Mijikenda kaya elders coordinator Tsuma Kombe at Kaya Fungo in Kaloleni, Kilifi county, on Monday /BRIAN OTIENO
Kaya elders at Kaya Fungo in Kaloleni, Kilifi county, on Monday /BRIAN OTIENO
Kaya elders have denounced former Cabinet minister Chirau Mwakwere as the Mijikenda spokesperson.
The elders from all nine sacred kayas at the Coast said on Monday Mwakwere is pursuing his own interests rather than those of the community.
Their sentiments were echoed by political activists led by Kaloleni's Alex Kasuku, who said anybody who associates with Mwakwere will be considered an enemy of the Mijikenda community.
“All politicians who come here to the Coast must know that the Mijikenda community has Kaya elders who are the leaders of the community, and any issue must go through them.
“Do not be fooled by busybodies out there calling themselves community spokespersons, yet they do not have the blessings of the Kaya elders,” Kasuku told the Star on Monday.
He echoed sentiments by the Kaya elders, who met at Kaya Fungo in Kaloleni, Kilifi county, saying Mwakwere does not in any way represent the Mijikenda community.
They were responding to DCP leader Rigathi Gachagua’s visit to the Coast on June 28 and 29, during which he was hosted by Mwakwere in Kwale.
Gachagua said he paused his Wamunyoro consultations to attend to “urgent family matters” at the Coast.
“We do not recognise the former ambassador as our spokesperson. He is not a Kaya elder and cannot purport to speak on behalf of the Mijikenda community,” Kasuku, who is eyeing the Kaloleni MCA seat, said.
Jenjewa Mwafati, a Kaya elder from Matuga, said they pushed Mwakwere to become a Cabinet minister, but he forgot the Mijikenda people and the Kaya elders.
He said they are firmly behind President William Ruto because of what he has done for the Coast, not only for the Mijikenda community.
“Now, in Matuga, we have tarmac roads going to Kinango. We have never witnessed this in our history. This has happened with Ruto at the helm,” Mwafati said.
“This message needs to get to President Ruto. We need a sit-down at State House so we can tell him the key issues we have. We want him to be the chief guest at Chenda Chenda.”
The Chenda Chenda Festival is an annual cultural celebration held every September 9 to honour the heritage and unity of the nine indigenous Mijikenda sub-tribes.
“Chenda” means “nine” in the Mijikenda language and represents the nine sub-tribes: Giriama, Chonyi, Rabai, Ribe, Jibana, Kambe, Kauma, Duruma and Digo.
Mijikenda Kaya Elders coordinator Tsuma Kombe said Gachagua has made many trips to the Coast, but his latest visit has not gone down well with the Kaya elders.
“This last time, it is like you want to divide the Mijikenda. Kaya elders are not politicians. They only give direction to the community,” he said.
Kombe said the Kaya elders were surprised to see Mwakwere holding a private meeting with Gachagua alongside other leaders from the Mijikenda community, including former Cabinet ministers Morris Dzoro and Kazungu Kambi, and former Knut secretary general Mudzo Nzili.
He said opposition politics is welcome, but it must be conducted with respect and messages of peace, not warmongering.
“Gachagua is in the united opposition. Why did he come secretly without his other united opposition members? What is he secretly cooking?” Kombe posed.
Hamisi Juma, from Kwale, which is home to Kaya Duruma and Kaya Digo, said Mwakwere was neither elected nor appointed by the Kaya elders to be the community spokesperson.
He said Mwakwere crowned himself the Mijikenda community spokesperson after attending the memorial of former Coast kingpin Ronald Ngala last December.
“We don’t recognise him as the Mijikenda spokesperson. To be the Mijikenda community spokesperson, you have to go to all nine kayas and get the blessings of the elders. You have to undergo all the rituals that come with the position,” Juma said.
However, Mwakwere laughed off the allegations by the Kaya elders.
Quoting Gilbert and Sullivan, Mwakwere said, “Things are not what they seem. Bulls are but inflated frogs.”
He said he was crowned Mijikenda spokesperson on September 9, 2009, during the first Chenda Chenda Festival by Menza Tuva (deceased).
“The Kaloleni event [on December 26 last year] was just a formality,” Mwakwere told the Star.
“I am the custodian of all items of ancestral governance of the Mijikenda. I am the holder of the title Mwinza Mkulu (the great hunter), given to me by Menza Tuva.”
He said there are people scared of him because he predicted the outcome of the 2027 Mombasa governor race, saying the winner will be a Mijikenda deputised by a person from upcountry.
Mwakwere dismissed the ceremony at Kaya Fungo as a façade, saying Kaya matters are conducted in the traditional Mijikenda language and not in any other.
He said the focus of the Mijikenda community should be on its well-being, including how to recover grabbed land, secure jobs for its children and improve livelihoods.
“But if they come and say they do not recognise me, then I have no comment. If you go to Uganda and the Baganda say they do not recognise the Kabaka, what will you do?" Mwakwere asked.
“There are people who do not recognise Ruto as their President, but he is the President of the Republic of Kenya. What do you want Ruto to do? He will just laugh and go on doing his work.”
The Kaya elders warned Mwakwere of unspecified consequences if he continues calling himself the Mijikenda community spokesperson and purporting to act on behalf of the community.
They told Gachagua to seek out the Kaya elders if he wants their blessings, rather than going through people they described as busybodies seeking political relevance.
The Kaya elders said they gave Mwakwere 14 days to seek them out and apologise for going against Mijikenda traditions, but he refused.
