A more-or-less peaceful election, and the constitutionally mandated retirement of the third president in a row, would justify Kenya’s boast as a beacon of democracy and stability in one of Africa’s most troubled regions
Kenya’s outgoing president with his own tribe means that the election of his successor on August 9th is too close to call. Uhuru Kenyatta holds the most famous surname of the country’s largest and most politically dominant tribe, the Kikuyu. His father, Jomo, was among Africa’s best-known anti-colonial heroes before becoming Kenya’s first president in 1964. Mr Kenyatta serves as its fourth. The main street in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, bears the Kenyatta name.
Kenyans have historically tended to vote mostly on tribal lines. The Kikuyus have no serious contender on the ballot for the first time since the reintroduction of multi-party elections in 1992. A vote for Mr Odinga would be arguably the best way to preserve Kikuyu political and commercial influence. At 77, he is not in the best of health. If he failed to survive two full terms, his Kikuyu running-mate, Martha Karua, would succeed him.
in The Hague with instigating attacks that killed hundreds of Kikuyus after a disputed election in 2007. If he were to win, a swift Kikuyu return to the presidency would be unlikely. Such arguments have found fertile ground across the country, particularly among the have-nots. Mr Ruto, who makes much of his past selling chicken on the street while shrugging off his present wealth, enjoys a polling lead among those who earn less than $170 a month. For the first time a Kenyan election is being fought as much on class as ethnic lines.
“Uhuru is from a rich family,” says Wanja Muchiri, who runs a small fabric shop in Karatina. “If you asked him the price of bread he would have no idea.” “We are ruled by the richest man in the country and yet we are still poor,” says Mwangi Githinji, a lorry driver in Gatundu, the Kenyatta family’s home town. As for Mr Odinga, Mr Kenyatta’s endorsement of him has tarnished his old reputation as champion of the needy.Indeed, Mr Ruto denounces Mr Odinga, lord of the Luo, as just another dynast.
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