I wish to first send my sincere condolences to the family of the retired President Daniel arap Moi following the death of his eldest son, Jonathan Toroitich.
In the first statement released after the demise of Jonathan, the family requested that it should be allowed to mourn privately. This was a move in the right direction. It was meant to caution the politicians against using his death as a springboard of pushing their selfish and personal agenda of Uhuru succession. But there are two reasons why it is hard to keep off politics completely.
First, the deceased is a son of the retired President who ruled Kenya for 24 years. Second, apart from being a celebrated safari rally racer, Jonathan was also a politician. He contested the Eldama Ravine parliamentary seat in the 2002 and 2007 general elections.
Well, President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy were among the first leaders to console the family of the retired president. Two days later, Uhuru visited Mzee Moi at his Kabarak home and he was received by Senator Gideon Moi. So far, Uhuru has not shown preference to any candidate that he may want to succeed him. However, one thing has remained clear.
Deputy President William Ruto and his allies would always hit out at him whenever they see him, Moi and Gideon. They would interpret these visits to mean Uhuru was warming up to Gideon. Where is the evidence? Uhuru has never said he will support Gideon in 2022. Now that the DP has condoled with the Moi family, I hope his allies would take the cue.
JT was a close friend of Uhuru. Retired president Mzee Moi, on the other hand, mentored the political careers of President Uhuru and his deputy Ruto. As it is constantly said, this is time to know who is a true friend.
Political Analyst and Blogger
