ODM Reggae master Raila Odinga planned Kikuyu and Luo elders meeting that had been scheduled for November 14 this month has been postponed.
The first-ever joint Kikuyu- Luo elders retreat in Nyeri County has been shelved following the presidential directive suspending political rallies till Next Year.
Kikuyu Council of Elders secretary Peter Munga said the cultural event has been postponed to a later date that was indicated in a press statement to media houses. More than 500 elders from Nyanza had confirmed attendance to the event which was to be held at Kabiru-ini Showground. Munga stated,
“In adhering to President Uhuru Kenyatta’s directive suspending political rallies and other public gatherings, both the Luo and Kikuyu elders have agreed to postpone the event.”
He said the visit was a reciprocal one from Luo Council of Elders after their Kikuyu counterparts visited Bondo last month.
Raila in Bondo
Raila used the Bondo meeting to trace the relationship between his father, Jaramogi Oginga Odinga and Kenya’s founding President Jomo Kenyatta.
In Bondo, Siaya Senator James Orengo said the function reiterated his earlier statement that Raila will make a fifth stab at the Presidency
“What you are seeing here confirms we are working closely with our friends from the mountain to reach Canaan,” he said.
Ndaragwa MP Jeremiah Kioni said the country will find permanent peace if Luo and Kikuyu communities worked together.
Kiago said elders from the two communities signed an MoU which will see them work together, with the support of elected leaders from Mt Kenya who want to end political divisions that have strained the communities’ relations for years.
A section of elders from the Kikuyu community have distanced themselves from elders who visited former Prime Minister Raila Odinga’a Bondo home last week.
The elders who are under “Kiama kia Ma” said the delegation to Raila’s home was neither sent by their council nor President Kenyatta. They said the visit had caught them by surprise that the delegation had purported to be the representatives of the entire Mt Kenya region.
The elders have vowed to fight back what they termed as ‘leaders with personal interests auctioning the Mt Kenya region” to the highest bidder ahead of the 2022 General Election. The Bondo visit was seen as an endorsement of the ODM leader’s 2022 presidential bid.
Munga disclosed that youth groups from Mount Kenya and Nyanza met elders from their respective regions in Kiambu in preparation for the event.
“The decision was arrived at on Wednesday night after the elders witnessed at least 200 youths from Mount Kenya and the lake region interact in Kiambu as part of the buildup activities ahead of the event,” he said.
Despite this and in a bid to ensure good socio-economic and political relations between the two communities, the chairman of Kikuyu elders Wachira Kiago and his Luo counterpart Ker Opiyo Otondi said they would continue with planning meetings and other intercultural interactions.
