• Mutua says Kenya has lagged behind in terms of development due to tribal thinking
• Mendeleo Chap Chap to roll out development projects to all parts of the country
Image: COURTESY
Maendeleo Chap Chap party leader Alfred Mutua on Tuesday said the 2020 presidential race will not be about tribal showmanship but the ability to change the lives of Kenyans.
Speaking to the Star two days after Kalonzo Musyoka’s party Wiper Democratic Movement claimed that the three Ukambani governors have no control and influence in the region, Mutua said Kenya has lagged behind “because of such backward reasoning”.
“If at this stage of great civilisation a political party is still reasoning along tribal blocks, then they have a problem. The Kenya we have now and going forward is a country and we want leaders to compete on the basis of issues they want to do for this country. How to create jobs for the youths and to revive the economy for the benefit of all should be what preoccupies us,” he told the Star on phone.
In a statement on Sunday, Wiper, through its secretary general Judith Sijeny stated that if any leader is banking on governors Charity Ngilu (Kitui), Alfred Mutua (Machakos) and Kivutha Kibwana (Makueni) bypassing Kalonzo, then their mission will be barren.
The argument put forward by Sijeny is that the three governors who have fallen out with the former Vice President have no influence individually and collectively in the Ukambani politics.
“Raila tried it with Ngilu in 2007 and saw the results. Uhuru tried it with Mutua in 2017 and saw the results. On the contrary, when Kalonzo decided to support Raila in 2013 and 2017, Kambas gave Raila more votes than even the Luo voters did, Sijeny said.
But Mutua who has announced that he will be running for president in 2022 said Kenyans deserve better leadership “than those who prefer to herd Kenyans into tribal cocoons”.
Mutua who is serving his second and last term as Machakos governor called on Kenyans to elect good leaders who are ready to fight corruption and develop the country saying unless voters change how they choose leaders, they will always get a raw deal.
He said his vision for the country resonates well with several Kenyans saying “my mission is to eradicate poverty and ensure the gap between the rich and the poor is bridged”.
“My leadership as has been the case in Machakos is to ensure that Kenyans have clean money in their pockets. I will create socio-economic opportunities for all of us. The time for tribalism and godfathers is long gone,” he said.
Mutua, who served as the government spokesman during the retired President Mwai Kibaki's tenure before venturing into politics in 2013, said it is time for “some politicians who have been in the field far too long to retire”.
“Some of those telling us that we do not have influence and or control have been there, they have held senior positions in this country but unfortunately they have no development record to show. Kenyans suffered under their time in office and this is the kind of leadership as a country we should get rid of,” he said.
Edited by R.Wamochie