Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga on Tuesday, September 28, met with opinion leaders from the Mt Kenya region during a forum that was held at a city hotel.
Among the community leaders present were billionaire businessmen whose combined net worth would match the GDP of a small country.
They include President Uhuru Kenyatta's maternal uncle George Muhoho, former PS and Lapsset boss Titus Ibui, banking guru Peter Munga, media mogul S.K Macharia, former Kenya Chamber of Commerce Vice Chair James Mureu, among others.
Muhoho, a former Cabinet Minister and longtime KAA Chairman, has interests in aviation, real estate, and education.
Munga, who chairs the Mt Kenya Foundation (MKF), is the founder and longtime chairman of Kenya's second-largest bank. He also has interests in education and insurance.
Ibui is a longtime civil servant and a wealthy businessman in his own right (founder of Bell Industries). He is the Vice-Chair of MKF.
Macharia owns Kenya's largest TV station, Citizen TV and a number of media stations under the Royal Media Services. He also has major interests in the insurance industry.
The media mogul, who spoke at the meeting, asked Raila to prioritise young people when he clinches the presidential win in 2022.
Macharia urged Raila to promise young people that he would not associate with corrupt people and give young people opportunities to build themselves.
Using himself as an example, the Citizen TV boss noted that he was given the opportunity to work in government when he was young and he utilised it well to get to his current status.
He told MKF that he hoped President Uhuru Kenyatta would hand over power to Raila since he went looking for him and they formed the now famous handshake.
“That handshake, we ask him (Uhuru) to leave it in good hands so that it can continue. We believe President Uhuru Kenyatta will leave this country in good hands; the hands he went to look for,” Macharia stated.
Munga, noted that Monday, September 27, was an inspiring moment when Mt Kenya people came out to listen to Raila during his tour of the region.
He stated that the region will be looking for leaders who will inspire them. “The people of the mountain will be looking for a leader who will not seek followers but will come to inspire us with what we need,” Munga stated.
State operatives who are also close allies of President Uhuru were also present at the meeting.
They included newly nominated Senator Isaac Ngugi; adviser, political strategist and policy thinker Peter Kagwanja was also at the forum.
Sports CAS Zach Kinuthia, Communication officer at the NEPAD/APRM Kenya Pauline Njoroge and Solomon Kuria were also spotted at the forum. This team had been integral in campaigning against Raila in 2017.
Nyandarua Governor Francis Kimemia urged leaders from Mt Kenya to start debunking the false statements they had been telling people from their region about Odinga and help him get votes from Mt Kenya.
"Our work was to tarnish Raila's name but now we must change that narrative and tell our people that that was only politics then," the Nyandarua county boss stated.
Kimemia urged Raila to secure President Kenyatta's interests, life and property once he takes over as the next president.
