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Viewing cable 07NAIROBI4235, KENYA ELECTIONS: Kenya Elections: The Swing

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
07NAIROBI4235 2007-10-26 12:22 2011-08-25 00:00 UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY Embassy Nairobi
VZCZCXYZ0000
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHNR #4235/01 2991222
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 261222Z OCT 07
FM AMEMBASSY NAIROBI
TO SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 3144
UNCLAS NAIROBI 004235 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR AF/E 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV KDEM PHUMPREL KE
SUBJECT:  KENYA ELECTIONS:  Kenya Elections: The Swing 
States Part One: Rift Valley Province 
 
 
1. (SBU) Summary: Rift Valley Province (RVP) is one of 
Kenya's most geographically and ethnically diverse 
provinces, encompassing both desperately poor arid lands 
and wealthy agricultural regions. Former President Daniel 
arap Moi, who is backing the re-election campaign of 
President Kibaki, hails from RVP, as does MP Nicholas 
Biwott, widely considered to be one of Kenya's most corrupt 
and wealthy men, and MP William Ruto, a key member of 
Odinga's campaign team. Despite Moi's support for Kibaki in 
his home region, many areas of RVP are leaning heavily 
towards the main opposition candidate, Raila Odinga. 
Polling conducted on October 10 and 11 showed that 62 
percent of RVP respondents would vote for Odinga for 
president and 31 percent said they would support Kibaki. 
During a recent visit to the region by Poloffs, the 
sentiments of RVP residents appeared to affirm the polling 
results, as many expressed disappointment that Kibaki had 
not done more for them, and felt that Odinga was the most 
likely to make good on his promises. As in other areas of 
Kenya, Odinga's populist message was especially popular 
among younger voters, who plan to head to the polls in 
larger numbers than in previous elections. End summary. 
 
2. (SBU) Rift Valley Province (RVP), which borders Uganda, 
is one of Kenya's most populous provinces. Stretching from 
arid northwestern Kenya down to the Tanzanian border, RVP 
encompasses a range of landscapes and peoples, and includes 
Kenya's richest agricultural land (once known as the "White 
Highlands") and the country's tea-growing center. Major 
ethnic groups in RVP include the Kalenjin (divided into at 
least four sub-tribes), Maasai, Kikuyu, Turkana, and Pokot. 
Former President Daniel arap Moi hails from RVP and owns 
vast tracts of land there; one of his five sons, Gideon, 
took over his father's former constituency while two other 
sons (Jonathan and Raymond) are reportedly planning to run 
for Parliament in the province. Prominent businessman and 
politician Nicholas Biwott, linked to high-level corruption 
scandals during the Moi years, also hails from RVP and 
represents Keiyo South constituency. On the other side of 
the contest is MP William Ruto of Eldoret North 
constituency, a member of Odinga's "Pentagon" campaign team 
and one of his closest campaign advisors. Ruto, a youthful 
and energetic leader, seems to be getting the attention of 
his kinsmen and has been instrumental in swinging large 
sections of RVP over to the Odinga camp. Like Biwott, 
however, Ruto has also been linked to some unresolved 
official corruption cases. RVP is expected to have a 
significant role in the outcome of the upcoming elections, 
so Political section staff headed out to the region to take 
the pulse of the voters. 
 
Moi's Influence on the Wane 
 
3. (SBU) During his 24 years as President, Moi was 
criticized for pouring disproportionate amounts of money 
into his home district and the larger ethnic Kalenjin zone. 
The regional center of Eldoret, for example, boasts an 
underused international airport, a university and teaching 
hospital, and good roads, a rarity in Kenya. However, many 
RVP residents complain that the riches bestowed by Moi 
benefited very few. Despite their former political enmity, 
Moi has come out in favor of Kibaki's re-election bid. Some 
commentators have observed that this support is the 
"payment" for a gentleman's agreement under which Kibaki 
would not seek to prosecute Moi for past acts of official 
corruption and would allow him to keep his millions -- 
millions that many Kenyans allege were stolen over the 
years from the Kenyan taxpayers. Most local residents 
thought Moi's influence was minimal, although they noted 
that his support (and thus, support for Kibaki) is 
strongest among elderly voters. If Kibaki is counting on 
Moi to deliver RVP for him, residents warned, he is likely 
to be disappointed. 
 
The Moi Dynasty 
 
4. (SBU) Gideon Moi, currently the MP for Baringo Central, 
his father's former constituency, is running for re- 
election. His brother Raymond is a candidate for MP in 
populous and diverse Rongai constituency, running against 
incumbent Alicen Chelaite. Jonathan Moi is also reported to 
be standing for a Parliamentary seat. Baringo Central 
residents were skeptical about Gideon's chances for re- 
election. One local resident said that Moi's campaign 
strategy consists of handing out 80 million Kenya shillings 
(about $1.2 million) in the weeks immediately preceding the 
elections. Handouts alone are not enough any more, he 
added, although many residents might appreciate the irony 
that a small percentage of Moi senior's ill-gotten gains 
will finally be returned to the Kenyan taxpayers. We also 
 
heard that incumbent Nicholas Biwott, MP for Keiyo South 
constituency, may not be returned to office despite a 
similarly generous campaign strategy. One of his three 
wives, Professor Margaret Kamar, is standing in the nearby 
constituency of Eldoret East. A former Vice-Chancellor at 
Moi University in Eldoret, Kamar is well-respected for her 
efforts in education, but will have to overcome the 
handicap of being a woman candidate and of her association 
with Biwott, which could prove to be unhelpful given his 
relative unpopularity. 
 
Kibaki, Breaker of Promises 
 
5. (SBU) We heard repeatedly from Kalenjin voters that they 
felt Kibaki had not kept his promises to address issues of 
landlessness and to institute constitutional reform. After 
independence, Kikuyu from Central province moved up to RVP 
in search of work and purchased land there. In the 1990s, 
ethnic clashes over land rights led to many of these Kikuyu 
being displaced by Kalenjin. The Kibaki government had 
pledged to resettle some landless Kikuyu in Nakuru, but did 
not follow through. Many of these people are still living 
in church camps or on the streets in Nakuru town. The 
youth, largely unemployed and uneducated, are ripe for 
recruitment by criminal gangs like the Mungiki and are no 
longer interested in rural resettlement. Many residents 
also commented on Kibaki's failure to pass constitutional 
reform, as well as his failure to act against official 
corruption and to bring about more equitable distribution 
of resources. (Note: The 2005 constitutional referendum, 
which proposed government-backed reforms, was soundly 
defeated. End note.) Kibaki has achieved some good things, 
residents agreed, but it appears that the deficits are 
overshadowing the achievements in the minds of the voters 
at this stage in the campaign. 
 
Youth Voters: Take Us Seriously 
 
6. (SBU) Odinga's message of populism and change has strong 
appeal to young Kenyan voters. Kenya's demography is very 
young, with 42 percent of the population under 14 and more 
than 25 percent of the population between the ages of 15 
and 25. Civic education and more exposure to media coverage 
of the political scene are likely to result in a larger 
number of young voters heading to the polls in this 
election than in 2002. In the central Rift Valley town of 
Iten, we passed an impromptu political rally being held by 
a candidate for the local civic council. The audience of 
young men, mainly unemployed and selling small items to try 
and support themselves, was told that, if they voted for 
him, this candidate would buy them so much beer that they 
would fall down drunk in the gutter. Indignant, they asked, 
"Is that all they think of us? We have serious concerns. We 
want to be taken seriously." So far, the Kibaki campaign 
has drawn its strongest support from older voters. Given 
the importance of the youth vote, Kibaki will need to make 
an effort to address youth concerns, primarily education 
and employment. Kibaki will also need to overcome the 
perception among many youth that it is time for his 
generation to retire. "They have been in government many 
years and have done very little in that time," said one 
local NGO employee. "It's time for the old guys to go out." 
 
Majimbo and Revenge 
 
7. (SBU) One issue playing out on the national stage, 
majimboism, is on RVP voters' minds, although there is much 
confusion and disagreement about what it actually means. 
Majimboism is loosely and confusedly defined as federalism 
or devolution. Odinga has made majimbo a cornerstone of his 
campaign, promising that constituencies would get to keep 
60 percent or more of their locally-generated revenues 
instead of handing money over to the national government 
and waiting for the government to allocate it back to the 
provinces and districts. Regions would also have their own 
locally elected leaders, rather than being governed by the 
present provincial administration system, which is 
appointed by and reports to the national government. 
Majimbo supporters also believe that the 40 percent of 
constituency revenues that would be retained by the central 
government will be redistributed from wealthy regions to 
underdeveloped arid and semi-arid areas, resulting in 
economic empowerment for impoverished regions of Kenya. 
Kibaki supporters, however, argue that Odinga's majimbo 
system would translate into divisiveness, and that it will 
trigger a kind of ethnic cleansing, as tribes who have 
relocated away from their traditional home areas would be 
forced out in favor of "indigenous" residents. Jayne 
Kihara, the MP for Naivasha constituency in the southern 
 
Rift Valley, described majimboism as "tribalism, not 
 
federalism." Many Kibaki supporters also express the fear 
that Odinga, if elected, would use his position to seek 
revenge against other ethnic groups believed to be 
responsible for the unsolved killings of Luo leaders Tom 
Mboya and former foreign minister Robert Ouko. A detailed 
analysis of the majimbo issue will follow septel. 
 
Comment 
 
8. (SBU) This year's elections are expected to be hotly 
contested at the Presidential level and in many of the 
Parliamentary races. In many of the multi-ethnic 
constituencies of RVP, candidates will have to appeal to a 
broad spectrum of the local population to be successful. 
The youth vote is also likely to be important, and is 
currently skewing strongly towards Odinga and his message 
of change and empowerment. Kibaki and his Party of National 
Unity (PNU) supporters have largely been absent from the 
campaign trail to date, while Odinga and his Orange 
Democratic Movement (ODM) allies are aggressively 
campaigning in the field. One observer likened Kibaki's 
campaign to "a student who puts off studying until the week 
before exams" and then wonders why he does not pass. Kibaki 
is taking the voters for granted, we heard, and does not 
recognize that the open democratic space he helped to 
create will devour him if he does not begin a concerted and 
coordinated effort to reach out to other ethnic groups and 
youth voters. RVP will be a pivotal area in the elections. 
Along with Western and Coast provinces, a successful 
Presidential candidate will have to do well in this area in 
order to secure victory. Post will continue to monitor 
events in RVP and will include some key RVP constituencies 
in our election observation efforts. 
 
RANNEBERGER