Uhuru Kenyatta on Hardtalk: Part 2
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Uhuru gets tripped up here when he is asked about his family’s massive land holdings (how can you defend theft?). He gets tripped up again when he is asked about Mugabe. How can you defend Mugabe?
Uhuru says land reform is not about a person. I don’t know what he meant by that. In Kenya, the land was stolen by specific people, so it is about them.
KE
I strongly disagree with you on this point. Uhuru is right. Land policy cannot be about one family.
I have explained elsewhere on this blog that the Kenyatta family is not the only one to own huge tracts of land. You will find people from all tribes, wazungus, wahindis, international companies and local companies own huge tracts of land. This is where ODM will trip up big time – when they try to confiscate the Kenyatta land and leaving the others holding their land. I can promise you there will be chaos.
The best the government can do would be to buy land and settle the squatters on that land.
I think Uhuru answered this question very intelligently. Be objective.
Josh, wtf do you mean!?! stop side stepping the issue, the kenyatta’s have stolen land, period. It is common knowledge, I really have no idea why people defend thieves! Or are we (the people with some sense in their heads) missing something!?! there will be no chaos if THAT land is taken back, chaos by who? come on lets be ‘objective’…..
Land policy in kenya has to address the historical injustices right from the 50’s… someone’s not being very objective and it isnt me… my two cents worth…
Land reform should not be from the 1950s. Why should it be only as far as the 50s? I agree with those who say that it should be from 1886.
My family lost land in the 1890s. The land was made part of the Nairobi City Council. That land is now part of Nairobi. We know the extent of the land and we shall also want it back.
Land policy should target ALL not just the Kenyattas.
Josh:
Uhuru is right when he says the land issue is not about one family. Yes, it is about several families, all of whom were politically connected and all of whom benefitted from the illegal allocation of massive amounts of land.
However, he was clearly uncomfortable with questions about his families wealth and this is not the first time sarkur has asked him about this issues. The last time he was asked about this, he responded by saying he was only worth about $10 million dollars.
This is why Kenyatta, Moi and even Kibaki’s children will never garner any respect. They are the inheritors of a country’s stolen wealth and they should not be surprised if they get asked about it.
I’ll throw in Raila’s children here as well. These people have never done anything of note and like I said earlier: inherited wealth and inherited titles are never really respected. I’m surprised Uhuru, at his age, has yet to realize this.
KE
Clearly that question was designed to embarrass Uhuru as a person. It was also meant to mislead the audience that the kenyatta family is the only one that has huge tracts of land.
You have not addressed the fact that land is owned by all sorts of people – even ordinary people own huge tracts of land. My own uncle has a huge farm which he bought from a Mzungu in the 70s. He borrowed money from the bank and bought this farm. Should he also give it back?
Before we get into a hysteria attacking the Kenyattas, let us have an inventory of who owns what. And also establish how they acquired it. You will be surprised.
Raila himself did not work for what he has – it was given to him by his father. His father acquired his wealth through Kenyatta’s intervention. This is common knowledge.
As for Uhuru’s support, he is actually more popular than you think.
Anyway, I might not be objective on this issue because I am a die hard supporter of Uhuru. I supported him in 2002. I migrated with him to PNU in 2007 and I shall continue to support him in the future. I am a KANU member by the way.
Josh:
Orengo advocated doing an inventory of all the title deeds and land in Kenya. So, I’ guess you’d agree with him on this point.
I did acknowledge that land was stolen by several families and they should all be required to return it if we go down that route, which I know we won’t. So I guess this is an academic argument, but I did enjoy seeing Uhuru being embarrassed. He ought to be embarrassed for himself and for his entire thieving family and so should all the other thieving Kenyans.
Why on earth do you support Uhuru? because he speaks well? he should thank the language school he attended (I bet you didn’t know he took language classes to brush up on his swahili and kikuyu, did you?)
It seems we still have the same wolf in sheeps clothing, just better dressed, more articulate and younger than the hyena in power and the previous hyenas. The apple does not fall far from the tree. Who really believes that Uhuru will not murder and intimidate to keep their stolen land a secret.
Dude totally refused to answer the question ati this is not about an individual. Basi he needs o share that individual land with others. Answer the question asked and not those that you want to formulate.
Josh, stop hearing his voice and diction and cut through the bullshit. Emancipate yourself from mental slavery to worship Uhuru. The guy has really strung alot of words without saying anything. In fact he comes out like a spoilt child, who is very defensive about his upbringing. Very out of touch and shows contempt for the regular mwananchi
All
Luos worship Raila, Kalenjins worship Ruto, Swahilis worship Balala – so let Josh worship Uhuru if he wants to
.
On the wider issue though, I also think that Uhuru did quite well on this interview. Remember that when a politician goes for an interview, they are NOT there to answer the questions of the interviewer. They are there to promote their own agenda and to project their own image.
Politicians are aware that interviews follow tight schedules. They cannot overrun even by a minute. So all a politican needs to do is to keep talking – not necessarily answering the question – and the interview is soon over.
There is also the other point some of you are refusing to acknowldege. WHAT IS THE OBJECTIVE OF THE BBC?
If Kenyans are not careful, what you could end up with is a civil war. Remember that Britain is broke. 10% of their GDP comes from the sale of weapons. So when you silly Kenyans start fighting, they will make profits by selling weapons to different factions. If you think overstating this case, just cast your short memory to January/february 2008 and you will see what I mean.
KE & All,
You are right that stolen property does not draw respect….but on inherited property I disagree…a good number of kenyans are in political cycles because their folks were…they not only inherit property but the POWER. The Kenyatta family has Beth mugo, uhuru, muhoho,ngengi…the Moi’s, the mudavadis, raila and oburu odinga…that list is endless…they are not necessarily talented but they get there…Look at the kennedy dynasty..OR even the Bushes.
Even Bhutto left the party under a her son who still in school. ITS A GAME where newcomers have to prove themselves work much harder, to get those priviledges and start a cycle.
PUHLEEZE….
mwizi (kamau) wa ngengi did not borrow to buy land… he stole it. Outright.