How are you holding on as a family, one year after your father’s death?
It has been a tough year. Remember earlier, we lost our mother (Lucy Kibaki in 2016) too. The gap left in our family is very big. His presence in the family was huge because of his stature.
We are still coming to terms with his demise but it is tough. It will take time to heal. Whenever we had challenges, we would normally sit with him and discuss, but that option is no longer there. It is tough, but it is life. We have to push on.
In the extended family, do you have someone of his generation still left, perhaps someone who is acting as a father figure?
The people of his generation are very old. Even some of us are not that young now. I will be 60 in a few weeks. I am now becoming a mzee. Soon I will be a grandfather like some of my agemates. When you reach that age, you should have gathered enough wisdom to run your own affairs.
What are some of the legacy projects that you would desire as a family, to be established in the former president’s memory?
Well, once we have finished with all the other things going on now as a family, we will establish a Mwai Kibaki presidential library at Dedan Kimathi University in Nyeri.
This will be a place of reference for anybody who wants to study Mzee, learn more about his life and so on. That is the main thing. We have the Mwai Kibaki Foundation, which has been in existence for about 13 years.
We are going to also see how we can do a lot of things in the society, mainly on education. My parents were very passionate teachers.
Many thought you would run for position of Othaya MP last year. Why didn’t you?
Kenyan politics is very hectic and noisy. Is that really what I want for myself now? You reach a point in your life where the quality of your life becomes very important. What is the quality of your life? When you are younger, you hardly slow down to reflect, maybe at Christmas or New Year.
Many reflect upon their lives on December 23. But when you are in your 60s, reflecting becomes your daily thing. Should I go to the office or should I first take a walk in Karura forest? I have friends walking at Karura Forest for two hours every day, at six o’clock then go shower and off to work.
Should I go to the gym or do something else. All these are routines. Most of these things have to do with your health, mental or physical. At 60, your health is really crucial as you head to your 70s. You now stick to organic things. That may look petty, but it is a very important decision. You go for medical check-ups regularly.
I try to see my doctor once a month. At 60, you have lived most of your life. Even if you will to be productive for another 15 years, you will be very lucky and if God is generous, you will see another 20 years.
I have been trying to think, what is it that I really want to do with my life? Going into politics at age 60? You better be sure that is what you want because time is short.
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Do you then consider yourself a victim of your father’s success?
No, no, no. Most of the people who have come to ask or convince me to vie have done so using Mzee’s perspective.
“You know your father was in politics, he was once a president and one of his children should carry on the legacy of politics,” That’s what they say. No one has ever looked at it from a personal view and asked, would Jimmy want to be a politician? People tend to want the same life for the children of a successful politician, especially one who has gone all the way to become president.
Are there any wishes or requests that Mzee made in his last days?
By the time Mzee’s life was coming to the end, apart from his health which had deteriorated, he was a happy man. He was a contented man. Once you have lived a successful life, and you have achieved several things, you make peace with yourself.You don’t have to have achieved everything.
Mzee was in high spirits. He was only concerned about his health and the unity of his family, which was already there anyway.
How are you as a family planning to avoid the curse of the rich who often fight over property and inheritance when the patriarch or matriarch exits the stage?
Families are different. I would not call it a curse. Families that are disjointed or not united when the parents are not there were also disunited when the parents were still there.
I do not really know how we do it but we have been united from the time we were young. But again, what is there to fight about? People fight over property when they have a sense of entitlement. How would I fight for my father’s wealth? It does not make sense.
When you fight for your parents’ property, you are fighting from a point of entitlement because you believe what is theirs is yours automatically. You will not see the Kibakis squabbling over his estate. It would be tantamount to desecrating the rich legacy of my parents.
Have you met President Ruto since his election?
No, I met him before then.
What are your thoughts about maandamano by Azimio leaders? And to which camp do you belong?
Where I am now, politics is not a priority. About maandamano (protests), in this country, we always have a way of resolving our issues. If both sides can soften their stances, these issues can be solved. We have seen it before.
We saw Mzee Daniel Moi retire peacefully. The country moved forward. That was itself a milestone, a resolution of its kind. Despite what happened, we looked forward to the future. In 2008, we came together and resolved issues.
In 2018, President Kenyatta again sat down with Hon Raila Odinga and resolved the issues and I think even now, issues can be solved. There needs to be goodwill. People need to talk to each other, not at each other. There is hope, as long as there is goodwill.
Do you keep in touch with former President Uhuru Kenyatta or Raila?
We have been focusing more on stabilisation and family matters. For us this is a period of re-orientation because Mzee has always been the head of the family — politically, business-wise and as our father. Now, without him, we are just trying to take the family to the next level.
What is your projection of the economic situation in the country in the next one year?
This year will be very tough for everybody but we have been here before. Business operates in cycles. You have very good years, you then have recessional years, which lead to economic depression.
The world economy right now is in some kind of recession and this can be attributed to so many things but like I said, businesses operate on confidence.
People need to feel confident in order to invest. Right now, it is a new government, a new season, a lot of people in the government are new and not known by the business community and you know the business people are very cautious especially when they want to engage in business with the government.
How do you think Mzee would have handled the current economic quagmire?
I would not really know with certainty because even if I am an economy specialist, I cannot say that where the country was in 2002 is where we are now. Maybe he would have prescribed something totally different. Like I said, we have enough competent Kenyans and we need all hands on deck.
Economics is a specialty. It is like surgery; everyone might have a heart disease but they will all be treated with a different approach. You cannot say one approach is better than another as long as that person is up and doing well. I do not think the bottom-up economic philosophy can be seen to be opposed to Mwai Kibaki’s philosophy. Both want to achieve the same thing — economic prosperity for as many people as possible.
Both systems can work. That said, If the government gives the private sector direction and show them what the government intends to do in the next two or three years to revive the economy, it will give them confidence to invest. People just need to know if there is a plan.
Mzee would ensure, like he did, that we expand the tax bracket, that we generate own revenue to avoid wanton borrowing and most importantly, ensure that the generated revenue is put into prudent use. That has been the challenge over the years.
Does the country need a mantra as the one given to us by President Kibaki about ‘A working nation’?
Yes. The focus of any country when in any crisis is to raise the country, and that calls for a degree of patriotism. We may think of ourselves first but we should also think collectively about Kenya. Everyone should come on board and do something.
The unemployed can be helped if an investor comes up with a great idea and enable him or her to employ more people and so it is for everyone to work. We have to get rid of this individualistic thinking and think about the country. By African standards, we are very well educated and are very hardworking. We have every ingredient and everybody must heed to this call.
Do we have the goodwill as a people?
People in this country are very passionate about elections, every time we have elections people come together passionately for a course they believe in.
Those who were supporting Azimio and Kenya Kwanza had that passion. Even today, if you have a political discussion, it will end up being very passionate, so let us put that passion into reviving the economy because politics are over for now.
President Ruto’s advisor on the economy, David Ndii, holds the view that under President Kibaki, the rich got richer and the poor, poorer. Do you find that a fair judgement of Mzee’s legacy?
Everybody is entitled to their own opinion. What we can however agree on is that in the period of Mwai Kibaki, earlier when he was the finance minister, then the 10 years as the president, Kenya had its greatest economic growth in its independence history.
I think, in general, when the economy expands, citizens of the country are better off. Obviously, those in a more advantageous position will enjoy more due to economies of scale but if you ask any Kenyan, they will agree that economically, we did much better during Mwai Kibaki’s tenure than any other time. Economic theorists have very different approaches.
Mzee expanded the middle-class in this country. Kenya had a very small middle-class until 2002. Government incentives like free primary and secondary education, where Kenyans can send their children to school for free, those were big steps. The CDF (Constituency Development Fund) initiative was introduced, so in general, he tried to build a balanced economy.
It is true there are certain individuals who got very wealthy, but in whatever society, when the economy is doing well, those at the top of economic ladder will thrive more because they have all economic power to invest more.
The more money you invest, the more you reap but the thing is to create a balance so that everyone enjoys and I think Mzee did a good job there.
You talked about a feeling of vulnerability brought about by his absence, does the family feel targeted in any way?
Let me clarify, we are not vulnerable as a family. We do not have any issues with anyone, including the State. I am saying at a personal level.
Losing a mother is a big loss, it struck me so hard. Mothers are the link between the children and the father. They know the children much better than the father, know their children’s children and even know what is going with them even when they are grown up.
But a father is like a pillar for everyone. For anybody, I am sure. No matter how tough things are, if your father is there, you will always be okay because he is looking out for you. We are not in politics to feel worried.
Has there been any broken promises by the government that were made during the funeral?
No, no, no. Both Presidents Kenyatta and Ruto have treated us well. We are actually quite humbled by that.
You come from Nyeri, how do you relate with the Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, another son of the soil?
I do not know him very well personally, but his family is known to ours for a long time. I have never met him since he became the Deputy President.
It is a very big honour to Nyeri, to have had a president and now, a Deputy President, and I hope to meet him. As Nyerians, we are very quiet people.
Are you saying others are noisy and rowdy?
I am not saying that, but I am saying Nyeri people do their things in a very quiet way, especially when it comes to local matters.
Your parting shot?
All I can say, as a Kenyan, it is time we all come together and see how we can assist the government. All of us need to work to move this country forward.
This is not just the government’s responsibility but a task for all of us. When we all prosper, Kenya prospers. BY DAILY NATION