrees. She says Nakuru should chart its own political destiny.
“We should not be having decisions made for us by outsiders, and if this continues, we will never resolve our problems.”
The spokesman for Rift Valley Council of elders’ Gilbert Kabage, who participated in a deal between elders ponsored by the National Cohesion and Integration Commission, says it is too early to celebrate.
“The alliance will only become a reality if Uhuru and Ruto form the government, and if they don’t, the peace cannot be achieved,” he says.
Supporters of the alliance say it will bring harmony because for the first time, the Kalenjin and the Kikuyu would vote as a bloc.
Their rivalry has been so intense that even in 2002 when the Kalenjin voted for Kanu’s Uhuru Kenyatta, the Kikuyu backed Mwai Kibaki of Narc.
In their political deal, TNA and URP are supposed to share positions equally.
Where TNA is to field a candidate for the governor for example, URP is expected to take the senate seat.
The only problem with this deal is its tribal nature and its exlusion of other parties and communities. It is assumed that TNA is a Kikuyu party while URP is Kalenjin. Consequently, all other groups in Nakuru feel left out and this may cause friction.
Secondly, other major parties in the county like the Orange Democratic Movement are unlikely to play ball and will field candidates according to their own regulations.
Nakuru is one of Kenya’s biggest counties with 11 constituencies.
It is endowed with various resources ranging from geothermal power and the world famous tourist attraction sites. It also has the biggest floricultural industry besides having rich agricultural land.
For the people of Nakuru, the challenge is how to elect an all-inclussive leadership that can effectively manage these resources for the benefit of the county.
So far, the gubernatorial seat has attracted four aspirants, with two of them fighting for the TNA ticket.
They are Nakuru Town MP Lee Kinyanjui and former Administration Police commandant Kinuthia Mbugua.
Others are Dr Francis Kiranga of UDF and Rev Lawrence Bomett of ODM. URP has not produced a candidate for governor.
In the Uhuru-Ruto arrangement, TNA is supporting a URP candidate for the senate seat. The position of deputy governor would also go to URP while other minority communities would be considered in the other seats in the County Assembly.
A URP aspirant for senate, Kuresoi MP Zakayo Cheruiyot, would fight it out with Mr Wamwere and Mrs Kihara. There is also Njenga Mungai vying on an ODM ticket and Stanley Chege Karanja, an independent candidate.
The Jubilee alliance pact has triggered protests from other aspirants who had been campaigning for the TNA ticket and who will be locked out of the race.
The aspirants Paul Madaraka Mwithaga, Zipporah Kimani, James Mungai, Samuel Nairoshi Boniface and Mwaura Ngugi insist that sharing out seats in boardrooms is undemocratic.
A parliamentary aspirant in Nakuru Town West, Keziah Ngina has vowed to defy the directive by TNA, saying, she had used a lot of resources in campaigning.
In what has caused confusion in the county, TNA has asked all aspirants to pay their nomination fees in preparation for the Jubilee alliance primaries. This has created doubt if the arrangement of sharing power is still there.
If all the aspirants for senator go for the Jubilee primaries, then the TNA-URP unity may not be realised as a Kikuyu candidate is likely to be the winner.
And if TNA sticks to the earlier plan of not fielding a candidate for the senate seat, it still remains uncertain whether members of the Kikuyu community will vote for the URP flagbearer.
This is because the URP candidate will be competing with candidates from other parties most of who are Kikuyus.
A similar deal had been signed in August between elders from all the ethnic groups in the county. It appeared promising at the beginning before politicians scuttled it.
The deal was initiated by NCIC with the aim of addressing the perpetual conflict between the Kikuyus and Kalenjins.
In the initiative, NCIC commissioner Alice Nderitu and chairman Mzalendo Kibunjia had managed to bring together elders from the two rival communities to the negotiating table.
The main objective was to agree on how to share elective seats in the county, which had been identified as the main cause of the conflict.
The accord was signed after three years of dialogue and consultations between the Kikuyu and Kalenjin elders.
Even other small communities in Nakuru, which include, Kisiis, Luhyas, Luos, Maasais, Kambas and Somalis were involved in the accord.
But the accord was rejected by politicians on grounds that it called for the sharing of seats.
“We had involved Uhuru and Ruto during our negotiations and so they were part of it and that is why I believe that the pact they signed between their parties will change the voting pattern in Nakuru.
“This will ensure there is peace in the entire Rift Valley region,” Mr Andrew Yatich, one of the coordinators of the NCIC-sponsored pact, said.
Mr Samuel Maigua, who co-chaired the initiative with former nominated MP Wilson Leitich, says it was the best way to end political violence in Nakuru.
Nakuru town MP Kinyanjui, who is seeking the governor’s seat, shares the same feelings.
“If Kikuyus and Kalenjins can vote jointly as a bloc, Nakuru would experience peace and its economy will improve,” he told the Nation.
Nakuru has been a hotbed of Kenya’s politics since the days of Mzee Jomo Kenyatta. Besides ethnic ideology dominating the county’s politics, the leadership has also been dominated by tycoons — some of who are not educated.
Friday: Nandi County
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