The race for the Nairobi governor Jubilee Party ticket seems to have narrowed down to former Gatanga MP and 2013 presidential candidate Peter Kenneth and Senator Mike Sonko. Initial reports indicated that the duo had been advised by the party leadership to use consensus to come up with a line-up.
This should not be construed to mean that JP did not believe in the tenets of democracy and public participation. The strategy was meant to avoid a situation where the primaries would be infiltrated by their rivals, resulting in nomination of weak candidates. The two would not heed the call and declared they will meet each other at the ballot.
So, who between Sonko and Kenneth stands a higher chance of clinching the JP ticket? I sought the opinions of a cross-section of Githurai residents. Of course, the opinion was divided.
In support of Sonko the comments went along the lines of, “Sonko plays dirty politics; he wears studs and bling-bling. We have no problem with this. We want a governor who will address the problems of the poor and downtrodden, who are the majority in this city. Sonko has all these qualities”.
In regard to the unproven claims that he was a drug baron, they said “Kenya is a rotten society. All the leaders we have had are not clean. Most of them, including those seeking to fly the NASA flag, have been adversely mentioned in mega corruption of yesteryear. So, we don’t care where Sonko gets his money. Unlike other leaders, he shares part of his wealth with us.”
Sonko was first linked to the drug business during the reign of President Mwai Kibaki. A report tabled in Parliament by then Internal Security minister George Saitoti listed him as among the six kingpins that were being pursued by the US government. He denied these allegations and dared the government to arrest and charge him, if it had evidence.
Those who supported Kenneth said he is clean, sober, well-educated and not a tribal kingpin. His track record when he served as Gatanga MP speaks for itself. He represented the interests of all the people, including the downtrodden. Overall, he was the best in managing CDF.
Kenneth proved his worth as National Planning assistant minister. He was one of the brains behind Vision 2030.
His decision to run for President in 2013 should not be misconstrued to mean he harboured ill-feelings toward Jubilee’s Uhuru Kenyatta. As a leader with ambitions to one day lead this nation, he had to start somewhere. This is the essence of democracy. Kenneth has already declared that he will support Deputy President William Ruto’s presidential bid in 2022.
Mwai Kibaki and Uhuru, who are from the same community, ran for President in 2002. Uhuru lost to Kibaki, but it did not take long before the two reconciled and agreed to work together. In fact, Uhuru played a key role in Kibaki’s reelection in 2007, which got him into trouble with the ICC.
Opinion is sharply divided on who will win. But from my observations, Kenneth stands a higher chance.
Those who support him share one thing in common — most have never seen him in person. He should come and sell his manifesto. He is capable, but we want to hear it from the horse’s mouth.