As the son of Kenya's founding father, Uhuru Kenyatta has the name, the wealth - and the burden that comes with his heritage.
Unlike his late father, Mzee Jomo Kenyatta, Uhuru does not
carry a fly-whisk as a mark of authority, instead he carries the heavy
indictment by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for crimes against
humanity committed after the previous elections, in 2007.Many thought the ICC charges - which he denies - would destroy his bid for the presidency.
But on the contrary, it is fast becoming clear that the ICC has only helped to galvanise support for Mr Kenyatta and his running mate, William Ruto, among those who see the charges as foreign interference in domestic matters.
Bizarrely, the two men are accused of organising attacks on each other's supporters after the previous poll.
Their Jubilee coalition has united two of Kenya's largest communities - the Kikuyu and Kalenjin, respectively - and so Mr Kenyatta stands a reasonable chance of following in father's footsteps and becoming president.
He is currently one of Kenya's two deputy prime ministers and if he wins the March elections, Uhuru - a Swahili word for freedom - will make history on several fronts:
- Born in October 1961, he will become Kenya's youngest president
- He will have followed in his father's footsteps to lead the country
- He will become the second president in Africa to be indicted by the ICC - after Sudan's Omar al-Bashir
Uhuru Kenyatta in focus
- Aged 51
- Presidential candidate for the Jubilee coalition
- One of two deputy prime ministers
- Son of founding President Mzee Jomo Kenyatta
- Heir to one of the largest fortunes in Kenya, according to Forbes magazine
- Entered politics in 1990s, groomed by former President Daniel arap Moi to be his successor
- Lost the presidential race in 2002 by a large margin to a coalition led by Mwai Kibaki
- Backed Kibaki for re-election in 2007
- Known as njamba or hero in his Kikuyu language
- Indicted by ICC on charges of crimes against humanity in connection with 2007 post-election violence - which he denies
- Married father of three
- Hobbies: Football and golf
- His Facebook page has more than 400,000 "likes"
Mr Kenyatta may not have a
natural flair for public speaking but he has a powerful voice and can be
persuasive when fighting his corner.
He has his mother to thank for ensuring that he mastered the
local Kikuyu language, which helps him to connect with his countrymen in
rural areas. They love to call him njamba - meaning hero.
Growing up, Mr Kenyatta always shied away from politics and wanted to be seen as an ordinary person at ease with ordinary Kenyans.
In July 1990, together with four other sons of prominent politicians, he issued a statement urging the then-ruling party, Kenya African National Unity (Kanu), to open up the political space.
Many in Kenya thought such a move would draw the wrath of then-President Daniel arap Moi. Instead, the leader brought young Kenyatta closer and guided him into politics.
The most prominent stage in Mr Kenyatta's political career under the tutelage of Mr Moi came in 2002 when the outgoing president anointed him as his successor on a Kanu ticket.
The decision saw a number of key members of Kanu such as Raila Odinga and then Vice-President George Saitoti walk out of the party and away from Mr Moi's "Uhuru Project".
Mr Moi's plan ultimately backfired and Mr Kenyatta lost to President Mwai Kibaki, who benefitted from Mr Odinga's support.
During the 2007 elections Mr Kenyatta supported President Kibaki's bid for a second term against Mr Odinga.
The controversy and violence following the 2007 elections forced Mr Kibaki and Mr Odinga to form a coalition government.
Mr Kenyatta became one of the two deputy prime ministers and also minister of trade. He was later appointed to the treasury as minister for finance.
“Start Quote
Uhuru Kenyatta HARDtalk interview 2008It's not that I won't tell you [how much land my family has] - it's that I don't need to tell you”
One of his first moves in this
role was to direct that ministers, assistant ministers and permanent
secretaries return their official Mercedes Benz cars in exchange for the
more economical Volkswagen Passats.
Mr Kenyatta has been keen to demonstrate that he is his own
man. He is no longer Moi's "project" and does not need political
patronage from President Kibaki either. He left Kanu to form his own party, The National Alliance (TNA), and has gone on to form a coalition with other parties that are backing his presidential bid.
He is also eager to show that he is modern, in tune with the country's youth and techno-savvy. While preparing the 2011/12 budget he used Twitter to invite public contributions.
During this presidential campaign, Mr Kenyatta has been presenting himself and his political allies as the "digital team" that is ready to get down to the business of developing Kenya.
Trouble with Kenyatta He is ranked by Forbes Magazine as the 23rd richest person in Africa with an estimated fortune of £330m ($500m).
Kenya's first president Mzee Jomo Kenyatta died in 1978 and was succeeded by Daniel arap Moi
The family also has vast interests in the country's tourism, banking, construction, dairy and insurance sectors.
They also own huge parcels of land in the Rift Valley, central and coastal regions of Kenya.
It is the land question that haunts Mr Kenyatta and the rest of his family wherever they go in Kenya.
In an interview with BBC's HardTalk programme in 2008, he was asked how much land his family owned.
He replied: "I don't need to answer that question because that's not the issue. Land reform is not about a person; land reform is about a nation. It's not that I won't tell you. It's that I don't need to tell you."
Land is the source of nearly all ethnic clashes that bedevil the Rift Valley. It is so divisive that the inspector general of police warned political candidates not to make it a campaign issue.
In his election manifesto, Mr Kenyatta acknowledges that "Kenya's future prosperity is dependent upon the transformation into a property owning and land-user rights democracy.
"Our ambition is a massive expansion of land user and ownership rights, so that all Kenyans who want to own their own homes are able to do so."
The ICC burden But Mr Kenyatta has a potentially greater fight ahead.
Uhuru Kenyatta and William Ruto are expected to appear at the ICC in April - both deny the charges
They are accused of bearing the greatest responsibility for the 2008 post-election violence that left more than 1,000 people dead and forced some 600,000 from their homes
The ICC links him to the outlawed militia group, Mungiki, which is accused of carrying out revenge attacks during the violence.
For many years Mr Kenyatta's Kikuyu community and Mr Ruto's Kalenjins have clashed over land in the agriculturally-rich Rift Valley.
The recent voter registration saw a massive turn out in their strongholds.
If these two communities do unite in this election, they would provide an extremely strong voting bloc, which could finally propel Mr Kenyatta to the top job he has coveted for so long.
Source: