What but spite inspired Koigi’s attack on Uhuru?

Moses Kuria

Koigi Wamwere’s commentary in the Standard on Sunday titled ‘Uhuru not qualified for top seat’ (March 22) was not hopelessly trite and malicious.

But not surprising. On March 8, in a piece titled ‘The poor also to blame for plight’, he argued Kenyans are poor by choice. Well, if he listened to the radio the following morning, he would know no invective to put him in his place was spared by callers, the downtrodden whose cause he claims to champion. Has the former MP finally realised, without a constituency, he is hurtling into oblivion?

Could his latest lunge at Uhuru be a desperate attempt at face-saving?

At the rate Koigi is going, people deserve to know his true portrait. At the height of the late Kihika Kimani’s notoriety at blocking Moi from ever succeeding Kenyatta, Moi helped Koigi to become Subukia MP. He is, therefore, a beneficiary of the man who detained him years later. After the 1974 General Election, Koigi never saw Parliament again until he rode back on the crest of Narc’s 2002 euphoria. In between, he faced repeated rejection at the ballot box, including in 1997 when he gunned for the presidency as a ploy to capture Subukia.

At no time have I nursed the notion Uhuru Kenyatta is extraordinary. Neither have I ever noticed him flaunt his lineage to demand special treatment in the political arena. In fact, until recently, I was sceptical of his ability to be his own man. But on Koigi’s latest attack, even the most hostile witness would concur that Uhuru has earned himself considerable traction on the political scene in the years since being the ‘Project’.

So where does Koigi, who can only hallucinate about achieving Uhuru’s hard-earned status and prospects, get off asserting that the Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister does not have what it takes to even aspire for the Presidency, much less enter State House?

The writer is Secretary General, Centre for Strategic and International Studies.