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President Uhuru Kenyatta appears to have settled on his Handshake partner Raila Odinga as his preferred successor going by his latest pronouncement on the issue that has sharply divided his Mt Kenya backyard.

Uhuru’s pronouncements on Wednesday evening in Kibra, Nairobi, has now left tongues wagging.

The President, during a development tour in the constituency, asked the crowd to vote wisely saying only a development conscious leader will advance the country.

Referring to Raila as that type of leader Uhuru asked voters if they felt the same and said the decision is theirs. 

“When we came together, didn’t we experience peace? So where is the problem?

That is why I am very grateful to your hero, who is my elder brother (Raila) because after we brokered peace, development was witnessed and jobs started being created. Isn’t that what you want? Don’t you want that work to continue?

It is up to you. Will you make the right choices? Let’s see how you will make it,” Uhuru said in an apparent endorsement of Raila amid cheers from the crowd.

In a tell-tale speech, President Kenyatta said it was time Kenyans opposed to his unity bid with Raila read the signs on the wall to see the fruits of peace and unity.

“Let us love one another as, through that, there is nothing we can’t attain as a nation. I want to tell those grumbling to watch and see the benefits of togetherness and peace,” the President said.

The Head of State and Raila were in Kibra, which is the latter’s political bedroom to open a newly constructed hospital by the Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS). 

Uhuru’s seemingly endorsement follows a flurry of activities in his central Kenya backyard where Raila was hosted this past weekend in Nanyuki by four governors from the region before embarking on a whirlwind tour that saw him address eight stop over meetings in Nyeri, Kirinyaga, Murang’a and Kiambu.

The subtle endorsement appears to have caused excitement in the ODM and pro-handshake fraternity.

On the one hand, ODM chairman John Mbadi said the statement was long overdue and that the President was entitled to make a choice.

“We are happy that at long last the President has seen sense to go public. We are waiting to see him reciprocate for the support we have given him since his fall out with Ruto,” Mbadi said.

Crafting super alliance 

On the other hand, Jubilee deputy party leader David Murathe called on those yet to realise that Raila is their choice to open their eyes.

“It is something that we have been saying all a long but it appears some people think we are joking.

Watch this space to see for yourselves how the events are going to unfold,” Murathe told People Daily.

On Monday, Raila was hosted by Mt Kenya tycoons under the auspices of Mt Kenya Foundation (MKF).

Yesterday, he held a meeting with Mt Kenya MPs allied to Uhuru at Serena Hotel where the MPs laid down their demands for the ODM leader should he ascend to the House on the Hill.

Until the March 9, 2018 handshake, the DP had been expected to get automatic support from his boss, but the President has remained ambivalent on who he would support although two years ago, he had indicated that his preferred choice would shock many.

Uhuru’s apparent endorsement of Raila comes in the wake of revelations that some influential business moguls from Mt Kenya region are reportedly crafting a super alliance that could re-unite former leaders of the National Super Alliance (Nasa) to face off with Deputy President William Ruto.

MKF tycoons have been working on a strategy from behind the scenes to ensure a candidate of their choice ascends to the presidency in 2022.

Interviews with a cross section of members of the group revealed that the businessmen’s priority at the moment is re-uniting ODM leader Raila Odinga with his former Nasa allies, currently operating under the One Kenya Alliance (OKA).

Interestingly, the plan looks so well-choreographed that MKF have deliberately avoided involvement of Ruto in their line-up of activities even as they claim to be bent on listening to views of all presidential aspirants “before making up their mind on who to support”.

Sources intimated to the People Daily that though MKF has invited leaders of the other parties to present to them their vision and economic recovery strategy, their ultimate plan is to have the five support the candidature of the former premier.

The meeting between MKF had been planned for today but was pushed to next Thursday.

Winning goal

“This is to inform you that the luncheon organised by Mt Kenya Foundation for OKA has been moved from Friday, October 1, 2021 to Thursday, October 7, 2021 at Safari Park hotel, Nairobi,” a brief statement signed by Joe Murimi, MKF communications director stated.

Mudavadi yesterday confirmed he would attend the meeting with the hope of convincing the foundation members as well as voters in the region to back his bid, saying the region is too critical to be avoided. 

“The meeting is on as scheduled. I will present my views and policies before the Mount Kenya Foundation with a view to convince them about my suitability.

Forget about the propaganda being spread that we have refused to attend. Mt Kenya is a key region in my programme,” Mudavadi told People Daily.

But even as Mudavadi and his OKA counterparts prepare for the meeting, sources revealed MKF leaders had already settled on Raila as their preferred candidate.

Their main headache at the moment, sources disclosed, is how to convince Kalonzo, Mudavadi, Wetangula and Gideon to buy their game plan.

“There is a general consensus that Raila is the best bet, but the foundation and the people crafting President Uhuru Kenyatta succession think that OKA cannot be wished away and therefore, they should be accommodated and persuaded to support Baba for a guaranteed easy win.

Of course, agreeing or disagreeing is their prerogative but even if they refuse, I doubt whether it would change the position taken by the foundation members,” a source said yesterday.

Nakuru Governor Lee Kinyajui, who is among the leaders working with the foundation in favour of Raila said: “We (Mt Kenya region) want to go to this election, not with only one option of winning because winning is a must. And so, even as we listen to other people (OKA), we should be entering the race to win and when I look at all the other options, I think my position has already been made (Raila).”

The President had two months ago unsuccessfully tried to re-unite the former defunct Nasa leaders and in one of the meetings in Mombasa in August, he is reported to have told them: “you have no choice but to unite”.

During the Tuesday meeting MKF vice-chairman Titus Ibui announced that they would not only organise two more meetings between the ODM leader with governors and MPs from the region, but would also invite him during the session with OKA.

According to the source within MKF, the group is determined to ensure Raila and the OKA team regroup as soon as possible to form a joint alliance so that the campaigns can kick off immediately.

But should they remain adamant, the sources said they will be left to pursue their own course.