In the run up to the 2022 Kenya presidential elections, two
camps have apparently emerged in the Jubilee party. One is the Kieleweke camp
that apparently leans towards the President. The other one is the Tanga Tanga
camp, that apparently leans towards the Deputy President. The question that
many people are asking themselves as to which of these two camps will have the
last laugh.
Only time will tell whether it is the pro-Ruto Tanga Tanga
camp or the pro-Uhuru Kielewe camp that will have the last laugh.
In all this, it is worth remembering
that Uhuru is a serious political player, one who has evolved from an
out-of-favor contender in the 2002 presidential election to the winner in the
2013 presidential election. You are looking at someone who actually has
university education in political science, someone who comes from the so-called
African royal lineages, and that surely has to count for something. (By the
way, it is also under UhuruRuto that things like online driving licenseapplication have become possible, even as the poorest of the poor got
access to Kenya power prepaid token electricity)
Yet it would be unfair
to assume that the two top politicians have completely fallen out, because they
haven’t publicly said so and the government seems to be operating as usual.
On the other hand, one has to understand (at least as per my
reading on the situation) that Ruto has a real stake in Jubilee, complete with
his own power base. So you are not looking at someone similar to the vice
presidents of the old constitution, waiting to be endorsed/waiting to be handed
power on a silver platter. You are looking at a political go-getter, one who
clearly knows how to work the system and how political seats can be 'won', and
that too has to count for something.
In the
final analysis, it may not be a case of one of the camps (Kielewe vs Tanga
Tanga) having a last laugh. Rather (and hopefully so), we may end up with rapprochement
between the two camps that ultimately leads to a more united, more prosperous
Kenya.
