Leadership Wrangles Threaten to Tear the Mega Society Apart

Muchiri Karanja

13 May 2011

Nairobi — It has been dogged by unending controversies. From internal wrangles over the control of millions of shillings in its accounts to accusations of fanning ethnicity, the Mega Initiative Welfare Society still is seeking to find its right footing.

The public views it as yet another ethnic outfit from central Kenya, akin to — GEMA — the powerful political organisation in the 1970s and early 1980s that brought together members of the Gikuyu, Embu and Meru communities.

Members of Mega are mostly young professionals, who pay Sh1,000 per year or Sh10,000 for life membership. Mega is estimated to be worth at least Sh44 million, and has over 3,000 active members. But with money comes controversy.

One thing, however, remains clear: Eight years since its formation, the Meru, Embu and Gikuyu Association (Mega) is still struggling to gain a grip in the counties around Mount Kenya.

A special general meeting meant to resolve leadership rows in the organisation this weekend has itself generated a row. While a section of the group’s leadership put out a press advertisement announcing the meeting, another announced that the meeting had been cancelled.

The leadership row pits the founding chairman of the society, Mr Peter Kuguru, against his successor, Mr Kamau Muchuha, both fighting for the leadership of the multi-million shilling regional investment initiative.

Caught in the middle of the leadership row is the office of the Registrar of Societies, which has so far issued two conflicting directives on who is the correct chairman of Mega.

A letter from the registrar dated January 8, 2010, recognised Mr Kuguru as the chairman of the group.

Special General Meeting

But another letter from the same office, dated March 22, this year, revoked Mr Kuguru’s election, and reinstated Mr Muchuha. The registrar’s office also directed that Mega hold a Special General Meeting to elect new officials.

The SGM, scheduled for tomorrow, has rekindled the rows of the organisation whose self-declared objectives include improving the financial welfare of its members — mostly drawn from Mount Kenya region.

Documents seen by the Saturday Nation indicate that Mr Kuguru resigned from the chairman’s position in 2007 to pursue politics in Mathira constituency.

But after the 2007 parliamentary polls, Mr Kuguru sought to come back to the helm, prompting a bitter row with a section of the officials, who accuse the soft drinks company owner of dragging Mega into the politics of Mount Kenya region.

“Mega is not a political organisation, our constitution is clear about this,” says Mr Muchuha.

Mr Kuguru denies that he is using Mega to gain political mileage in central Kenya.

Indeed, Mr Kuguru says there are no more leadership rows within Mega, and that the association is back on its feet.

“We have our own ups and downs. When we were entangled deep in court cases, we diverted our attention from welfare to fighting for the truth,” says Mr Kuguru.

Beyond the leadership rows, the society is also struggling to shed the tribal tag, with many critics associating it with the once powerful tribal grouping, GEMA.

The society’s target membership has been criticised for its ethnic bias, with the National Cohesion and Integration Commission demanding that membership be extended beyond the Mount Kenya region.

The commission provides that it is illegal to discriminate in membership of organisations or discriminate the services or benefits a person can access as a member.

The vice-chairman of the commission, Ms Mary Onyango, told the Saturday Nation that it would be against the law if Mega denied anybody membership on the basis of tribe.

“Anybody who applies to be a member of Mega and is denied the opportunity for not being either a Meru, Embu of Gikuyu should immediately notify us for action. Otherwise, in their brochure, Mega packages itself as a national organisation,” Ms Onyango said.

Both Mr Muchuha and Mr. Kuguru are at pains to prove that Mega is not the modern-day GEMA.

According to Mr Kuguru, although both Mega and GEMA draw membership from the same communities, they are two different entities. The membership of Mega, he says, is younger and more business-oriented.

“The aim is to bring the community together for welfare purposes. We are out to network both inter and intra-tribal and we would like to form positive ethnic welfare associations,” says Mr Kuguru.

Mr Muchuha also defends Mega from accusations that it is another tribal outfit more or less like GEMA.

“We welcome any person, irrespective of their tribe to join us,” says Mr Muchuha.

Mr Kuguru himself is not averse to controversy. His plan to crown Prime Minister Raila Odinga a Kikuyu elder back in 2008 stirred storm in central Kenya. Although the plan backfired, Mr Kuguru says he has no apologies to make.

“My thinking then and now is that Mega needs to embrace other communities casually and socially. So I wanted to bring Mr Odinga as a leader from the Luo community and enthrone him as Kikuyu elder, not culturally, but symbolically.”

Political analysts pointed out that Mr Kuguru and his Mega Initiative was becoming the link for the Prime Minister in central Kenya.

But Mr Kuguru neither confirms nor denies this. The PM and him, he says, are long time friends. In any case, he would not mind dealing with the PM’s party — the orange Democratic Party.

“I embrace ODM, I’m ready to sell it in central Kenya so that it is not seen as an enemy as we gear towards the next General Election. I do not want to be anybody’s sycophant,” says Mr Kuguru.

Had his plan succeeded, he says, more elder-making ceremonies would have been organised for other leaders.

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