The fight to succeed President Uhuru Kenyatta as the kingpin in the Mt. Kenya region has begun to take shape, at least eight bigwigs have now voiced their interest to succeed President Uhuru Kenyatta as the regions political supremo and one of them is Peter Kenneth.
The former Gatanga MP has resurfaced rallying for the region’s senior-most political leaders to back his bid. Kenneth has exponentially increased his political activities in Central Kenya amid talks that President Kenyatta has been reaching out to him in the anticipated Cabinet reshuffle.
“I am ready to help the President and I have been helping him so that in the next two years he can finish all that he wants to do to the people of Kenya. But when he retires, we the people of Mt Kenya have the largest population in Kenya. We have to be on the table,” he stated on one of his visits in his home county Murang'a.
The former presidential contender has been slowly earning the support of some MPs in Nairobi and Murang’a County to take up Mt Kenya’s leadership mantle. Speculation has also been rife that Mr Kenneth could be the heir apparent for President Kenyatta’s mantle as the face of Central Kenya politics and thus, a potential running mate in the 2022 General Election.
Some of the leaders in his camp include MPs Nduati Ngugi (Gatanga), Peter Kimari (Mathioya), Gichuki Mugambi (Othaya) and Mary Waithera of Maragua.
Led by Murang’a Senator Irungu Kang’ata, the leaders Kenneth has managed to rally in his corner say he is an experienced leader who can unite and spearhead negotiations in succession politics to ensure the region benefits in the next government.
Kang’ata has urged President Uhuru Kenyatta to consider giving Kenneth the cabinet slot when reshuffling the cabinet.
However, Murang’a Governor Mwangi wa Iria is himself seeking the kingpin seat. The man who is serving his last term as governor has secretly put up a presidential campaign center in Nairobi, Lavington area complete with a secretariat. Others battling for the spot include Kirinyaga Governor Anne Waiguru, former Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mwangi Kiunjuri, Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe, former Justice Minister, and Narc Kenya leader Martha Karua, Nyandarua Governor Francis Kimemia, and former presidential candidate Joseph Nyagah.
Political commentator Herman Manyora has, however, observed that the game plan to decide who will be Kenya's fifth president was taking into consideration that it may be very difficult for the country to elect another commander-in-chief from the Kikuyu community. Due to this, Manyora said the BBI brigade was cleverly marketing three possible candidates (ODM leader Raila Odinga, former Gatanga MP Peter Kenneth, and Uhuru) as a package.