...
written by Tim Norwood , April 30, 2007

Umm, really? No? Live TV and Radio? OK, Raila takes the prize for showbiz, moving on....

Is there something wrong with being a communist? Raila certainly is not one! Communist drive Ladas not Hummers.

a Hummer is a big Lada
written by emmo opoti , April 30, 2007

This is stretching it a little is it not? An event that is too elaborate and showy will put Kenyans off all by itself, there's really no need for anyone to interfere.
There's really no reason to copy what other countries are doing. A small event, surrounded by the people who matter most in a little village somewhere, or even in a factory would have served the people better. Now all we have is a government publishing ridiculous wealth statistics and an opposition showing off their glitz and glamour.

invited but not attending
written by Amir Ibrahim , April 30, 2007

No one was any good as a leader, who was skilled in the art of presentation. Is the coverage on television paid for? Is this going to have a bigger blowback than the Hummer incident?

4000 guests? Now 3,999.

...
written by Stephen Wanyama , April 30, 2007

Two things here, first is the fact that Pres. Kibaki fired these men ( Kalonzo and Raila). Sure they would have caused discomfort in government, but now they are idle and powerful still. They did not ever need those ministerial benderas. So while Kibaki and his ministers are concentrating ( roll eyes ) on work, Raila and Kalonzo can start campaigning like a whole year before the election.

Second thing. Unlike Kibaki, Kalonzo, etc who are boring old Christians. Raila understands Kenyans very well, there's people about complaining about Hummers, and billboards and expensive campaign launches. But democracy is about pandering to the lowest denominator. Your average voter is like a child, well 90% of them are anyway. Anyone expecting to see a debate on issues is in for a rude awakening. Al Gore vs. Bush (surely a no-brainer?) Not quite, eh? Tony Bliar? Princess Diana?

Does anyone remember 1992? The marked contrast between Kibaki and Matiba's supporters? Kenyan campaigns are about fanatical young men, bright orange shirts, streets brought to a standstill, money thrown about, helicopters. The slaves need a powerful master, if Kibaki was not a Kikuyu he would have no chance. Kalonzo will soon be dead and buried.

In the gutter, where it matters, Raila is already the King. In the Philippines they do not even feign sophistication. Just vote in a movie star.

a man of ideas
written by John Ongeri , April 30, 2007

No other politician in living memory has commanded the headline-grabbing attention of our country as our own Amolo. We can all start sentences with the cliche: "love him or hate him" but I believe that a majority of kenyans are beyond that level and are quite keen to hear the leader's vision.

If Tim and Amir could resist the hummer humour for a moment they would realise the significance of the forthcoming announcement.

Agwambo is about to set up stall. He is taking an opportunity to talk directly to Tim in Timboroa, Amir in Ainabkoi, Emmo in Emali and Wanjiku in Wundanyi. Agwambo's special message will also go out to Anduru in Alego and Wanyama in West Mugirango. He wants to tell us why we should entrust the captaincy in him to steer MV Kenya towards a better future and away from the high seas of rampant tribalism, corruption, human rights violations and widespread insecurity that we are currently sailing in. Please let us hear what he has to say.

...
written by Kamale , April 30, 2007

.....but he will still need to ensure that what ever he does he does not lose the support of the other contestants apart from also ensuring he wins the NOMINATION

It is important to remember that ODM is a like a trouser with patches that do not hold together tightly and the loss of one patch could lead to the other patches falling off!

"People carried away by their own importance rarely have far to walk back".

...
written by ati kibaki work? , April 30, 2007

>>>So while Kibaki and his ministers are concentrating ( roll eyes ) on work

what work????

Is it PR or SUBSTANCE?
written by pndiangui , April 30, 2007

I will wait for te event and really listen carefully not only for WHAT Raila wants to do but more importantly to me is HOW he will accomplish it and by WHEN. Anything else to me amounts to a sugar coated PR exercise.
We know how others have done the PR with no underlying substance too.

re:
written by That Kenyan Loser , May 01, 2007

But democracy is about pandering to the lowest denominator. Your average voter is like a child, well 90% of them are anyway. Anyone expecting to see a debate on issues is in for a rude awakening.

Mr. Wanyama,
That's quite an aristocratic statement. You have insulted the citizens of one of the brightest nations in the world, with a literacy rate of 85.1 percent.

Yours is testimony of the colonial legacy that still lingers over our continent. The thinking that most Africans are incapable of understanding things is the source of dictatorship. It's why Europeans advocated pounding Africans in the heads to make them listen or learn.

Sadly, those who took over at independence continued to treat their fellow citizens like savages.

I have lived in the United States for over a decade now and guess what? When it comes to critical thinking, I will bet my money on the everage Kenyan. If the debate veers away from the issues it won't be because Kenyans are incapable of discussing on a high level, but because the media set the agenda and politicians spin the issues. That happens even in countries that pride themselves in having effective democracies.

Those manambas and young people peddling goods at Kenyan bus stops are not any less brilliant. Many of them are highly educated youths denied the opportunities those calling them intellectually incompetent had.

The principle of democracy doesn't alienate anyone.

re: re:
written by pndiangui , May 01, 2007

But democracy is about pandering to the lowest denominator. Your average voter is like a child, well 90% of them are anyway. Anyone expecting to see a debate on issues is in for a rude awakening.

Mr. Wanyama,
I have lived in the United States for over a decade now and guess what? When it comes to critical thinking, I will bet my money on the everage Kenyan. If the debate veers away from the issues it won't be because Kenyans are incapable of discussing on a high level, but because the media set the agenda and politicians spin the issues. That happens even in countries that pride themselves in having effective democracies.

Kenyan Loser; that was well articulated. Wouldnt have been said better than that. That is spot-on.Media spin , Raila spin, government spin etc ....shapes the thinking and the mindsets of those being targeted or being said to be incompetent. The very most fanatical believer even ends up believing what is not even near 'real' a classical behaviour of a self-fulfilling prophecy for example when Raila urges masses to believe the 'economy has not grown an inch', rather than bring in some objectivity on what is real.

Loser
written by Tim Norwood , May 01, 2007

I think you are being a little harsh on Wanyama. He did not seem to single out the Kenyan voter but rather voters everywhere. In his very next sentence, he speaks of George Bush vs. Al Gore ( P.S I recently watched Al Gore's an Inconvenient Truth - all I can say is America does not deserve him.)

In light of his piece from last week, I gather that he does not believe in democracy (not the voting part at least). I am only responding because I find that I am sympathetic to his views. If we are agreed on a basic set of inviolable freedoms, and a cast iron duty to the people, I really do not see that democracy in a land of wide gulfs between rich and poor, schooled and unschooled, etc really makes sense.

Consider for example the power of the gun lobby in the USA, or the power of the Israel lobby, or the fact that 50 million Americans are destitute but it does not matter to the state, or the manner in which George Bush is proving that he is closer to a king than a president and you realise that democracy really is over-rated. Works far better in civilised countries like Switzerland or Japan or Germany.

Kenyans? Educated? Now that makes me smile!

...
written by RMA , May 01, 2007

Anduru,

I think yours is far fetched. May 6th will come and pass peacefully. Kenyans are slowly outgrowing the political violence of yesteryear. It has been long since UoN students threw stones in support of a politician. I think that is positive development.

You said,

Kenyan media scene is awash with government propaganda to the effect that Raila has a known penchant for political violence with fanatical, arrogant and chaotic followers usually doing his bidding

Most of us are old enough to have been there when Raila used youths to unleash terror on his opponents. Those who are free of selective amnesia remember the kind of treatment Shem Ochuodho, Orengo, Mageuzi supporters, Tuju etc received in the hands of Raila. We remember names like Baghdad Boys and the Taliban. The TV clip showing Raila's car being used to ram into Orengo's car are fresh in our memories. Above all, we know the man behind the 82 coup attempt.

Judging from the way Raila handles opposition, he has potential of being a dictator. And all dictators call themselves 'The people's leader', 'father of the nation', etc. Dictators are always 'de-facto'. All their actions -good or bad- are for the good of the nation.

When an MP orders his fanatical supporters to stone his opponents know that you have a dicatator in waiting. When that MP throws punches in parliament, know that you have a person who will use all resources to silence his critics.

who..what.. where...
written by Kawaida Guy! , May 03, 2007

The Rutos,Mudavadis,Kalonzos and Uhurus are whom Hon.Raila should really be worried about,he(Raila) hasn't won the ODM-K Presidential nomination yet,i doubt the Government would waste much time trying to Under cut him for the moment like you're trying to claim,Unless he Sabotages himself,We all know Raila wouldn't pass up an opportunity to earn sympathy from the unsuspecting Public and make everybody else look bad...

politics is about PR
written by Job , May 03, 2007

Public relations is key to politics. This year's elections will very likely pit on one hand, an incumbent with a 5-year record of overt tribalism, corruption, nepotism, favouritism, "Margaryanism", Anglo-Leasing, snake-bite media raids, attempted fraud on the constitution (the rejected Wako/Banana draft) inaction of all commissions (Goldenberg, Ndungu, Ouko) and the notoriety of shielding the real perpetrators of Goldeberg, Anglo-Leasing & other crimes.
These acts largely overshadow the FPE and CDF efforts for instance, who's real impact(s) will be felt after many successive years. The first 5 years of CDF ( at it's present 2.5% allocation ) is relatively insignificant considering an average size and population of a constituency.

On the other side there will be a populist with many promises for "the people". That likely candidate is already making those promises through an aggressive PR exercise. Thus the duel could be one of RECORD vs PROMISES. If the record is terrible I'll bet you many will opt for the promise (whether they're true or false). That's just the Kenyan mob psyche.

On the ECONOMY, which is supposed to be the incumbent's re-election platform, a more objective debate would certainly not be found online. How many locals have access to the internet? Tells you that internet economic debates will more likely be dominated and biased towards Kenya's middle and upper class elite (a minority) who have generally faired well economically thanks to a global economic expansion.

MARK THESE WORDS: The PREDOMINANT HOUSEHOLD ECONOMIC DEBATE you'll hear from the majority people (voters) who discuss live in rural villages, slums and urban streets will be talk about the escalating costs of essential commodities (INFLATION) NOT Kimunya's figures.

A packet of Unga, a kilo of sugar and a litre of paraffin costed shs 27, sh 28 and sh 31 four years ago when Moi left Office. Today, the ordinary unsophisticated folk under Kibaki's magical economic boom, pays shs 60, sh75, and sh 71 respectively for the same commodities. Be your own judge in realistic and practical terms.

Overall UNEMPLOYMENT has worsened (more jobless youth and elderly parents seething in anger). YES, a few jobs have been created in the growing service sector but too little in manufacturing. Agricultural output has increased but not matching increasing input costs and inflation.

A few elite in the service sector, financial markets, hedge funds, tourism and real estate have had a relatively nice time. Coupled with infusion of returning capital-flight formerly stashed abroad, and Margaryan-ish kind of contra drug deals, more cash has been laundered into the local circulation. All these windfalls here and there have grossly created an impression of good economic health, which unfortunately satisfies only the top 30% of the population.

No wonder UNDP poverty figures credibly suggest that under Kibaki, 2.5% more Kenyans ( about 1 million)have slipped down into poverty, despite Kimunya's rosy figures.

However, don't forget to factor in regional disparities. Poverty figures are not uniform across the country. In fact in Central province, ONLY 32% live below the poverty line, hence a clear majority don't understand why the heck people are predominantly talking about poverty.

Besides this fact, additional boosts by Kibaki customized for the province towards the dairy, & horticultural sub-sectors (subsidies & input tax breaks), agricultural co-operative loan write-offs for coffee, tea, etc; improved water and roads ; have even made things better.

Now walk to the rest of the country and check for instance the hard-hit sugar, fishing, pastoralist, and other sectors where only cosmetic policies are the boon, then you'll begin to understand there's more than one Kenya.

Rift Valley's current poverty situation stands almost 50-50 depending on who's figures you're reading.( a general decline from a glorious past)

But go to NEP (poverty index 73%), Western (65%), Coast (63%) Nyanza (65%), Ukambani (58%) where poverty figures are mind boggling and get a glimpse of the political direction this country is apparently bound towards. Despite the lavish largesse offered to Cabinet Ministers from these regions, the people at the grassroots take none of that.

That's no wonder citizens of the same country see the nation from entirely different prisms, some which may reflect in important political decisions later this year.

unedited
Job.

hype and prehype
written by armenian-lookalike , May 05, 2007

So, the date of the announcement is announced. Can we book tickets or do we have to pre-book. If we need more than 2 tickets perhaps its better to order now to avoid disapointment. What if we pre-order?

What if it rains on that day? or what if it turns out like the last solar eclipse or the millennium bug to be a lot less impressive than all the media hype?

I will not be making any pre-dictions

...
written by Kamale , May 07, 2007

It was only the (sad) KQ tragedy that nearly derailed the event with the Nation relegating the vision launch to its inner pages!

...
written by RMA , May 09, 2007

Anduru,

The day has already passed. We did not see the violence that you had promised us. Instead, Kenyans were glued to their radios and TVs awaiting and earth shaking picture of the next administration. Some loved it while others brushed it away as just another vision that fell below their expectation.

Yours was yet another, "they are planning to kill Raila."

Speak For Your Self..
written by Kawaida Guy! , May 09, 2007

On The Contrary RMA

I Was glued to the TV like many others i presume trying to find out more about the missing KQ Flight which had many of us devastated..

The Launch looked more like the usual ODM-K Rally,but this time with people sitted and in Vitenges,suits and ties,Balloons and confetti all over and much more than usual of the ever faithful Kiberains in the Vicinity,as usual the "London Three" skipped again,or did they!Hope it didn't cost him much to organise!