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| Deputy Prime Minister of Kenya, Uhuru Kenyatta |
By Jerry Okungu
Nairobi, Kenya
February 8 2012
Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta was born on October 26, 1961 to Mzee Jomo Kenyatta and Mama Ngina Kenyatta. He is a Kenyan politician, currently serving as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance. He is the Chairman of Kenya African National Union (KANU), the former ruling party, which is currently part of the Party of National Unity (PNU). Incidentally, his father Jomo was the President of the ruling party KANU from 1962 until his death in 1978.
Nominated to Parliament in 2001, Uhuru became Minister for Local Government under President Daniel arap Moi and, despite his political inexperience, was nominated by President Moi as his successor. It is interesting to note that President Moi served as Uhuru’s father’s deputy for 12 years effectively becoming the old man’s heir apparent.
Kenyatta ran as KANU's candidate in the December 2002 presidential election, but lost to opposition candidate Mwai Kibaki by a large margin. He subsequently became Leader of the Opposition in Parliament however, he changed cause midstream and backed Kibaki for re-election in the December 2007. For his efforts in the Kibaki reelection campaign Uhuru was named Minister of Local Government by Kibaki in January 2008 as the war raged over the disputed elections, before becoming Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Trade in April 2008 as part of a Coalition Government.
His name, Uhuru, is Swahili for "freedom".
To his supporters Uhuru Kenyatta is a visionary leader.
Being the son of Mzee Jomo Kenyatta, Uhuru's upbringing was steeped in politics.
According to Uhuru, "Growing up in the Kenyatta household taught us many things. My father taught us to treat everyone fairly. He taught us the essence of justice and fairness, he told us to learn from history but not to live in history."
According to Uhuru, "Growing up in the Kenyatta household taught us many things. My father taught us to treat everyone fairly. He taught us the essence of justice and fairness, he told us to learn from history but not to live in history."
He attended the prestigious St Mary's School in Nairobi, where his former schoolmates remember him as one of the brightest students. From there he went on to study political science at Amherst College, USA.
He is also reputed to be a shrewd and astute businessman, having long played a central role in the vast family business empire.
Political life
His initial entry into politics came through his election as the chairman of his hometown branch of the ruling party, KANU, in 1997. This came with the tacit approval of President Moi. At the time, many saw the election as a calculated move to prepare Uhuru for bigger things.
In the general election held the same year, Uhuru contested the Gatundu South Constituency parliamentary seat, once held by his father. It was assumed he would sail through. But that was not be: Uhuru lost to Moses Mwihia, a little-known Nairobi architect.
He hurriedly retreated to the family business empire that includes five-star tourist hotels, airlines and commercial farming. Little did Uhuru know that President Moi was still intent on propelling him onto the national political scene.
In 1999 Moi appointed Uhuru the new chairman of the Kenya Tourism Board, where he worked with Kenya's political power-broker Nicholas Biwott, a very close confidante of the President. Apparently the young Uhuru was undergoing even more intensive training.
Then came October 2001 and Uhuru was nominated to Parliament and subsequently to the cabinet as Minister for Local Government. In March of that year Uhuru Kenyatta made it big on the national political scene when he was elected as one of the four national vice-chairmen of KANU.
Employment History:
1985-2001: Chairman, Chief Executive and Director in varying companies,
1998-2003: Council Member, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture & Technology,
1999-2001: Chairman, Kenya Tourist Board,
2000-2001: Chairman, Disaster Emergency Response Committee,
2001-2002: KANU Nominated Member of Parliament
Parliamentary History:
2007 Elected Member Of Parliament Gatundu South KANU
2002 Elected Member Of Parliament Gatundu South KANU
Political Duties & Responsibilities
Minister for Local Government in 2001
Leader of the Official Opposition in 2002
Minister, Ministry Of Local Government 2008
Deputy Prime Minister andMinister of Trade & Industry 2008
Deputy Prime Minister & Minister of Finance2009
Deputy Prime Minister 2012
Uhuru has gone a long way into proving his critics wrong about their perceptions of his political dependence upon incumbents.
Running against the then powerful opposition leader Mwai kibaki and now President, he gained enough votes to see him scoop the second position that saw him become the Leader of Official Opposition in Kenya. In an election that was marred by episodes of euphoria, Uhuru is said to have performed incredibly well ;a view political scientists second.
He is viewed as one of the likely candidates to run for Presidency come 2012 he has declared such intentions publicly despite his criminal court case at the ICC in The Hague. Despite his ICC tribulations, some of his colleagues including the currentl serving Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka have publicly urged leaders to rally behind Uhuru for 2012 leadership.
Uhuru has since resigned as Finance Minister following the Hague finding him calpable in the 2007 post election violence. However, he is still the Deputy Prime Minister serving under the coalition government between rival parties PNU and ODM.
Other positions:
A part from being the chairman of KANU SINCE 2003, he has also remained the Member of Parliament Gatundu South
In January 2005, he was elected KANU Chairman pitting him against colleague and Moi confidant Nicholas Biwott where he beat Biwott by 2.980 votes to Biwott’s 622 votes.
The same year 2005, Uhuru and his party joined the liberal Democratic Party in a referendum against the Draft constitution to form the Orange Democratic Movement which he later ditched in 2007 in support of rival Mwai Kibaki for a second term reelection.
Uhuru became the first opposition leader in Kenya’s history to quit his job and support the government.
Policies
Uhuru is convinced that the way forward lies in creating means of excelling for the youth in Kenya who make up 60% of the population. He is a member of the social Network facebook under profile name Uhuru Kenyatta from where he discusses important issue with the youth.
To reduce poverty, he is convinced that the country must adopt pro-poor and pro-growth policies whose success must be measured by how well they translate to poverty eradication.
Uhuru Kenyatta has steadfastly committed himself to nationwide development projects including planning, sourcing and soliciting funds (including fund raising) for projects such as electricity, water, roads, schools, churches, sports, hospitals and assisting local groups in financial growth and general welfare activities.
His vision
His Vision for Kenya transcends all barriers. He advocates for a united KenyaKenya and proud of the wealth of its diversity. He believes that being diverse is not a misfortune but a God given strength. He says that Kenyans can't and should never attempt to abuse or change this but instead merge, energize, and celebrate this synergy. Kenyans can achieve this by focusing on what makes them all human, their basic needs such as food, health, education, shelter, opportunities.
Important Dates in Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta’s life
October 26, 1961
Uhuru Kenyatta is born to Mama Ngina Kenyatta and Mzee Jomo Kenyatta.
He is named Uhuru in anticipation of Kenya’s upcoming independence from Britain
October 26 1968
Uhuru celebrates his 7th birthday.
The first and only time he celebrated his birthday at State House
1972-1977
He was at St.Mary’s School Nairobi where he played as a winger for St. Mary’s Nairobi Rugby Team
August 22, 1978
Uhuru loses his father, Mzee Jomo Kenyatta who died at the age of 89. Uhuru had just turned 17
1979
Uhuru recives an award for the top A Level History student at St. Mary’s Nairobi.
The then Vice President and Minister for Finance, Mwai Kibaki presented the award
1979-1980
Uhuru worked as a teller at the Kenya Commercial Bank, Kipande House branch
1982-1985
Uhuru was at Amherst College in the USA studying Political Science and Economics
1989
Uhuru started his first company, Wilham Kenya Limited where he used to personally pick up and transport horticulture for export on his pick up truck.
1991
Uhuru Kenyatta married hids sweetheart and best friend Margaret
1992
Uhuru tasted active politics by campaigning for Kenneth Matiba
1994
Uhuru sold Wilham Kenya Limited
1997
Uhuru ran for Parliament for Gatundu South seat on a KANU ticket and lost to little known Moses Muhia
1999
Uhuru was appointed by President Moi as Chairman of the Kenya Tourism Board
2001
Uhuru is nominated to Parliament, made Minister for Local Government and received in Parliament by the late Kijana Wamalwa.
2002
Uhuru is elected KANU National Vice Chairman among four others and nominated by Moi to succeed him as President of Kenya. He runs for President on s KANU ticket and loses by a landslide to NARC’s candidate, Mwai Kibaki. He concedes defeat and opts to take his seat as the Official Opposition Leader in the National Assembly.
2005
Uhuru joins forces with Raila Odinga, William Ruto, Kalonzo Musyoka and other Liberal Democratic Party stalwarts to oppose the new constitution being propped by pro Kibaki politicians from Mt. Kenya region and Western province. Together they defeat the Kibaki version of the constitution at the referendum.
2007
Uhuru changes sides again and opts to support his kinsman Mwai Kibaki for reelection against Kibaki’s main opponent, Raila Amolo Odinga
2008
For his efforts, Kibaki appoints Uhuru Kenyatta Minister for Local Government as the war on the disputed 2007 elections rages on. However, once the Coalition Government is formed between Kibaki and Raila, Uhuru is made Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade.
2009
Uhuru is made Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance following the suspension of the then Finance Minister, Amos Kimunya over the Grand Regency saga.
As Minister for Finance, Uhuru is credited with the introduction of programs such as the Economic Stimulus Program(ESP) and re-engineering Integrated Financial Management Information Systems(FIMIS) to curb corruption and inefficiency in the government.
The same year, Uhuru finally meets Nelson Mandela, the former South African President and an African living legend.
October 26 2011
Uhuru celebrates his 50th birthday
Does Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta believe in anything?
Uhuru believes that where Vision and Patriotism converge with hard work, there the Kenyan dream is achieved. He urges Kenyans to pull together, immerse themselves in the sea of possibilities, uncover theor great potential, and implement the solutions that come as a product of their synergies. He asks Kenyans to bring together the vibrancy of their youth, the diversity of their cultures and the innovativeness of the people of Kenyan people in moving together towards the realization of their dreams. He urges Kenyans to think, invent and act to take their great country to the next level. He believes that the present is Kenyans’ to mould and the future is theirs to seize. And together they can.
Forbes classification criteria questioned; Uhuru’s wealth is stolen wealth
Uhuru Kenyatta is a beneficiary of stolen wealth from the people of Kenya and should not be on Fotbes list; other knowledgeable Kenyans contend.
Forbes Magazine recently published a list of Africa’s 40 richest persons with Uhuru Kenyatta ranked 26th and number one richest person in Kenya. His net worth was an estimated $500 million, which translates to almost 50 billion Kenyan Shillings.
This is how Forbes described his wealth: “Kenya’s Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta is the son of Kenya’s first President, Jomo Kenyatta, and heir to some of the largest land holdings in Kenya. He owns at least 500,000 acres of prime land spread across the country.
The land was acquired by his father in the 1960s and 1970s when the British colonial government and the World Bank funded a settlement transfer fund scheme that enabled government officials and wealthy Kenyans to acquire land from the British at very low prices. Uhuru and his family also own Brookside Dairies, Kenya’s largest dairy company, as well as stakes in popular television station K24 and a commercial bank in Nairobi, among other interests.”
In a WikiLeaks cable dated June 26th 2009, former US ambassador to Kenya Michael Ranneberger described Uhuru’s wealth this way: “Although his wealth is the inheritance from his father’s corruption, the Kenyatta family still holds a special status”.
Yet another description from veteran Kenyan journalist and lecturer Joe Kadhi on his blog ‘Msemakweli’ goes: “Among the haves, Uhuru represents the pinnacle of cornucopion. He has wealth he hardly worked for. Wealth that was acquired by his father through the use of despotic powers. All this, when children of true freedom fighters are languishing in indescribable poverty, caused by the exploitation by the very people who opposed the fight for independence.”
Did Forbes investigate the origins of Uhuru Kenyatta’s wealth?
According to the magazine, it does not include political leaders on its list of the richest because it is not easy to calculate how they have generated their wealth. Ironically, Uhuru is a Member of Parliament for Gatundu South, Leader of KANU Party and Deputy Prime Minister.
Information on its website notes that: “Forbes has long separated rulers and dictators from our annual rankings of the World’s Billionaires, distinguishing between personal, entrepreneurial wealth and wealth derived largely from positions of power, where lines often blur between what is owned by the country and what is owned by the individual.”
How many generations does it take to “clean” allegedly ill-begotten wealth?
Since Uhuru is now on the Forbes list, Moi’s son Gideon should be considered at a certain point because his father was also President, yet gathered wealth unscrupulously as noted in the Kroll Report commissioned by President Kibaki in 2003 and submitted in 2004. It is alleged that Moi and his relatives “siphoned off more than £1bn+ of government money.” Gideon Moi was then worth £550m.
Kenyatta: The biggest land grabber in Kenyan history
The naming of Uhuru as Kenya’s richest man generated mixed reactions from Kenyans in the social media. Many felt that his father Jomo Kenyatta, used his position as President to grab land and accumulate enormous wealth.
The naming of Uhuru as Kenya’s richest man generated mixed reactions from Kenyans in the social media. Many felt that his father Jomo Kenyatta, used his position as President to grab land and accumulate enormous wealth.
There are documents indicating that Jomo Kenyatta acquired land through resettlement schemes organized by the then British government and the World Bank. Uhuru Kenyatta has mentioned in the past that his wealth belongs to the “Kenyatta family”. In November 2010, the online business magazine “Africa Investor” wrote that Uhuru had estimated his family’s wealth at $10 billion.
Journalist John Kamau reported in 2009 that by September 1963, Jomo Kenyatta had consented to the transfer of Kikuyus from the transit farm Bahati in Rift Valley, to the tsetse fly-infested Mpanda Settlement Scheme in Tanzania. This was basically because the Kenyatta family and other African elite, had taken over most of the farms formerly owned by Europeans who had decided to sell.
The ex-Mau Mau fighters who returned to reclaim their land found nothing and were pushed by Kenyatta to Rift Valley. It was only after many protests by Kikuyus that the Mpanda transfer was abandoned.
In 2009, a Kenyan-run blog Kumekucha, wrote that Pio Gama Pinto (who was an appointed politician in the House of Representatives in 1964), discovered that “Kenyatta had allocated himself a total of 50 farms in Central province and Rift valley. Some of the farms had poor Kikuyu squatters who were to be evicted.
Others were farms that had been owned by whites and sold back to the Kenyan government. Pinto was incensed by this and despite making overtures to Kenyatta not to go ahead with the evil he was doing, Kenyatta adamantly stuck to his guns. Pinto decided to move a vote of no confidence in Kenyatta. Kenyatta confronted him within the precincts of parliament and challenged him over the no confidence vote.
When Pinto refused to back down Kenyatta called him a bastard to which Pinto immediately responded by telling Kenyatta in front of witnesses and other cabinet ministers that he (Kenyatta) was also a bastard.
A stunned friend pulled Pinto aside and asked him how he could call Kenyatta a bastard to which Pinto retorted, ‘he called me one first’. It was shortly after this incident that the decision was made to kill Pinto.”
In June 2000, journalist John Kamau published an article named “Kenyatta in trouble 22 years after his death”. He cited people who questioned how he had acquired so much wealth in only 15 years as president, while others called him murderer, tribalist and land grabber.
“Kenyatta’s family must account for its wealth,” retorts Wanyiri Kihoro, the opposition MP from the Democratic Party of Kenya. He hails from the same populous Kikuyu tribe as Kenyatta. But he is unfazed by tribal loyalties. “We all know that Kenyatta was a land-grabber”, Kihoro adds somewhat irreverently. The late Luke Obok, the Chairman of the Kenya Pipeline Company: “Kenyatta’s regime was worse than Moi's.
Nobody was allowed to question the ills of his government. It is sad that under him, many Luos from the other big tribe in the country who were in top positions were frustrated and those in the army and police were summarily dismissed”.
Links to illegal trade in Ivory and forced Kenyatta shares in companies
“How did Kenyatta amass all that wealth given that he was in detention for eight years?”, asks Martin Shikuku, a member of the team that negotiated Kenya’s independence constitution at Lancaster House in London in 1962.
“How did Kenyatta amass all that wealth given that he was in detention for eight years?”, asks Martin Shikuku, a member of the team that negotiated Kenya’s independence constitution at Lancaster House in London in 1962.
An outspoken member of Moi’s cabinet, the late Francis Lotodo, at one time even demanded that Kenyatta should be tried posthumously for “crimes committed against Kenyans”.
Says Martin Shikuku: “It is common knowledge that Kenyatta’s regime thrived on the plunder of the national economy. He surrounded himself with a gang of tribalists that controlled his government.”
Shikuku was detained without trial in 1976 by Kenyatta, for saying in Parliament that the ruling Kanu party was dead.
Shikuku is particularly scathing in his attacks. “Kenyatta was not a nationalist as depicted by historians; he was a manipulator,” Shikuku says.
“He concentrated too much power in the presidency, no wonder the colonial governor Sir Patrick Renison referred to him as `a leader unto darkness’.”
But the respected former Kenyan freedom fighter, Bildad Kaggia, who was detained with Kenyatta in 1958 by the British, appears to have finally twisted the knife by saying that Kenyatta tried “many times” to harm him. Kaggia fell out with Kenyatta in 1969. The late said he refused to amass wealth like other cabinet ministers and that was why he was sidelined by Kenyatta. He lived a pauper’s life, operating a small posho mill in central Kenya uuntil he died several years after Kenyatta.
In May 2011, a staff reporter at “Investmentnewskenya.com” wrote that an American news magazine noted in 1979 that the Kenyatta family estate was worth $200 million. In a recent report by Kenya’s Citizen TV, the family’s wealth was more that $ 1.9 billion. It is questionable that Forbes reported Uhuru owns 500,000 acres of land, which is equated with the size of Nyanza province.
This land ownership has always been mentioned under the Kenyatta family. When did Uhuru become the sole owner of his family’s wealth? How did Forbes sort out what was owned by whom? Uhuru’s younger brother Muhoho is noted as the person largely running the family business. Earlier, it was his mother Mama Ngina who was seen as the force behind the vast Kenyatta business empire, which constitutes diverse investments ranging from dairy farming, banking to real estate, among others.
Rumours abound about Uhuru’s elder step sister Margaret Kenyatta, and Mama Ngina’s links to ivory smuggling in the 1970s. On May 22 1975, Jon Tinker wrote in the New Scientist magazine about elephant poaching in Kenya, which involved some prominent persons.
Sections of the article are quoted verbatim here: “Kenya has perhaps 120 000 elephants, and every year between 10 000 and 20 000 elephants are being killed for their ivory. At this rate, the Kenyan elephant will be virtually extinct within a decade. Kenya’s ivory trade is currently worth around $10 million a year, but little of this money goes to the poachers.
Not much goes to the government of Kenya either, for officially it has banned all private dealing in ivory. The profits are made by a few merchants in Nairobi and Mombasa, who bribe the game department and the wildlife ministry, the customs and the police to let them ship ivory by the ton to Europe, Hong Kong, Japan and People’s China.”
Enough money to compensate the PEV victims
The identity of these ivory queens is a matter of common gossip in Nairobi, and the most prominent of them are said to be Mama Ngina and Margaret Kenyatta, respectively wife and daughter to the President.
The identity of these ivory queens is a matter of common gossip in Nairobi, and the most prominent of them are said to be Mama Ngina and Margaret Kenyatta, respectively wife and daughter to the President.
In Kenya today, you can be sent to prison for what is called rumour-mongering, so in this article I shall confine myself to provable fact. And there is now documentary proof that at least one member of Kenya’s Royal family has recently shipped over six tons of ivory to Red China.
Moreover, in spite of repeated denials from the Kenyan Wildlife Ministry that they have issued any licences to deal in or export raw ivory, this trading is being carried out with the active connivance of the highest officials in the Game Department.”
Tinker wrote that despite the government’s ban on private ivory export in August 1974, Margaret Kenyatta had since then “illicitly sent over 6 tonnes worth $200 000 to People’s Republic of China”.
The United African Corporation (Kenya) Limited was a key exporter of ivory to China, Hong Kong and Japan. Records at that time showed she held 16 per cent shares in the company which was registered in 1964. However, by 1974, she held 49 per cent and had become chairperson of the company.
John Kamau’s investigative articles about Kenyatta’s estate published in Kenya’s “Business Daily” in May 2009, did not indicate the amount of money paid to some parcels of land acquired by Jomo Kenyatta and Mama Ngina. Instead, a lot was shown to have been bought under the names of his elder sons, Peter Muigai and Magana Kenyatta. “The only farm registered in Jomo Kenyatta’s name in 1964 was a 5 acre farm he bought from a Mr. J.R. Wood and for KSh 400.” Kenyatta paid KES 45 000 to buy 400 acres of land in Dandora, as trustee to minor son Uhuru.
Logically, Kenyatta’s salary as president was not enough to buy 500,000 acres of land in the 15 years he ruled. There have been rumors of Kenyatta having forced all foreign companies to offer 15 per cent of their shares to his family before trading in Kenya. This might explain the high stakes they have in many businesses. It was recently noted by Citizen TV that the Kenyattas have shares worth $830 million in the privately-owned Commercial Bank of Africa.
There are no records of Uhuru paying taxes on his salary as Gatundu South Member of Parliament since 2002 or as Deputy Prime Minister, since 2008. Did Forbes investigate how much property taxes he pays to the Kenya Revenue Authority? What about reports about large sums of money “disappearing” at Treasury since he became the Finance Minister? What of all the Parliamentary and media reports of the highly-priced and single-sourced procurement of low fuel consuming official cars for ministers?
Since Mama Ngina has other chidren beside Uhuru, how did Forbes determine how much Uhuru is worth within the Kenyatta estate? On the other hand, the International Criminal Court chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo must be marvelling because he wants a stop on the transfer of all movable and immovable assests he owns, in case he will be found guilty in the ongoing post election violence (PEV) case. Uhuru is rich enough to compensate the PEV victims if found guilty.
In conclusion, the background of Uhuru Kenyatta’s wealth is awash with alleged illegal acquisitions by other members of his wider family, so it was unethical for Forbes to list him as the richest man in Kenya and the 26th richest man in Africa. Contributed by Dr. Jared Odero
NAIROBI, Kenya — Thursday evening was a watershed moment in Kenya’s political history. Uhuru Kenyatta, son of the country’s founding father, current Deputy Prime minister and then Finance minister, presidential aspirant and one of Kenya’s best known politicians, appeared before judges at the International Criminal Court to defend himself against charges of crimes against humanity.
The proceedings were streamed and broadcast live from The Hague, beamed into homes and bars across Kenya.
Kenyatta then was one of six men accused of planning ethnic attacks during the political and tribal violence that tore through Kenya after disputed elections in 2007. Around 1,200 people died — hacked, burned and shot to death — while hundreds of thousands were chased from their homes and had their land stolen and possessions looted.
When Kenya failed to make any steps towards bringing about justice for the deadly mayhem, the world community and the ICC stepped in.
Following pre-trial hearings, Uhuru Kenyatta, William Ruto, Francis Muthaura and David Sang were found culpable and the pre tial judges passed a verdict that the four must face trial for crimes against humanity. The other two; Henry Kosgey and Mohammed Ali Hussein were acquited.
During the pre trial hearings, Kenyatta was the only one to take the unusual and risky step of appearing as a witness in his own defense. During hours of cross-examination by his own defense lawyers and then the prosecution, Kenyatta sought to portray himself as an urbane and responsible politician, an inclusive peacemaker rather than a divisive ethnic baron. He was only partly convincing, but nor did prosecutors land any hammer blows.Unsurprisingly Kenyatta also sought to lay the blame for the post-election violence on Raila Odinga, his main political rival who also serves as Prime Minister in the current Coalition Government put in place to end the killing. Kenyatta said Odinga bore “political responsibility” for the violence, though stopped short of accusing him of criminal behavior.
Sources for this article include local and international newspaper archives, wikipedia, wikileaks and indepenent investigative journalists that are now public information on the internet
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