By EUGENE OMILO
When the late Tourism minister and then undisputed kingpin of Coast politics Emmanuel Karisa Maitha was laid to rest in September 2004, many political operatives in the region whose careers depended on the influential leader were left in despair and were aptly described as political orphans.
But over the years, life had to go on and many of those orphans have (or seem to have) grown to be their own men and women advancing their own individual influences in the regions they come from.
But as 2012 beckons and even as sitting Coast MPs stay , a crop of aspiring politicians have suddenly started courting the command and charisma of the fallen minister to advance their own political destinies.
The late minister died on August 26, 2004 in Germany while on an official tour.
As evidenced by a recent marking of the seventh anniversary since his passing, several happenings in the elaborate Mijikenda traditional ceremony left a lot to be desired as far as courting the ‘ghost’ of Maitha is concerned.
The late minister’s son, Mr. James Maitha chose the ceremony as the platform to formally announce his candidature for the IIBC proposed Kilifi South parliamentary seat while Maitha’s top aide Mr. Nyonga wa Makemba also launched his bid for the Kisauni parliamentary seat in Mombasa county.
Both James and Makemba as well as Kaya elders spoke of the unity of the Coastal electorate and the absence of its unifying factor since the death of Maitha in a clear indication that Kaya forces were rooting for a scion of the late minister to feel the vacuum that he left.
The presence of Kaya elders representing each of the nine sub tribes of the Mijikenda community at the ceremony was also a clear manifest of the duo’s deep respect and belief for the traditional Mijikenda way of worshiping which was championed by the late Maitha.
At the same time, it came to the fore that Maitha’s posthumous blessings for 2012 are not just sought by his kin and former confidantes.
A number of political aspirants both at county and national levels still regard the ‘Maitha factor’ as an investment for their bid to woo the Mijikenda votes if those who turned up for his anniversary is anything to go by, especially as 2012 beckons.
The presence of Gulf group of companies chairman Mr. Suleiman Shahbal was especially a surprise to many as Mr. Shahbal has declared his interest to vie for Mombasa county’s governorship.
Again, presidential contender Peter Kenneth who hails from Central Kenya was represented at the function by Mombasa Businessman James Mureu who said Kenneth recognized the late Maitha as a true hero of the Coastal people.
Both Shahbal and Kenneth promised Maitha’s widow Racheal Maitha that they will see to it that a state of the art mausoleum is built in honour of the fallen minister.
The two seem to have taken a hint from the late minister’s widow who had complained that her family had been abandoned by those who worked with Maitha in government.
Evidently, Shahbal’s bag of goodies did not end with the mausoleum.
The wealthy banker promised to offer scholarships to 100 youths from the Mijikenda community once the proposed Islamic University that his bank is funding to the tune of Sh1 billion is complete.
Those who spoke at the event challenged Shahbal to nominate a Giriama lady as his running mate in 2012 in exchange for massive support from members of the Mijikenda community living in Mombasa County.
An aspirant for the Kilifi County senator’s seat Mrs. Naomi Cidi who also attended the weekend anniversary never misses to mention ‘Mugogo’ in her political tours.
She extols the bravery of the late Maitha and likens herself with his virtues and conquests to endear herself to the followers of the late Maitha to her side.
Further North in Kilifi county, former cabinet minister and Kaloleni MP now Dr. Morris Dzoro is getting closer to the Maitha family and although he is yet to declare his interest for any seat in the vast county, his latest move, political observers say, is one of a man seeking to get in touch with Maitha’s ‘ghost’ for guidance as to what he should go for come 2012.
(Dr. Dzoro has just completed his PhD in tourism related studies at Moi University.)
Career administrator and sitting Ganze MP Francis Baya also recently led a delegation headed by Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka to the late Maitha homestead before announcing his candidature for Kilifi county’s governorship in 2012 at a political convention at Pwani University.
While at Maitha's graveyard, the VP also partly unveiled his manifesto for his 2012 presidential bid.
Among many others who have made surprise visits to the Maithas is one Gedion Kioko Mbuvi aka Mike Sonko whose political antics have caused many an embarrassment to his parliamentary contemporaries.
It would have been an interesting spectacle if Sonko was to play defiance of Nairobi City council directives while the late Maitha was still holding the local government ministerial docket.
Some analysts, however, feel the Maitha factor should not be over expounded to confuse the electorate as the politics of patronage are long gone.
Mr. Patrick Birya who is the chairman of the Midzichenda Youth Association says those banking on the ‘Maitha factor’ to sway the Mijikenda votes in their favor are doing so for their own personal gratification.
“The stunts at Maitha’s graveyard will not have any major bearing for them, the electorate is more civilized and voters will be focusing on issues that matter such as one’s ability to create opportunities for his people as well as their development records, not a hero’s name,” said Mr. Birya in an interview with with this blogger.
He said the failure by Coast MPs to attend the late minister's anniversary should not be viewed as a concern as even though the late Ronald G. Ngala was more powerful nationally than Maitha, no anniversary has ever been held since his death in 1974.
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