NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug 30 – Jimi Wanjigi, a businessman who claimed credit for the 2013 Uhuru-Ruto presidential ticket, has asked the current crop of politicians eying the presidency to quit saying they have nothing new to offer.
Wanjigi who later backed ODM leader Raila Odinga’s ticket in 2017 said the politicians who include the Orange Party leader had nothing new to offer.
Wanjigi said that Odinga was a Kenyan hero who had sacrificed greatly for the freedoms that Kenya enjoys but the country needs fresh leadership for the next phase.
“My friend Raila is a hero of the Second Liberation but his time is up,” Wanjigi said on Sunday naming Deputy President William Ruto and former Vice Presidents Kalonzo Musyoka and Musalia Mudavadi among those who should retire from active politics.
“There are those who have been in power for more than 30 years – my good friends Musalia Mudavadi, Kalonzo Musyoka and William Ruto – all belong there. They have nothing new to offer and it’s time for fresh leadership in the nation,” said Wanjigi.
He said that Kenya was beset by many problems – ranging from social to economic – some of which had emanated from current and previous leadership.
He asked Kenyans to support his bid for the presidency because it was premised on the desired to spur an economic revolution to restore the dignity of the Kenyan people.
Wanjigi said that due to these problems, which he equated to the biblical Goliath, it was the time for new leadership, which he equated to the Biblical David.
“I have looked at police reports of the suicide rates from Nyeri and Mt Kenya region. Between April and August, half of suicides reported in the country came from this region. There is something seriously wrong which should even be declared a national disaster,” he said.
“The Church, the State and society in general must come together to address these problems,” said Wanjigi.
Wanjigi has declared interest for the presidency in 2022, identifying ODM as his party of choice in his bid to succeed President Uhuru Kenyatta, a man he fell out with in the lead up to the 2017 presidential election over “policy differences”.
