Ndindi Nyoro: My Plan

Two weeks after taking over leadership of the People's Party, Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro returned to the Jeff Koinange Live bench, his third or fourth appearance this year by his own count. Jeff went straight to the question many Kenyans are asking: "Why does nobody believe you?"

Nyoro answered with momentum. Fresh from rallies, he called the People's Party "the fastest growing party in Kenya" since he joined. He said it already had over a thousand aspirants and urged leaders of any age to register online.

Jeff pressed him on the charge dominating Mt Kenya politics: that his new party will split the region's vote and weaken the opposition. "Splitting whose votes?" Nyoro asked. He pointed out that the region already has 32 political parties and said his aim was "to come and consolidate" as part of the wider opposition.

He was just as firm that he had left the government camp long ago. Nyoro pointed to issues he had raised on the same bench months earlier, chief among them the sale of the government's Safaricom stake. He said the shares went for 34 shillings and now trade at 39, which by his count means Kenya has lost 30 billion shillings in under three months. He also repeated his concerns about the oil sector and patronage in the cement industry.

When Jeff played clips of critics calling him a traitor, and asked outright whether he was a mole, Nyoro declined to attack fellow opposition leaders. He said he had held long talks with Peter Munya, Justin Muturi and Martha Karua, among others, and had received their congratulations. His message: "Let's not make brothers fight where there is no fight."

So is he running for president? Nyoro kept that card close. First, he said, he needs to show Kenyans who Ndindi Nyoro is and that the People's Party is a national party.