Specialist Files

Capital Talk David Kuria Mbote Gay Senator Aspirant Part 1

Audio Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tmh8jGw1Q_c&feature=share&list=UUt3SE-Mvs3WwP7UW-PiFdqQ

Jeff Koinange:

Welcome to Capital Talk, a program we hope will have an impact on the future of Kenya. Now more than ever Im Jeff Koinange. Now if youve been watching the bench this week you know the theme, hate speech. Inciting people at this time when were barely six months away from the general elections. We dont need this kind of stuff its important that we discuss it, we put it out there because we want hate speech to be a thing of the past. On the bench today, my goodness talk about a young man with a lot of guts because when you admit that you are gay and running for public office in Kenya, you know youre going to get a lot of hate speech. In fact when I tweeted this message this morning there was so much hate, people saying lets burn him at the stake we dont need this kind of stuff, all kinds of responses but this young man has stuck his neck out because he wants to make a change in Kiambu County. All along he always wanted to be a priest believe it or not from when he was 13 to 27, for a good 14 years he was in Junior Seminary and then a Seminary. He always wanted to be a priest but changed his mind at the very last minute. So were talking from priest to politics. What are his views about Kiambu County? Can he change the he run? Does he have what he take and can people see through the gayness and talk about real issues? Lets find out, this one is going to be a keeper. Hes 40 years old, running for Senator, Kiambu County. Sit back, its David Kuria Mbote. Good to see you my brother.

David Kuria Mbote: Jeff Koinange: David Kuria Mbote: Jeff Koinange: David Kuria Mbote: Jeff Koinange:

Same here Jeff. Welcome to the bench. Thank you. Thats very gutsy of you to come on the bench. it had to be done some day. Alright so people are watching you right now and they are wondering, are you gay?

T: Julius M. E: Julius@specialistfiles.com

Specialist Files

Capital Talk David Kuria Mbote Gay Senator Aspirant Part 1

Audio Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tmh8jGw1Q_c&feature=share&list=UUt3SE-Mvs3WwP7UW-PiFdqQ

David Kuria Mbote:

Yes, but I would hope what they focus on is the change theory that Im proposing for Kiambu in terms of leadership and the change that we bring to the politics of the country but in particular Kiambu. Yes but lets face it David, a lot of people are looking at you and saying is he gay? Theyll have hard time getting past the gay thing. By the time you start talking issues, people have already judged you. Theyve pre-judged you. Is that difficult getting through to people? It is but then we are where we are as a country because we judge people on such spurious grounds such as tribe, religion and we never take time to interrogate what they are proposing to bring for this country. If you look at political party manifestos for the last elections, you realize that youd simply exchange one for the other, remove the name and cut and paste. If we had decided to look at the agenda that the people proposed, we would realize that the tribe, religion and other such grounds are not what brings change to a country. So I really do hope that people that people look at my five point program, people visit my website, interrogate me on the basis of that because if they do and if we raise the bar of leadership to that level, then even our national leaders will begin to take more interest on the policies and ideologies and less concerns on such things that really do not, as they say, add a plate of ugali on a Kenyan mans table.

Jeff Koinange:

David Kuria Mbote:

Jeff Koinange:

Yes. By the way people will look at you and say, look this is not America this is not Europe. Is Kenya ready for a gay Senator, openly gay Senator? You see, I do not think that that should be the question whether Kenya is ready for a person such as myself. Is Kenya ready for political leadership that is based on ideology that proposes a theory of change, that tell the people of Kiambu we are where we are. We are moving to point B and this is how we are going to do that. For example, Im proposing that we are going to have its called cluster theory of development in Kiambu. Where you have, its modeled dco-periphery model. We are situated next to Nairobi. Weve great potential. Weve had infrastructure development in Kiambu and if we are going to make use of it then youve got to think outside

David Kuria Mbote:

T: Julius M. E: Julius@specialistfiles.com

Specialist Files

Capital Talk David Kuria Mbote Gay Senator Aspirant Part 1

Audio Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tmh8jGw1Q_c&feature=share&list=UUt3SE-Mvs3WwP7UW-PiFdqQ

coffee, outside tea, outside subsistence farming, to something that is far much greater. And what I would want people to do is interrogate and ask yourself, are we ready for a theory of change that says that Kiambu has potential to be the richest County in this country and even in the region. Are we ready for that? Jeff Koinange: Yes. Im sure we are ready. You are running against people like former veterans. Nginyo Kariuki, Kuria Kanyingi, hardcore veterans, conservative Kikuyus. How are you able to campaign? Can people see through that veneer? Can people say, you know what we need young blood. We need new blood in this system but this guy is different? I know. And people want change and in me they get the real change that they want. I have enormous respect for my competitors and they are doing a great thing and they are telling us that we shall improve the coffee sector, we shall bring more doctors but in my five point program if you look at it Im talking about re-engineering of health. Im not just saying that we need to look at the bio-medical aspects of health, Im saying we need to look at the structural issues of health. When it comes to conditions such as HIV, Kenya should not be in a position where we have 120,000 new infections each year whereas Germany which is twice the size of population had 2,700 new infections. Were talking of less than 0.4% if we were to compare. But the issues are not because we have less doctors. The issues are structural barriers. Weve had structural barriers so people cannot access healthcare. Now, would any of my competitors interrogate these issues at that level, of course not? Now if the Kiambu people want change like really , it brings a paradigm shift in leadership, then of course they are not going to vote for my competitors. They will vote for me and they will see through that. Jeff Koinange: Yes. Are you able to articulate this message to the people of Kiambu?

David Kuria Mbote:

T: Julius M. E: Julius@specialistfiles.com