mzalendo :: Eye On Kenyan Parliament

By Mzalendo Writer

It will indeed be a riveting and expensive battle in Juja Constituency, which is in the heartland of Central Kenya, and money is expected to play a critical role in deciding who becomes the next Juja Member of Parliament in the December 27 general elections.

The cosmopolitan constituency, which is in Thika district, is largely a business zone as most of its bigger part is dry thus not conducive for farming. Quarries and coffee estate dominate the bigger part of the constituency.

It has a large immigrant population, which is estimated at 30 percent of the electorate. They are mainly factory workers in the industrial towns of Thika, Ruiru and Juja. Githurai, a populous area adjacent to Nairobi also falls under Juja constituency.

William Kabogo Gitau, a wealthy and flamboyant Sisi Kwa Sisi politician is the immediate former Juja Member of Parliament and he would be seeking re-election. He is commonly referred to as “Chopper man” for his love of a helicopter which he owns. Come the December general election, Kabogo, 47, will square it out with hordes of aspirants, a notable force being an equally wealthy businessman, the “Citi Hoppa” bus company chief executive Mr. George Thuo. Residents are describing the scenario as the battle between a helicopter and a bus. Mr. Thuo is a business associate of internal security Minister and Kangema legislator Mr. John Michuki. Mr. Kabogo has claimed that Mr. Michuki is on a mission to ensure that his ally and business associate ousts the Chopper man.

There is quite a lengthy list of other aspirants in Juja constituency including: Mr. Dick Githaiga, a constructor and a long time buddy of President Mwai Kibaki; former Juja Member of Parliament Mr. Stephen Ndicho who is currently a preacher; Ms. Alice Wambui Ng’ang’a, a young stone mining agent; Dr. Kiama Wangai an advocate cum pathologist’ Mr. Francis Waititu Munyua an Estate Manager commonly known as “Wakapee”; Mrs. Beatrice Wairimu a women’s leader; Mrs. Mary Kirika, a businesswoman; Mrs. Eunice Gathigia Githua; Mrs. Agnes Wangui Kibugu; Mr. Charles Ng’ang’a Muchai, who contested the seat in 2002 on the ruling National Rainbow Coalition (Narc) ticket and came second to Mr.Kabogo; Mr. David Nzioka and Mr. Boniface Karanja, a social worker with the Anglican Church. It will indeed be a tight pick for the voters in Juja constituency.

Mr. Kabogo has vowed that he will pour money into Juja and make sure that nobody dislodges him. He has however received a lot of negative remarks from constituents for conducting his meet the people tour with a chopper, which is considered showing off. According to residents, he has done very little for Juja people despite his remarks that he has enough money to an extent that he can loan the Kenyan government. Mr. Kabogo is on record saying that he is not in Parliament to make money but to assist poor people of Juja.

As far as his development record, he has installed electricity in most parts of Juja constituency through the Constituency Development Fund (CDF). A number of police posts have also been put up through CDF. Those which have been completed include Mwiki Police Post in Githurai location, Prison AP Post (Kihunguro) and Kahawa Sukari Police Post both in Ruiru location. Others include Ndururumo Police Post and Thika Location Chief’s Toilet in Thika location. CDF funds have also been used to put up several health facilities such as Athi Dispensary, Juja Farm dispensary and Gatuanyaga Dispensary, and roads in Kiandutu slums and Athena have been greatly improved.

Mr. Kabogo is praised by many to have a touch for the needy and poor and he is also praised to be a man down to earth despite his immense wealth. He is considered by many voters as somebody who is always on the ground. He is very popular especially with youths and he has stayed close to the ground throughout his entire tenure the last 5 years. This would be a big plus for him come the voting day. He has, however, not been having a cozy time with some key government officials including Michuki who may campaign against him.

By Mzalendo Blogger

5:30 pm to 7:00 pm

The house switched into committee mode. MP Gor Sungu took the Speaker’s chair as the chairman of the committee, (not the speaker) and the committee members who debated an Employment Bill.

Minister Newton Kulundu would stand up and struggle to read that “I propose that clause as amended be approved” and the Chair would then ask MP’s to vote – “those in favor say aye, those who opposed say nay.” And this tedious process had to be repeated for all 80 clauses
in the bill, which took over an hour. It appeared boring, but as we have been told, committees are where debate and legislation is done.

Njoki Ndungu proposed 3 amendments to the Bill :
(i) to increase maternity leave of a new mother from two to three months
(ii) to grant new fathers 2 weeks paternity leave to tend to their new children and
(iii) to delete a clause in the current law that requires private employers who pay maternity costs for staff to be reimbursed by the National Social Security Fund (NSSF)

MP’s Ruth Oniango, Wangari Maathai and Charity Ngilu spoke in support of the maternity extension motions and the bills were passed by the
committee.

After 6:00 PM, the Vice President stood to pass a motion to adjourn the house for the day, and allow the committee to continue their debate thereafter. The house was in committee mode and the language used was slightly different. The VP, Labour Minister and even Njoki has several
time be instructed by the Chairman who himself was probably reading on the proper language to use on things like “make report” “I propose that the bill as amended be adopted” and even had to remind people that he was “Mr. Chairman” not “Mr. Speaker”.

So the Mace was put back on the table and the committee became parliament gain for a minute as the VP adjourned the house for the day. Gor Sunguh was back in his seat as MP, as he addressed the temporary Speaker with a report that the committee would continue
after adjournment. Then the Mace was removed and the committee resumed
its debate on the employment bill, with Sunguh back in the Chair.

After the 80 clauses were passed, MP Njoki Ndungu brought forward another amendment this time to grant a mother who adopts a child the same rights a mother of a newborn baby.

This amendment however did not sail as smoothly as the earlier ones.

It was opposed by Minister Kulundu several times, even once saying that a lady could
give birth and adopt a child every other year and always be on leave to which Njoki replied that was a male viewpoint unlikely to happen in real life. VP Moody Awori challenged the definition of an adopted child saying it did not make sense when a school age child was adopted to award
maternity leave to the mother. MP Justin Muturi asked for a definition of duties of a parent to an adopted child. MP Omingo Magara challenged the wording of the bill that gave mothers, and not fathers, rights to which Njoki replied that it was the current laws that did not recognize father rights to adopt

The amendment was awkwardly worded and Njoki kept amending the amendment – changing “child” to “infant”, deleting “duties”, but even her allies like Ruth Oniango could not fix it. At one time it appears the amendment had passed, but MP Magara said that the ‘final’
amendment had not been read out, and when it was, the amendment was
voted down by MP’s. It was later confirmed that the amendment did pass.

MP Julia Ojiambo stood to add another amendment called ‘gender action’ should proceeded to read out a 5 minute summary of what the Bill hoped to do which was in essence to require that the government balance out
by giving women 30% of employment in public sector. This also led to a lot of debate

Minister Martha Karua stood to support the motion saying it would out into the laws what it no the government position that 30% of public service jobs be set aside for women.

Chairman Sunguh asked that MP’s carefully analyze the amendment since the definition in the amendment was any organization that received public funds, including the parliament – and if that was workable or they would end up in industrial court forever.

Minister Kulundu said that the matter should be addressed to the Minister for Public Service who was present. Minister for Public Service Akaranga added that such an amendment should be directed to the public service reform bill being drawn up by
his ministry to be presented later (even in the next parliament). MP Justin Muturi argued that this would be regulated by a board which was not even in existence and seriously would offer tax breaks to private companies for complying with the 30% law.

Debate was still going on up to 7:00 PM, but the amendment appeared doomed

By Mzalendo Blogger

5 PM to 5:30 PM

Tail end of the financial bill debate

About 50 MP’s are standing around in the chamber having conversations with each other. Government side seems to have a slight advantage in numbers - 30 to the opposition’s 20. Very loud conversations going on except that of government ministers. After about ten minutes of this, the Speaker shouts out “Where are the Tellers?” and the house gets back into character as MP’s take their seats again.

Three MP’s Kuria Kanyingi, Gor Sunguh and Njoki Ndungu begin a ceremonial march around and into the chambers, then come and bow before the speaker. They announce the results of a vote as being 25 for aye’s and 25 for the nay’s then bow and take their seats.

The speaker (not Kaparo) announces the result again, and adds that house rules give the house speaker a chance to break such a vote and he casts his vote with the aye’s resulting in the opposition side thumping their feet in celebrations. Finance minister Amos Kimunya stands up and challenges the speaker’s vote – asking if he had voted initially and if it was in order for him to vote again? The speaker replies that the rules were clear and that he was in order to break the vote. A few minutes later, he read out the relevant clause for Minister to show that he was within his right to vote (since he was not the House Speaker).

Debate on the financial bill continued.

MP Oburu Odinga got up and proposed an amendment in the bill so that a 20% increase in the cost of used spare parts be deleted, saying that many Kenyans depended on these affordable parts for their cars. Minister Kimunya stood up and said that his intention when he inserted that tax in the budget was to cut down on the dumping of those spare parts - but he has listened to the wishes of the people and he concurred that the tax should be deleted from the bill. Oburu then asked for further tax increase he mentioned on VAT for real estate be deleted from the bill, but Kimunya clarified that the clauses had already been amended by the house and were redundant.

Kimunya then asked that dates of two matters in the budget be amended as part of the bill. First that a tax on plastics to begin on October 1 and another that a tax on liquors to start effective today (October 16) – both of which were passed.

The Finance Bill, which is considered crucial before the house is dissolved for elections, was then passed and MP’s then stood to give comments on the Bill. MP Wangari Maathai stood and commended MP’s for their passage of the bill and especially for the tax on plastic bags since they (bags) were an environmental menace.

MP Otieno Kajwang then stood and asked that when taxes are proposed in the budget/financial bill, they be formulated to promote local entrepreneurs, not multi-nationals.

MP Jakoyo Midiwo added that he agreed with Kajwang’s comments –and wanted the Finance minister to consult more with the finance committee of parliament before coming up with tax proposals. However, as he went on to describe the Finance Minister of being, arrogant and evasive, the speaker cut him off and asked him to restrain his comments – so he finished by saying that he wants the record to show that multi-nationals have continued to intimidate members of the finance committee before ‘going behind their backs to cut deals with the Finance Minister’.

MP Kiema Kilonzo stood and added that Kenya needs a paradigm shift in (i) how bills are formulated to benefit local entrepreneurs and not multinationals and (2) how the finance minister handles his public relations

Finance Minister Kimunya had the final word and stood to thank MP’s for passage o the bill. He described is a difficult process, adding that he had lost weight, to which some opposition MP’s yelled “Farewell!”

He commended the MP’s saying it was their dedication and work that enabled Kenyans to win the international award for 2nd most improved country in Africa and 8th overall in the world

By Leah W. Njuguna

ASPIRANTS FOR 2007 ELECTIONS

Harry Mugo, a professional valuation and quantity surveyor for the last 30 years, is the strongest challenger to Karua. He has maintained a high level of campaigning in the region. Mugo says he is driven by the desire to serve the community. Mugo is calling for an audit of the Gichugu CDF alleging that projects which have been implemented so far do not correspond to the amounts allocated. He has also questioned the CDF committee and contractors selection saying those awarded the tenders were Karua’s cronies. In addition, he points to the poorly performing health sector and the lack of a clear vision for education in the area. According to Mugo, “Education quality has gone down drastically since the school committee and teachers have no motivation for the pupils and students.”

Another serious contender is Fedesius Nyagah, a former director of the Kenya Power and Lighting Company. He resigned to vie for the seat and will be trying to unseat the incumbent for the third time. Nyagah has been involved in horticulture and assisting farmers to get markets for their produce locally and abroad. He also claims to have assisted locals get electricity to their homes.

Dr. Jakan Gutu is another aspirant who cannot be taken lightly. He has promised to provide free medical camps occasionally if elected. The aspirant has been organizing these camps attracting hundreds of sick people. He has also been donating wheel chairs to physical challenged people. “My responsibility is the health of the Gichugu people because once you have good health other things go well,” he told a gathering recently. Gutu has also said he will revive the small scale industries to create employment and improve transport. The aspirant has said his main focus would be women and the youth who he terms as the perfect vehicle to eradicate poverty. Gutu has also said that education will also be his top priority where he will initiate Gichugu education loans board similar to the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) and ensure that no single child is left out of school due to fees. Gutu, who is a director of Kimunye tea factory, has also promised a better deal for tea and coffee farmers if he is elected. It remains to be seen the challenge he will pose to the incumbent MP.

With a number of skeletons in her wardrobe, Karua’s opponents and aspiring politicians will try their best to articulate her failures and why she should be kicked out.
But this will not be an easy task since Karua, being a tough fighter, will use all her muscles in an attempt to re-capture the Gichugu seat.

By Leah W. Njuguna

ISSUES IN GICHUGU

Being the seasoned politician that she is, and enjoying the support of State House, Karua is promising a tough fight in Gichugu. Critics contend that besides her frequent visits to the area, Karua has not performed well in uplifting the lives of her constituents. Some claim that she is only involved in national matters and has failed to meet the dire needs of the constituents. Many also consider her as aloof and arrogant saying she must change. Her detractors are citing the alleged rigging of Narc – Kenya party election in Gichugu saying that the provincial administration aided the Minister in the exercise. The aspirants are accusing Karua of neglecting the constituency to an extent that it has performed increasingly poorly in national examinations, especially for the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE). Former academic giants like Kianyaga High School, Mutiga Secondary School and Ngiriambu Girls have lost their former stature. In addition, many children have been forced to drop out of school and are either picking coffee or engaging in other cheap labour to supplement their parents’ meagre earnings. There has also been a major outcry over the state of dilapidated roads that slow transportation of goods to Kutus, Kianyaga, Kiamutugu and other market in interior places.
Critics argue that Karua is only available on Mondays at the constituency office and can hardly give an ear to the hundreds who throng the office seeking her attention. However, she is said to be fond of making appearances in religious functions and women groups where she is said to be donating generous amounts of money in the run up to the elections. In addition, since she once served as the Minister for Water Development, Gichugu constituents expected to have water at their doorsteps particularly for irrigation purposes. This did not happen and this made the Gichugu people bitter with their Member of Parliament. Instead, water services were taken over by a private company that is charging for connections and monthly water bills. This has not gone down well with Gichugu residents since most of them are poor hence cannot afford the monthly rates.

Constituents are also complaining that the minister has not done much to improve farming as an economic activity. Of particular concern to them is a project she initiated with the help of an international company where she is said to have some interests. The company was supposed to market French beans grown in the area to international markets. Farmers were in for a shock after the company went under without paying out the proceeds from the delivered crop. Upon raising the issue with the minister, Karua ordered that the farmers be paid using the CDF funds. The controversial 28,000 hectare South Ngariama ranch in Mwea is another bone of contention. The communal land and which was held under trust of the Kirinyaga county council has witnessed killings in bloody confrontations. Members of the ranch drawn from Kirinyaga and Mbeere districts are up in arms against what they call betrayal by the council instigated by local politicians. In the alleged plot, the scheme is up for grab by outsiders who have been allocated land. Sources from within the nine clans who are the real owners of the land allege that legislators from the district are using the land as a campaign tool by dishing it out to their allies and political supporters. Though the Minister hails from Mwea, she is alleged to have conspired with some legislators from the other districts to deny a rightful share to members.

These are some of the areas Karua’s opponents would be capitalizing on during the ongoing campaigns.

By Leah W. Njuguna

GICHUGU BACKGROUND

Gichugu constituency in Central Province Kirinyaga district has over 80,000 registered voters and 58 Polling stations. Gichugu is a rich agricultural area with tea and coffee as the main cash crops and horticulture farming. Despite being an agriculturally well-endowed region with rich soils and good rainfall throughout the year, poverty levels are high. The high cost of farm inputs like fertilisers and seeds has greatly affected the economic standards of the region which is also grappling with deteriorating security.

The constituency has been represented by justice and constitution affairs minister Martha Karua for the last 15 years since the introduction of multiparty democracy in 1992. The constituency has fully supported President Mwai Kibaki in the past three elections, and is likely to continue the trend in the forthcoming general elections. Karua, who is also the deputy leader of government business in the house, is probably the most vocal and courageous fighting general for President Kibaki’s administration. She is expected to be one of the key pillars in marketing the newly launched Kibaki’s re-election vehicle, PNU.

The no-nonsense minister is among the few women who can articulate courageously their political stance without fear of intimidation by her male counterparts. In her native Gichugu constituency, her opponents see her as an arrogant woman who never takes a chance to listen to them.

In contrast, majority of Gichugu residents have commended the MP for her development projects through the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) ranging from health, water and education. Since the introduction of CDF in 2003, there are over 130 complete and ongoing projects. There are 3 complete health centers in Riakithiga, Gaciongo and Joshua Mbai; four complete water projects in Kianyaga, Nyaru, Mukia and Ngumara; and seven bridges in Kathata, Konyu, Muratiri, Kanjangiri, Njambo, Gatuki and Karoki.
There has also been construction of Day secondary schools in most primary schools with 10 schools complete. This is under a new policy where the government is encouraging construction of secondary schools in unutilized land owned by primary schools. The complete secondary schools under this arrangement include Rukenya, Gatunguru, Kianguenyi, Kiandai, Gacatha, Kiaumbui, Kathunguri, Karumandi, Kavote and Thumaita. She has also assisted several primary schools in electrification and building of new classes for example at Kiathi, Rwambiti, Gikumbo and Kathunguri. Under her patronage, CDF has also aided in the construction of a laboratory at Ngiriambu primary and a youth polytechnic at Kianyaga.

Karua has also funded planting of trees in all sub locations in the constituency at a total cost of Ksh 400,000. She has also set aside Ksh 2.2 million from the CDF kitty to assist poor former students to obtain their secondary school certificates. Other major CDF projects are revival of the old Kutus Market at a cost of over Ksh 2 million, funding of Gichugu Horticulture exporters association at a cost of Ksh 3 million and funding of Gichugu diary at a cost of Ksh 1 million. Karua is also responsible for the construction of Kianyaga sub district hospital through the African Development Bank and the tarmarcking of the Rukenya-Kimunye road.

In the coming months Mzalendo will be profiling some of the most active constituencies in terms of comments. We will also have a special focus on constituencies being represented by female MPs.

As part of our efforts to showcase the potential impact of combining technology with local knowledge, we have relied on local correspondents to provide us with these profiles.

Let us know what you think about the profiles and help spread the word.

If you would like to see your constituency profiled, please continue to contribute actively to the website.

So much about the other contenders, but who is Jonathan Mueke? Mueke was born and raised in the traditionally upper-middle-class Nairobi neighbourhood of Kilimani and went to the nearby Kilimani Primary School. He later joined Nairobi School for his secondary education and soon after left the country to join Wayne State University in Michigan, USA where he, supporting himself through working as a Systems Administrator for the University’s libraries, studied for his B.Sc. in Computer Science. While still in Michigan, USA, he enrolled for and completed an MBA course at Oakland University and managed to, over the years, work as a Systems Developer in Enterprise Messaging for K-Mart Corporation, a Project Leader in Plant Technology and Support for Daimler-Chrysler Corporation and as a Technology Services Manager for FiServ Inc.

But hasn’t he been away for far too long? Isn’t he out of touch with Kenya and its politics? “I returned to Kenya in September 2006,” he says. “But it doesn’t mean that I was away, entirely, for all those years. I always came home at least once every year and a lot more often in the last couple of years- since 2003/4- when I became convinced that I could come and be a parliamentary contender, win and make a difference for this constituency.”

At his age though and the fact that he didn’t grow up in the low income neighbourhoods where most of Westlands’ voters live considered, doesn’t he feel distanced from his constituents? “Eighteen years is a strong foundation,” he remarks. “I was born here. I grew up in Westlands for the first eighteen years of my life. It is true that there are places that I haven’t been to for fifteen or so years, but every time I go there now, it is as though I have always been there. I still have an instinct for these places. And as far as the slums go, I will admit that they aren’t the kind of environment I grew up in but, as always with the human condition, one can empathise… one can listen and learn. A good leader can recognise the challenges of his people and see how to work with them towards useful solutions.”

And where does Mueke stand in terms of Kenya’s party politics? “I am a member of the Labour Party of Kenya (LPK) which I believe to be the party for professionals and workers,” Mueke says. “When I came home and looked around for a party, I found that LPK was an ideological fit for me. I joined them and I am now their National Youth Co-ordinator. And since LPK is a founder member of ODM-Kenya, I am also involved in that too and, in fact, I sit in ODM-Kenya’s National Harmonisation Committee.”

As his party’s National Youth Co-ordinator what are his thoughts on the recently established Youth Fund and the much talked about intergenerational change in the 2007 election. “The youth fund is a noble cause lost in implementation,” is Mueke’s verdict. “It was set up with no consideration for what young people in this country want or need. It is also very clear that it is being used to serve political ends. In Westlands for instance, I can tell you that while those youth groups that enjoy the patronage of Betty Tett- who is in government- have benefited from the funds, groups that are seen to support me have not.

On the intergenerational change that you talk about, I will say that being young is not enough. Look at sitting Members, the likes of Khalif (Wajir West) and Kariuki (Nakuru) what have they done to further a youth agenda? What we must continuously ask ourselves is what values a certain individual can bring to his/ her people, what policy issues do they mean to pursue, do they have a vision for this country? … age, on its own, doesn’t count. Age should not be anyone’s sole platform, let us hear what the issues are.”

Our interview has been running for an hour or so and I want a break. I get up and walk around his office on the fourth floor of a Muthithi Road multi-storey building. Everything in this place, from his internet connection to the desk he uses is donated, er, sorry, an investment by a variety of local firms who support his campaign. I step up to the window and suck in the view of, arguably, Kenya’s most affluent business district. I know to my left is the opulence of Kitisuru, Muthaiga and the man-made-air-conditioning-dam estates of Nyari and Lake View. Straight ahead, beyond the Sarit Centre, is Kyuna and Loresho in all their glory of imposing brick and electric-wire fencing and ornate gates that slide open at the push of a button to reveal car parks with German-motor-show aspirations. To my left is Lavington, not as green as it used to be but still packing a monied punch. Beyond all these lies Kangemi- where the largest vote dwells and Mwimuto, in Kabete constituency and Kawangware in Dagoretti, where the ‘imported’ voters are.

As I stare through that window my mind cannot help but ponder over the ridiculousness of our political process. What will be Jonathan’s place in it all when our political outcomes have never had neither rhyme nor reason and yet he talks of manifestos and ideologies? In my mind the question is not whether or not Jonathan is the right fit for Westlands, whether or not his vision and promise is of the kind that this nation needs- the question I ask is: is Jonathan from the right tribe to win Westlands, is he in the right political party? Isn’t it sad, yet true, that no matter how much has been said lately about the political awareness of Kenyans, the winners in 2007 will only get there through a delicate balancing of the tribal equation and an ability to ride the crest of euphoria?

Within the intervening period between our interview and now, the presidential race has, as Jonathan had anticipated, evolved into a three horse race. Kalonzo Musyoka, Raila Odinga and Mwai Kibaki have emerged as leading contenders screaming myriad acronyms bereft of any real promise ideological, political or else. As their mantras of PNU, ODM-K, ODM, ETC, enchant the masses, it becomes clear that yet again parliament will be filled with hundreds of opportunists whose only qualification was backing the right horse. The ultimate question on my mind then becomes: Will Jonathan’s horse count in Westlands?

Do you think that the current member of parliament for Westlands is unpopular? Is the question from me and Jonathan’s response is: Of course! “Gumo wins solely through violence.” Jonathan argues. “He (Gumo, the sitting MP for Westlands) has no ideas, fresh or otherwise to offer this constituency and neither does he have a vision, stated or else, nor a development record. If you counter Gumo’s violent tactics, he has no legs to stand on”

So is Jonathan intimidated by Gumo’s purported history of violence and political impropriety? “Absolutely not,” is the young man’s speedy response. “I am prepared for Gumo’s political shenanigans, I have in place a strong grassroots security team.”

Is this team tried and tested? At this point Jonathan gets animated and responds with a wry smile- almost a politician’s leer- as though he is attempting to invite me into his confidence. “You know on June 6th, at the time of my launch at the Office Park, there were attempts to disrupt the event. But I didn’t even know about it until the next day. A normal day on the campaign trail is what I had had, in fact better because I had appeared on the breakfast show on (Nairobi’s) Kiss FM that morning. Anyway, know what…? My security detail is fully functional and effective, the attempts (by Gumo’s goons it is implied) to block my launch were dealt with swiftly and efficiently. My security team prevented access by these hired thugs into our well attended meeting… they dealt with the disruptive elements!”

So security is an issue? “Indeed!” Jonathan is exasperated. “This campaign’s biggest budget item is security. Look at Betty (Betty Tett, nominated MP and perennial loser in Westlands), her she is always crying, ‘Gumo beat me, Gumo let his thugs loose on me…’ but what is she doing exposing herself? What is she doing without a sufficient security detail at the polling station? It is not the way I think it should be done but right now it is imperative that I keep a strong security detail. I insist though that it is a defensive one. What I find appalling though, is all this having to pay for security. Spending money on security is double taxation. The government, even though in this parts it has done a good job of acting like it doesn’t, has the responsibility of ensuring my safety, your safety, the safety of every Kenyan. I would hope for, (…as part of my campaign platform, I am working for…) a government that is responsible for the security of its citizenry. The truth is that when government shirks its duty, absconds on its mandate to secure not only its territories from external aggressors but also internal ones, the population rises to defend itself. What do you suppose this mungiki thing is anyway? It is a response to a need to secure; to police the urban space. Mungiki thrives on ‘protection,’ and everywhere you look in Nairobi you see people coming together to secure their neighbourhoods, to keep their taps running, to keep the garbage off their front yards- basically all those things that you pay taxes for- they are doing these things for themselves because the system has failed. Everywhere!. Look at all these posh neighbourhoods in Westlands and their Residents’ Associations… Residents’ Associations are the mungiki of the elite.”

So if the incumbent is not a threat, or seeing that Jonathan has a strategy for him in place, who does he think is the person to beat in the crowded field that is Westlands? The poll, that placed him second in the race was by a team- Independent Analysts- from the university of Nairobi which is, incidentally, in Westlands. The study put Betty Tett at the lead with support from 32% of the respondents, Jonathan had 26%, Fred Gumo 16% and that maverick businessman of Goldenberg infamy, Kamlesh Pattni was fourth with 10%.

Betty Tett? “She has never won an election, why should she win now?” Jonathan spurts out. That coming from an aspiring politician who believes that second place- almost won- doesn’t count, makes sense yet word on the street is that Betty Tett won the NARC party nominations in 2002; that she was the people’s choice but was rigged out. That though is word on the street and Jonathan and I momentarily digress into the politics of that vanguard of democracy that is America and the lessons that emerging democracies like Kenya learnt from Al Gore versus Bush. Gore versus Bush, what a beautiful analogy we could serve out to all those advocates for the will of the people: the will of NARC headquarters (or any other faceless politicos be they Directors of Elections or Electoral Colleges) prevail. But Gore Versus Bush is America’s politics and not Kenya’s and that, just like Jonathan being a founding member of Kenyans for Obama in 2004, is not a thing we can dwell on.

Jonathan, though believes that Betty Tett has proved to the people of Westlands that all she ever wanted was a parliamentary seat. He feels that she hasn’t used the nominated seat that NARC gave her, subsequent to the contentious Gumo win in party primaries, to advance the way of life of her constituents. “She has served in two key ministries: Housing and Local Government, yet Kangemi- where most of Westlands’ voters live- goes on as though slum upgrading never happened. There have been kiosks demolitions in the constituency, which is within reason, but what happened to the owners of those kiosks- what fall back alternatives were they offered?”

Beyond the incumbent and Betty, Jonathan feels that the rest of the crowd are spoilers. “In Kenyan politics there will always be that candidate, or group of candidates who have been paid to split a particular vote or are in the race hoping to be paid to step down in support of another candidate. There are too many decoys being served out at all times in our politics… Do you even know that there are people out there who keep inviting you to stage-managed harambees designed by your opponents to erode your campaign’s kitty? ”

The posers, the petulant and the petty players of Kenyan politics not withstanding, talking to Jonathan Mueke reveals that he is not taking Pattni’s declared candidature for granted. “No matter what you may think of him, Pattni draws crowds and a good politician can work a crowd to his advantage, the hard part is always in getting the attention of the masses. Besides, Pattni remains enormously wealthy and he has the ability to use his vast financial resources to manipulate the vote. What is interesting, though, about Pattni, is that he hasn’t been seen anywhere on the ground since he announced his candidature. I see him as an individual whose sole intent is to protect his wealth. What exactly does he have to offer the people of Westlands; which of their interests does he have at heart?”

By CHARLES A. MATATHIA

A Nairobi based social scientist and freelance writer.

“In politics, number two is never good enough,” says Jonathan Mueke. It is more a call to arms by a parliamentary aspirant who polled in second in a recent survey rather than a statement of self reproach. It is just the thing you expect to hear from a young man who decided at the age of twelve that all he wanted to be was a politician. In standard six, isn’t that the time when we all still want to be doctors and lawyers?

And now, some fifteen or so years later, Jonathan has his eyes on the prize. But long before the launch of his campaign for the Westlands parliamentary seat, Jonathan had been putting his best political foot out. As a Kenyan resident abroad - the United States precisely- Jonathan was between 2004 and 2006 president of the Michigan, USA, chapter of the Kenya Community Abroad. That means nothing to Wanjiku in Kangemi, or wherever else your average Kenyan voter lives, but the political elite have recently (and numerous campaign forays into the diaspora attest to it) discovered the Hummer-sized influence of the Kenyan Community Abroad.

The Kenyan Community Abroad has absolutely no political clout, they cannot even vote to begin with, but they have the one thing that keeps the wheel of politics running: money. It then becomes clear how a young man, with no private resources- earned from kickbacks, bribes, the wrong hands in the right CDF kitty, legalised tax evasion and a six million shilling a year sinecure- can benefit from being a part of this global network of Kenya’s diaspora.

For instance, Jonathan’s campaign raised over 3,500USD in its first couple of months through a Paypal link on his website. What is that, only two hundred and something thousand Kenya Shillings? But wait a minute…this is not money from his friends. It is all from a bunch of random Kenyans out there who feel invested in the political situation back home. But if you are still not impressed by the 3,500 USD, consider Kenya’s limited internet penetration and its predominantly cash economy and you start to view even a mere 500 dollars in online fund-raising as a feat as remarkable as imagining an Ipod in every Kenyan’s hand by the year 2030.

On June 6th 2007, Jonathan launched his campaign at the Office Park in Westlands. The launch was bankrolled by his friends and supporters in America. He has already made two fund-raising tours, in March and July this year, of the USA. In July, particularly, he appointed a campaign team that will set him up with a 10 cities in 2 weeks tour of the USA and that will also raise funds through merchandising. At present, Mueke also has a full time supporting staff of five whose salaries are paid for from a pool into which a group of his friends have committed to contribute 10,000 Kshs a month.

10,000 Kshs a month? I marvel…this guy is a year younger than me and I know that, speaking for myself and many other Kenyans my age, I would be hard pressed to raise a crowd of one to commit 5,000 Kshs a month.

Jonathan, who frowns upon the use of an aspirant’s private funds in financing their campaign, sees the cash and kind resources he has received as investments rather than donations. He opines that the contribution towards his campaign by individuals and communities is suggestive of their willingness to invest in his vision for better governance rather than a token of empathy.

Particularly endearing though is the existence, in his campaign, of volunteers. In Kenya people do not volunteer their time and effort to election campaigns. For a significant majority of Kenyans, the electioneering period is their only opportunity to get that odd five hundred shillings here and that bag of unga there.

Why then would anyone want to give their time and labour for free when the general perception is that parliamentary aspirants are flush with money? “It is a question of goodwill versus artificial (paid for, or rather bought) support,” Jonathan explains. “The campaign is not about (the aspirant), it is about the people.” He adds, “If the people believe in your vision for them, they will support you.” His verdict: the bulk of our politicians are incompetent and unpopular, they have no vision that the voting public can buy into so they resort to buying support.

PART II to follow….