Is Kang’ata’s life in danger?

In what was seen as echoing the sentiments of Deputy President William Ruto’s Tangatanga allies drawn from the region, he further noted: The BBI proposals will only be accepted if the leaders supporting the President and those in the DP’s camp put aside their political differences and jointly support the initiative.

I have heard the Murang’a Senator Irungu Kang’ata claiming that his life is in danger. This comes in the wake of the letter he wrote to President Uhuru Kenyatta stating that the Building Bridges Initiative [BBI] was encountering stiff challenge in his stronghold of Central Kenya.

A few days later, he made another move that would make the DP’s Kikuyu supporters conclude he had abandoned President Kenyatta. This is despite his repeated comments that he had a lot of respect for the President. “Some of you may not know this. I have come a long way with the President and he remains a close friend of mine. I will continue to support his agenda because he means well for the country”

It seems he was just playing. The purpose of writing the letter was clear. He wanted to use it as an excuse to ditch Jubilee and BBI or force those supporting it in the region to abide by his terms.

I have two reasons to support this position. He seemed to support the calls for the reopening of the BBI. We need to review the document and build a consensus so that we can eventually have a non-contested referendum. He would also pitch tent for multi-choice referendum.

Here, the point was clear. He was reading the DP’s script. It is worth to note the BBI process has been there for more than two years. During this period, the DP and his allies had put up a spirited fight to scuttle the process. The anti-BBI machinery would be reactivated to churn out all manners of propaganda and lies.

“The BBI will not solve anything because the views of Kenyans were never sought. It is an initiative of only two people-President Uhuru Kenyatta and ODM leader Raila Odinga. Indeed, it will create more problems because the ultimate goal of its proponents is to create jobs for the losers”.

It should be noted the BBI proposals on the executive power-sharing are the same as those contained in the Memorandum of Understanding [MOU] that William Ruto and other members of Pentagon had signed with Raila Odinga in the run-up to the 2007 General Election.

If Raila could have won the election, the DP was poised to become the Prime Minister. I remember the DP making these revelations sometimes back when he addressed a rally in Vihiga County. This being the home turf of ANC leader Musalia Mudavadi, he posed. In 2007, I played an instrumental role that catapulted Raila and your son to the positions of PM and DPM, respectively. I hope you will reciprocate that gesture by voting for my candidature in 2022.

Back to the alleged threats on Kang’ata’s life, the first question that came to my mind is. Were they real or stage-managed? Well, for now I have no answer.

Of course, the threats cannot be taken lightly and I am sure the investigative arms were taking the matter seriously. The truth will come out.

The Senator said he had reported the matter to the police. Did he give them actionable evidence? I would expect him to continue cooperating.

Don’t get me wrong but one thing is clear. Kang’ata is not the first politician to claim that he was in danger after falling out with the President. DP, former Nairobi governor Mike Sonko and Kibra parliamentary candidate Macdonald Mariga had made similar claims. They would not cooperate.

For Mariga, he would allege his official car was shot at along Ngong road. Reports later indicated it was a stage-managed incident. I hope Kang’ata was not reading the script of those who have previously used the same tricks to paint the President in bad light.

Joseph Mutua Ndonga is a Social Commentator and Blogger