In 2007, he chose ODM leader Raila Odinga over Kibaki
In Kenya politics, some see Independent Kenya’s first Attorney General Charles Njonjo as one who opted to be a maverick, while others viewed him as one who lived ahead of his time.
Njonjo was the first to set a trend where the financial largesse from prominent businessmen from Central Kenya played a major anchor for Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) leader Raila Odinga’s last three presidential bids in 2007, 2013 and 2017.
In the 2007 General Election, Njonjo became the first prominent personality from Central Kenya and the entire Gema nation to endorse Raila’s presidential candidature against then President Mwai Kibaki who was running for re-election.
Coming from the top ranks of the old money elite from the Gema community whose fortunes were perceived to have been turned around and flourished under Kibaki’s government after 24 years of dismal economic performance under President Daniel arap Moi, Njonjo’s move shocked many.
He had also managed to persuade banker and former Kiambu politician Stanley Githunguri to back Raila under the Mt Kenya Initiative (MKI) crafted by former journalist and political activist Tony Gachoka.
Njonjo’s public explanation then was that political power had been domiciled in the hands of Gema long enough, and it was time it was passed to leaders from other parts of the country.
“Njonjo interest was to make a contribution to the national unity efforts diffusing the ethnic tension around the perception by the rest of the country that Gema had overstayed their welcome in top political power echelons,” Gachoka told People Daily yesterday.
Pecuniary interests
But others read other ulterior motives instead for the love for Raila or the quest for ethnic cohesion and reconciliation in the country.
Njonjo’s Anglophile DNA is well documented, and he did little to dispute the fact that only his dark skin pigmentation was not of an English gentleman in a black skin.
Njonjo’s new found love for Raila and re-emergence from decades in political retirement to oppose Kibaki’s bid for a second term was viewed by some as having been motivated by pecuniary interests than anything else.
Part of this view was informed by the fact that 2007 election also coincided with a period of economic and diplomatic hostility between Kenya and England after President Kibaki administration overturned decades of security and health sectors supply contracts that the UK had monopolised since before independence.
Since colonial times, the British-made Land Rover had been the signature face of Kenya security sector from police, provincial administration and the military.
Before the 2002 election that would usher Kibaki into power, the Internal Security ministry had ordered 500 units of the TDI Land Rover vehicles for delivery early in 2003.
However, upon assuming power, Kibaki’s administration cancelled the contract, and pivoted the entire security sector vehicle supply to Japan-made Toyota Land Cruiser.
In consultation with then Kibaki’s finance minister and Democratic Party (DP) national vice chair, David Mwiraria, the government would open military supply tenders to international competitive bidding, with such comments as “European firms had monopolized the military tenders from boots, buttons to swagger sticks denying the country the benefits of competitive tendering.”
After the security sector, the Kibaki administration also opened up health sector supply to competitive tendering, in one fell swoop ending the vice-like grip of the sector by an old British parastatal, the Crown Agents.
Njonjo had interests in CMC holdings that handled government vehicle supply business for many years.
This background partly explains why he was perceived to have been a mercenary for hire by European commercial interests that had suffered business losses under Kibaki, rather than a statesman playing his civic duty in the 2007 presidential contest between Kibaki and Raila.
