There is hardly anything wrong with the unity of a community until interested parties give the initiative a presidential succession hue. ‘Steak-holders’ are roasting Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua because of their interpretation of his intention.
‘Kingpinship’ in Central Kenya is at the core of the clash in the United Democratic Alliance. The party counts the Kalenjin-dominated Rift Valley and Kikuyu-dominated Mt Kenya region as its base.
Gachagua of the Mountain is understood to be calling for unity to affirm his position as the ‘kingpin’. The call is seen as a challenge to President William Ruto, who edged out an insider to become the totem pole of Mt Kenya politics. Gachagua is reclaiming the stake — as a matter of respect to the House of Mumbi.
There was no dispute who the ‘kingpin’ of the Abagusii was during the 1980s, 1990s and the first two decades of this century. Attempts by others to fit the bill fell flat each time they struggled for ethnic preeminence.
Even without holding an elective political office for some of the time, the shadow of the ‘kingpin’ loomed large. Politics merely added gravitas to a leader who had earned his clout.
Simeon Nyachae studiously won the recognition of the industrious citizens of the rolling Kisii highlands, to the south of what was then Nyanza Province. Perhaps it was his longevity as a top civil servant — a merited climb from the lower ranks of the provincial administration.
Perhaps it was the many lives he touched that earned him prominence beyond the borders of the Abagusii. Nyachae was a major employer, and a model farmer. His star often shone brighter than the rest.
Being a son of a paramount colonial chief aided his prominence among the Abagusii. When he acquired a political party, Ford People, Nyachae offered a rallying voice to the Abagusii. Then, he was affirming a position he would hold until he quit politics.
The Abagusii have endured a ‘kingpinship’ vacuum since the 2013 general election. No one has shone bright enough to succeed Nyachae, as the ‘kingpin’ of the Abagusii — the go-to person for sagacity and political counsel.
The stars of Cabinet ministers Samson Ongeri and Chris Obure, who eyed the status, have dimmed even without Nyachae. Rivalling political parties have since foraged, through different routes, for votes in the Abagusii counties of Kisii and Nyamira.
Wiper Democratic Party leader Kalonzo Musyoka is the Kamba ‘kingpin’. The voice of Kalonzo, a former vice president, has been heard during subsequent elections since 2002. Attempts by former Cabinet minister Charity Ngilu, a 1997 presidential candidate, to rival Kalonzo’s star has often failed. The flops show communities admit one ‘kingpin’ at a time. There is still no room for ‘queenship’ in a patriarchy.
The undisputed ‘kingpin’ of the Luo is ODM leader and 2022 Azimio coalition presidential candidate Raila Odinga. Raila took three decades of resilience to affirm the position. He has since extended his clout beyond the borders of his community.
The Abaluhyia's search for a ‘kingpin’ remains elusive, even after decades of hunting. Central Organisation of Trade Union secretary general Francis Atwoli claims he spent Sh200 million in 2017 on the ‘kingpin’ project. But he learnt money cannot buy community ‘kingpinship’.
Three years to the 2027 general election, the Mt Kenya region that has always boosted successive ‘kingpins’ is rumbling for a political chieftainship. Founding President Jomo Kenyatta was the pioneer ‘kingpin’ of the House of Mumbi.
Kenneth Matiba and former President Mwai Kibaki were undisputed ‘kingpins’ during their times. Former President Uhuru Kenyatta was Mt Kenya ‘kingpin’ while he reigned.
Limuru III, a congregation of Mt Kenya communities, nominated Kenyatta II for the role, but he is not interested because there is no political mileage after leaving State House.
There is no dispute who the ‘kingpin’ and the political rallying voice of the Kalenjin is. President William Ruto seized the mantle after he outplayed former President Moi and outfoxed his blue-eyed son Gideon from the throne. Moi had to unite assorted Rift Valley communities to win the clout.
By virtue of holding the highest political office in Central Kenya, Gachagua is claiming this position. Unity of the Agikuyu, Embu and the Ameru would give the DP clout in a bargain for power-sharing.
Mt Kenya's ‘kingpinship’, for now, rests with the President, who edged out Kenyatta II, a son of the Agikuyu, from political chieftainship. This is the undercurrent of the tension between the DP, a Kikuyu insider, and the President, an ethnic outsider.