President Uhuru Kenyatta's first taste of Kenyan politics left him reeling after suffering a serious thumping in his own backyard.
The year was 1997 and Uhuru had launched his first bid for political office as the Member of Parliament for Gatundu South Constituency.
Backed by the powerful and highly influential President Daniel arap Moi, the political greenhorn felt assured of victory.
However, according to reports by The Standard, powerful forces within KANU who felt Uhuru was a threat in the ongoing succession politics were vehemently opposed to his candidature and did everything possible to sabotage his campaign.
Uhuru's main rival for the legislative seat was Moses Muihia who was surprisingly backed by Uhuru's own cousin, Ngengi Muigai, reports by the Daily Nation revealed.
The powerful people within the ruling party who felt threatened by a Uhuru win partnered with his opponents to hatch a plan so sinister, it turned the people of Gatundu against Jomo Kenyatta's son.
A day before the elections, Muihia was kidnapped in a stage-managed plan and information then leaked to the media for quick circulation.
The Standard reported that they then scooped some blood from a nearby slaughterhouse, poured it on the river banks of River Thiririka, a few metres from Gatundu town and plunged a car into the river.
The plot effectively gave an indication the competitor could have been attacked around that area, leading to major protests against the former president's son among voters, who insisted they would vote for the kidnapped candidate regardless of his condition.
Consequently, Muihia won by a huge margin, with the humiliated Uhuru reportedly telling his close friends that he would never get into politics ever again.
For two years, little was heard of Kenyatta until President Moi, ever hopeful to groom the young Kenyatta, appointed him in 1999 as the Chairman of Kenya Tourism Board.
