Is National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi “Fighting” President Kenyatta? 

Despite wallowing in identical circumstances, Speaker Justin Muturi has opted to maintain some level of decency and decorum, knowing full well that the nature of politics is such that there are no permanent friends or permanent enemies; just permanent interests. However entertaining that Aden Duale’s “rants” are, they are not a means to the end, and he may just be sounding an alarm on the inevitable demise of his political career, following in the footsteps former mouth-pieces of political strongmen like Joseph JJ Kamotho.

Politics is a game of chess, not checkers and Justin Muturi has read into the game thanks to his vast experience gained over a long career working in both the legal and political realms of the country, and recently released a statement reiterating that he is not at war with President Uhuru Kenyatta.

Within the last couple of days, a new and unforeseen challenge has emerged, where a consortium of international journalists working under the banner of ICIJ, begun making public revelations about the financial affairs of among others, President Uhuru Kenyatta’s family, who uncharacteristically welcomed conversation on the #PandoraLeaks . Mainstream and social media chatter has begun escalating and its still unclear on the amount of information contained in those leaks, but the consortium says that they are in possession of data the size of 2.9 Terrabytes. Its not been established if they have information on other Kenyans offshore account holders or its just The President and his family.

What is clear though is that this matter which has gained prominent coverage on local and international media, is not ending anytime soon and will cause seismic shifts in the political landscape, possibly influencing the outcome of the 2022 General Election.

President Uhuru Kenyatta had made massive investments in his international image through powerful and influential lobbyists like former British Prime Minister Tony Blair,  who’s also been adversely mentioned in the Pandora Papers as having used a shell company to evade tax while purchasing an upscale London condominium for his wife Cherrie. Thanks to those investments, Kenya secured a seat at the United Nations Security Council and is now the rotational chair.

Now all those gains may have been undone and depending on the extend of damage, The President will have a lot on his plate dealing with this threat to his legacy.