The Limuru III meeting has sparked conversation and heated debates about the position of Mount Kenya in the current government. During the meeting on May 17, debates were held revolving around the controversial topic of tribal affiliation and the assertion that the people of Mt. Kenya should hold the highest political offices.
Background information on the evolution of the Limuru meetings is needed to understand the conversation better and know its political significance. The three meetings have always taken part in Limuru, a place that has consistently marked a turning tide in regional politics. Limuru is now known as a place where decisions of political power are made and the venue itself holds much relevance in setting the tone.
In 1961, the first significant political meeting held in Limuru was attended by the then-political bigwigs led by Oginga Odinga and James Gichuru among others, to change the political party KAU into KANU. Another meeting of historical importance to the country would happen in Limuru in the year 1966. This meeting was set to decide if Kenya would move to be a socialist or capitalist state and led to the fallout of President Jomo Kenyatta and Vice President Oginga Odinga, due to President Kenyatta’s want for the country to move in a capitalist way.
Consequently, Oginga Odinga moved from the government and created an opposition party (KPU) that was socialist. Murumbi took over his seat and became Kenya’s second vice president.
The Limuru meetings have been one to bring the Mount Kenya leaders and people together. The Limuru I meeting happened in 2010 when the then president Mwai Kibaki wanted to bring together the Mount Kenya region to pass the then-new constitution.
The agenda of the meeting was for Mount Kenya leaders to unanimously see the bigger picture of the benefits behind the promulgation of the constitution and pass it. They looked at how it would collectively benefit the region was one of the forces behind pushing for the Limuru meeting.
The Limuru II meeting was one to advocate for Uhuru Kenyatta’s candidature in the August 2013 election. The meeting happened in 2012 to enrol his candidature. The calling of the meeting was due to the then Hague case against President Uhuru.
The recent Limuru three meeting has had a different interest from the rest of the meetings. The end game was to bring the Mount Kenya leaders together with the first order of business to push for the region to break away from the current ruling party.
With the country’s politics getting steamy the non-support for ethnic mobilisation politics has been on the front line and throws a spanner in the works, with members of the UDA party likely to be deterred by its nuances despite it playing a big role in shaping the regional narrative.
