NAIROBI, Kenya Nov 8-The much-anticipated Limuru 3 conference aimed at ending the confusion on which tune the Mt Kenya region will dance to in the 2022 General Election will now be held on January 22.
Speaking exclusively to Capital FM News on Monday, Mt.Kenya Forum Spokesperson Martha Karua said the Limuru 3 will be a culmination of a process that is already underway in various parts of the vote-rich region.
“Limuru 3 conference is like an AGM where the views of mwananchi from the region are crystalized and one stand is given. I recently had one such meeting in Kirinyaga where we had leaders from all walks of life and where we discussed on what it is we want. I believe many such meetings will happen and are happening in Mt Kenya ahead of the conference,” Karua said.
The Limuru 3 conference is said to bring together MPs, governors, senators, MCAs, aspirants, religious leaders, businessmen and professionals from the Gikuyu, Meru and Embu communities keen to speak with one voice ahead of the 2022 General Election.
Given the region has no serious presidential candidate so far, the group is keen to secure their interests as they seek to seal pre and post election pacts.
“We are seeking to unify and solidify the voice of the mountain but you also leave room to the fact that it is unlikely that 100 percent will face one direction. It will be great to have a majority on one side and that is what has happens in most elections,” Karua said.
With President Uhuru Kenyatta exiting the political scene after finishing his second and final term in office, next year, the region will be left with no kingpin.
“It will be more of irreducible minimum but that may favor a candidate or candidates, I don’t know,” she said.
Whether Kenyatta has a hand in the convergence of the leaders and other stakeholders from the Central region is still in question.
Political Analyst Elias Mutuma alludes that the Limuru 3 conference is coming too late in the day when key presidential aspirants like Deputy President William Ruto and Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) leader Raila Odinga.
“I have my own reservations on whether the conference will achieve much since it is coming too late in the day. A good case in action is the Deputy President who has managed to make quite some inroads. This time round you might see a departure of the way the community has been doing things. We might see the leaders not walk the same path with their leaders,” Mutuma told Capital FM News.
It remains unclear is the Karua-led forum and its aspirations are linked to those of the giant Mt Kenya Foundation (MKF) which recently met Raila, Musalia Mudavadi (ANC), Wiper party leader Kalonzo Musyoka, KANU Party Leader Gideon Moi, FORD Kenya’s Moses Wetangula in what it described as a consultative meeting to hear what they have for the region as they campaign for 2022.
Mt Kenya Foundation tycoons have met ODM leader Raila Odinga and OKA Principals Musalia Mudavadi, Kalonzo Musyoka, Gideon Moi and Moses Wetangula to over 2022 candidature.
The group is yet to hold a public meeting with other presidential candidates like Ruto, businessman Jimi Wanjigi, Speaker Justin Muturi, former Secretary General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Mukhisa Kituyi and Makueni Governor Kivutha Kibwana among others.
MKF Chairman Peter Munga Royal Media Services chairman S.K Macharia and former Dagoretti South MP Dennis Waweru have shown their preference for Odinga in the race to State House in August 2022.
Political Analyst Alex Mwathi opines that the decision by the Limuru 3 will not have a binding effect on the region.
“Those people stuck in a time warp where there were lords and servants, so if you owned the instrument of resources you are termed as lord and others termed as servants. The tycoons think that that model still work and the truth is that model is way gone. They will have their conservation and their tea but that will be all!” Mwathi said during an interview with Capital FM.
The conference comes at a time when Mt Kenya is facing a tough balancing act with political pundits arguing that the region might be headed to a political split which will potentially erode the much-boosted tyranny of numbers by the community.
The erosion of the key bargaining chip by the community on the national scene is said to be between Mt.Kenya East and Mt.Kenya West ever since the enthronement of National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi as the official spokesperson of the region.
“For the first time the large river will contribute to small rivers. What the region now wants is someone who will focus on their business which include Agriculture since they don’t have a candidate. In the coming election, for the first time, a division will happen which is good for the community. So that the region doesn’t vote with blinkers like horses just because they come from your community doesn’t mean they will have your interest at heart,” Mwathi said.
According to the 2017 IEBC register, there are over five million registered voters in the whole of the 10 Mt Kenya counties including Nakuru and Laikipia.
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