Kenya: Uhuru on the Spot over Derogatory Remarks against Premier
By Henry Neondo
NAIROBI-- Members of the Kikuyus for Change, a rights group made up of moderate Kikuyus, Kenya’s largest tribe, have castigated Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister, Uhuru Kenyatta for derogatory remarks he made against Mr Raila Odinga, his boss and the country’s Prime Minister.
Uhuru, a Kikuyu and one of the six men targeted for questioning by the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court for suspected bearing biggest responsibility to the chaos witnessed in the country in early 2008 following the disputed Presidential polls of December 2007, made the remarks while on air in an FM station he owns and whose audience is mainly his Kikuyu tribesmen.
Reacting to the radio interview, Ngunjiri Wambugu, Convenor, Kikuyus for Change, said Uhuru provides a kind of leadership that Kenyans do not want.
Ngunjiri, a fellow Kikuyu took issue with derogatory remarks made by Uhuru meant to belittle Raila Odinga in the eyes of the Kikuyu.
He says Uhuru kept referring to Raila as a ki-mundu (a belittling tag of a person in Kikuyu language) a term that even callers and listeners did not take kind.
A caller who referred to himself as Maasai reprimanded Uhuru and his explanation was that he was angry, his words were 'temperature inapanda saa zingine' (someone is allowed to get angry at times).
When asked by a caller to give advisce on politics, Uhuru is said to have advised the Kikuyu to unite under one leader (himself—as he is eyeing the presidency) to enable them negotiate with other communities.
Uhuru said he is of the opinion that Kikuyus must do what other big tribes in Kenya are doing.
He is said to have dismissed his opponents within the Kikuyu tribe who are calling for internal democracy, terming them as being misguided.
But members of the Kikuyus for Change say these are the kind of utterances that led to the murderous scenes witnessed in Kenya in 2008. They called upon responsible authorities to take action against Uhuru Kenyatta.