Only God, Allah, or the deity of your choice knows or would know what is truly in your mind, in anyone’s mind at any given time. However, by your acts, omissions and utterances, you can tell the world exactly what that may be, even when you try to hide it. It is human nature to try and hide the truth when it is not beneficial to one’s interests.
We therefore cannot tell for sure what was in former President Mwai Kibaki’s mind before passing as to what should happen come August 9,
What we can tell, however, from history, the man’s utterances, actions, and omissions is he would have very much wished to have Azimio presidential candidate Raila Odinga succeed President Uhuru Kenyatta as our fifth president.
Our third president would have wanted Narc Kenya leader Martha Karua to be Raila’s running mate. And he must have let that be known to those involved in the decision to pick a running mate for Baba, as his supporters and admirers call the Azimio flagbearer who has more nicknames and terms of endearment than anyone in the world.
Even if that were not the case, Kibaki would likely be as thrilled as most of the country has been with the selection of Karua as Raila’s running mate.
The selection has not only helped in changing the political dynamics of the 2022 election, it has also singly turned the fortunes in favour of Raila and Azimio in the Mt Kenya region and against Deputy President William Ruto, who mistakenly believed he had the Central vote locked.
Why would Kibaki have wished to have Raila as our next president and Karua as his running mate? The reasons are many but a few stand out the most and are incontrovertible:
First, he owed Raila. No one can seriously argue that Raila’s declaration that Kibaki Tosha was not the determining factor in having Kibaki elected as president in 2002. Had Raila “toshad” someone else, say, my political mentor and late friend Simeon Nyachae, Uhuru would have been sworn in as our third president. As it were, Raila’s endorsement of Kibaki made him president, therefore Kibaki owed Raila a return favour.
The return favour could have happened in 2013, but the system had other ideas in mind.
Which brings up the second reason Kibaki would have wished to see Raila sworn in as our fifth president and that is, Kibaki may not have had much say in what happened in 2013, and even if he did, he must have believed Raila’s moment would come when the time was right, and that time is now.
The third reason Kibaki would have wished to see Raila elected but this time sworn in as president is because he knew Raila gets economics and could read through the phoniness and gimmickry in Ruto’s messaging designed to woo the unwary and those struggling, which is nearly everyone.
Kibaki knew what Raila did as prime minister, which helped him make significant strides in getting the country in the right economic direction. He knew Raila did all that despite efforts by many in his government to frustrate or otherwise thwart Raila’s initiatives for fear it would make him outshine the president.
That no longer being a factor, Kibaki must have deemed it quite all right for Raila to now go full steam ahead and implement his vision for the country as president no different — but more likely much better than Kibaki himself delivered or wished he did.
Some may think Kibaki would have preferred Karua as Raila’s running mate because of what she did for him as Constitutional Affairs minister. Not exactly.
Kibaki would have preferred Karua because he knew her incorruptibility, absolute abhorring of corruption and Raila’s own anti-corruption credentials combine to make a winning team that can finally end rampant corruption in the country.
Those alone were enough reasons for Kibaki to have wished to see Raila and Karua elected and sworn to office. They are more than enough reasons for a majority of the voters to vote for the duo come August 9. BY THE STAR