NO WAY
written by Honey , April 03, 2007

Author, excuse my exclusion of jargon, but your post screams: 'RAILA-PHOBIC'

Days are gone when Kenyans listened to pseudo-lies (oh, Raila is brash, ooh Raila is tribal, ooh Raila is a dictator), it is Kenya mpya, mawazo mapya, wameona mataa The sad ignorant days that sent great leaders to the sidelines via manipulation are looong gone. Kenyans can see clearer, and if they dont, we will force them. The issues raised here are the same that have cost us good leadership all this time. Maybe, and again maybe, a brash leader is what Kenya needs, not the tepid-tapioka style currently offered by Kibaki.

People still question Raila's ability to forgive, yet the man has shown he can. Has he not made peace with the former dictator Moi?. Thieves want assurance that they will not be persecuted; how so?
Turning this coin over, why are some so scared that they want protection. They have gone round thumbing chests and daring people to prove their vices. If they truly have nothing to hide, why are they afraid of Amollo, Kenya's next President.

Railla is every looter's punching bag, why? Because looters have made the rest of Kenyans ignorant and poor, corrupting their thought processing altogether.

Why any sane Kenyan should never vote for Kalonzo.

In his question answer, when asked why he never lifted a finger during his ministerial days against the village tyrant MOI, the man said 'it was not his presidency', right there he failed the interview.
Secondly, the fact that all presidential candidates today had some dealings with the former regime is not an excuse for failing to exonerate himself from the rot.
Kalonzo will lead Kenya WAY down beyond hell!

An honest poll is not one conducted in Kiambu and its environs, then thrown to Kenyans as being wholesome.

Unless Kenya is made of Kiambu and Githurai, that poll is for Michuki and the other geezers dozing away, hopeful to their graves!

The problem with Kenyan Politi
written by Nekessa , April 03, 2007

is that they are playing real politics, as practiced in the West. As one of my friends said to me today, "It is hard for Kenyans to vote in a good leader when people are still reasoning with their stomachs instead of their heads." How very true!!!

Raila receives much press because he is a show-stopper. No one is offering anything new.

Honey, the ability to forgive is hardly in question here (and I would not quote forgiving Moi as giving credit to Agwambo). What we need is a clear blue print on the plan of action for a new Kenya. You are right, this is a new Kenya. It is not enough to tell Kenyans that Kibaki has failed, instead dialog with wananchi on an action plan.

This problem is not unique to Raila, but of all Kenyan presidential candidates. The only (dis)advantage that Kibaki has over other folks is that he currently runs the government, and we can see for ourselves his failures and successes.

Raila is the Man to watch
written by kisumuJah , April 03, 2007

WE have seen the MKM machinery in action on countless ocassions trying to bring Agwambo down. He has again and again shown that he is not to be cowed. There has never been a mere MP in the history of Kenya who has given a government sleepless nights like Raila. This man is so close to disposing kibaki hence the fake stenchman(sorry, Steadman polls). Lets give credit where due. The Railaphobia was just but a government design meant to allianate Raila hence the luos. Please, be serious, Kenya will never be prosperous without the luos being part and parcel of the country(government). Sorry to dissapoint you but Tinga wa Nyundo is the man of the day

...
written by Kamale , April 04, 2007

For a man so well packaged by the media, it is normally difficult to find fault in him and in case you do, you are branded a phobic!!

Sometime back I had the occassion to meet one of the politicians formerly in teh Kibaki government and asked him where it is he went wrong as to be villified by the media so much. He says his tribulations started when the media decided to brand hime negatively and progressively connected him with corruption. With no let up, people perception of him also changed and to all and sundry he was just a corrupt man beyond salvation. More recently the media has been kind to him but the damage has already been done.

What about Raila? As far as I am concerned, he is just your kawaida politician who will sleep with anyone for his survival and stab the other guy to stay afloat. His fortune is that he has been so well branded by the media that to many Kenyans he appears you Mr. Clean guy. The fact that there may have been traces of corruption in the Molasses scandal tht directly links Raila and Moi to a political deal in exchange for the plant is not important. Raila denied any wrongdoing so let us forget this matter! Not even his goign to court to stop the Ndung'u report on the scam can taint him!!

Because the Kenyan media likes you, they can twist our perceptions about any politician. For instance, is anyone who has this fear of a mob dictatorship if Raila became president? What I am alluding to hear is the all too common harrassing of anyone who disagrees with Raila by a group of thugs which he constantly disowns. The fear I have is that there will be this vigilante group of fanatics who will not stand anyone who disagrees with Raila. That is a genuine fear which sadly Raila can quickly dismiss as democratic protection by those who agree with him.

Raila may not be all that he is hyped to be, and Kenyans need to look deeper into the man than just what gets published about him. I have read about the man's positives in the media and the recent book on him. I am not sure I will get an objective view by reading the negatives forum contributors spread out here. Perhaps we can get a courageous objective view of the man both positive and negative sometime soon.

article insults Kenyans
written by roughrider , April 04, 2007

In reality this article is not about Raila Odinga. True, it is camouflaged as such, but it is really about Kalonzo Musyoka and his failings. Any serious analysis of Raila Odinga would not start in the 90’s. It would have to be contextualized in the wider struggle for democracy and economic equity in Kenya; it would have to be seen in light of the social and economic contradictions that have bedeviled post-independent Kenya.

The first five paragraphs build to the only point of the article:

‘…a similar campaign against Kalonzo Musyoka today merely serves to confirm Kenyan fears of the brash, dictatorial Agwambo…’

Clearly, it is all sour grapes for Kalonzo’s dwindling fortunes. It is easier to blame Raila’s political tactics rather than to reflect on Kalonzo’s real or perceived shortcomings. The Kenyan media has recently discovered the soft underbelly of Kalonzo Musyoka. He cannot stand up to scrutiny. The other day Kalonzo was talking to Louis Otieno over at Citizen TV and when asked why he wanted to be president his response was that he had a ‘poor background’ and so knew poverty better. Laughable, isn’t it?

That childhood poverty can be thought a leadership quality is utter, utter non sense. C’mon, we can all do better than that! I know someone else who came from a humble background –arap Moi! Kalonzo Musyoka’s very mentor. Yet, that childhood poverty did not stop Mzee Moi from implementing years of ruthless misrule and dictatorship. Kalonzo cheered and enthused; Raila opposed and fulminated. These differences cannot be wished away.

Enough has been said about how Kalonzo reckons he could not oppose injustice during Kanu’s treacherous pogrom ‘because he was a cabinet minister, not the president’; one wonders why Musyoka couldn’t have meekly served Mwai Kibaki with this principle? After all he was only a minister under Kibaki… not the presidency. I have never seen greater hypocrisy.

Yet according to the warped logic of this author, it is Raila who must be blamed for kalonzo’s increasing unpopularity with Kenyans.

This article therefore belongs to the dust bin, for its subjectivity, shallowness and poor construction. It is devoid of intellectual substance. It insults the collective intelligence of the Kenyan people and seeks to perpetuate the stupid stereotypes that Moi created; that some people cannot lead and are dictatorial. I expect responsible Kenyan commentators to do better and rise to discuss policy and issues – True, Raila sells, even on the internet, but objective and rational writing is worth more than cheap internet adulation of hits and responses.

And the article says nothing about ‘the lion and the fox’ that the title promises; it is in fact a poor, misconceived plagiarism of other writers such as Dominic Odipo who’ve used the ‘lion and fox’ analogy to evaluate Kenyan politicians.

...
written by Amir Ibrahim , April 04, 2007

I am not sure we are reading the same article. Seems to me this article is very charitable to Mr Odinga; and is actually an attack on the media and Kenyans for their blinkered view of politics.

In fact I can see nothing at all in the article that can be seen as an attack on Mr Odinga. For a fact the vicious way in which Kalonzo was handled turned many people away from Raila and ODM-K, for a fact the NDP crowd need to let ODM-K take on a national outlook. The more the likes of Kamotho, Musila, Magara, Kerrow etc are seen to represent ODM-K, the less likely attempts to brand ODM-K as a Luo party are to succeed.

I challenge those bashing my article, to state whether or not they believe Kenyan politics is as described in this essay, the media and the public sections of it,i.e. If we are agreed that this is as it is, then the ODM-K crowd had really better get its act together. Opinion polls and all, the advantage their novelty gave them is wearing off.

As to Lions and Fox,
It is not Odipo, but Niccolo Machiavelli after whom this is fashioned. The title fits in nicely with the premise of the article, basically the fact that Raila has to balance between aggression and tact. I believe this is an entirely seminal work, but the paranoia on the part of the Lang'ata MPs supporters prevents their appreciation of it.

...
written by Jayawardene , April 04, 2007

Great article by Mr Ibrahim. Too many people are basing their decisions on newspaper reports and media commentary which is just propaganda. I quickly jump on your last point and hope that it will be the title of your next piece: the coming election(first since kanu ouster, really)is ODM-K's for the taking. Only they can choose to lose it.

We have a good sober and well-informed response from Adongo who cuts through the hype and looks head on at the real and very serious issues facing voters come December. Adongo is right too that there is a huge profit margin in Raila-bashing. It may serve local leaders and news-vendors in the short term but it will not help real kenyans who are demanding the social and economic reforms that wanjiku so desperately needs.

...
written by emmo opoti , April 04, 2007

Surely, the Raila people here are protesting too much. The article from its very beginning reads like a defence of the embattled mbunge!

Vicious, unrelenting, concerted, often manic even; Kenya's media, online and offline have arrogated to themselves the role of deciding for Kenyans not just who to vote for, but also what to think, what to see and worst of all what to feel. When Raila or wider still any ODM-K candidate is the subject of the day's carving the knives seem to come out even sharper, ever readier. Slaves to their masters and their basest instincts, large swathes of the media have sought not to inform Kenyans, but instead to whip their passions into such frenzies as preclude any meaningful analysis of the candidates and party positions in this the run up to the second elections since the ouster of KANU.

How any of this can be construed as Raila-phobia is beyond my wildest, but then again there's a mania to match every phobia isn't there?

Honey,
excuse my exclusion of jargon
....wish you had excluded it, most of your post would have been better understood in Cantonese.

Days are gone when Kenyans listened to pseudo-lies .......
Good,then you and Amir are in agreement, at least in believing that those days should be gone.

Kenyans can see clearer, and if they dont, we will force them......
Hardly a prospectus for democracy this, and exactly the kind of street talk that kills it for Raila.

maybe, a brash leader is what Kenya needs.....
Obviously contradiction, even when speaking in tongues is not beyond you, again the prospect of a dictatorial government is dangled before us.

question Raila's ability to forgive,thieves want assurance that they will not be persecuted...Railla is every looter's punching bag......corrupting their thought processing altogether.
Blah,blah, red herring, and then that shocker. So Kenyans thought processing has been corrupted? What does this say if as you predict Raila wins the election?

....when asked why he never lifted a finger .....the fact that all presidential candidates today had some dealings with the former regime is not an excuse for failing to exonerate himself from the rot.....
Even translated into English, the sense in this clanger is still lost on me.

Kalonzo will lead Kenya WAY down beyond hell.... Jimnah Mbaru seems to think the same of your Amollo. A little more detail would help, like Amir says, this violent demonisation of any opposition does not belong in this century.

KisumuJah,
I think we are all agreed on that point. Raila is the man of the day.

Adongo,
The writer does not anywhere accuse Raila of being surrounded by 'Luo fanatics who spoil it for him.' Indeed if it did I doubt he would have been published. He addresses the fact that Raila's 'train' of followers like you admit, messes it up for him. Not even for their outbursts or over-enthusiasm but because of Kenyan prejudices.

Neither has he claimed that Kalonzo was the victim of Raila 'Hummering'. However there has been a very loud and violent war on Kalonzo. One which is continued here both in your response and Honey's. I am not at all sure that this is what Hummering is, but it is very real, and it is making some of us take a very worried look into the character of the Raila crowd.

I really don't get why the responses are opposed to this article. Seems to me it is actually in support of everything you have written, except that it is not willing to make a saint of Raila and continue the demonisation of Kalonzo in his place. Perhaps next Ibrahim should write about the demonisation of Kalonzo?

I do not think, Adongo that being a revolutionary is a bad thing, but it is exactly what Raila is not.

Roughrider,
I have to ask you. Why Kalonzo? He was a lowly Minister. Why do you not hold Kibaki or Nyachae who were actively involved in everything Nyayo did to the same standards? You also conveniently forget the fact that Kalonzo got into KANU during times when it was the only place to be. Raila's entry into KANU on the other hand went against the grain of everything the Kenyan opposition stood for, giving the Moi government powerful support both in and out of Parliament.

I believe, I really do that anyone who voted for Kibaki or who campaigned for him has no moral grounds on which to criticise Kalonzo, at all.

Maybe Kalonzo should just say he was plotting to overthrow KANU from within, and then we can start to love him?

...
written by roughrider , April 04, 2007

Luckily we are still here and the article is there for all to see and judge. The tone is clearly negative and in many instances the attack while subtle is not any less vicious: ‘making pronouncements on the stock exchange’ ‘being anointed by a local shaman’ ‘playing with his new toy’ are choice phrases that set the scene.

I will take up the challenge of offering a counter assessment of Kenyan politics (which by the way cannot be about Raila Odinga alone, or can it?)

The media for being ‘Raila friendly' is accused of having ‘arrogated to themselves the role of deciding for Kenyans not just who to vote for, but also what to think, what to see and worst of all what to feel’

Then some talk about ‘prejudices and biases’ is rather contradictory when the writer proclaims without evidence or analysis the well worn stereotype that ‘Agwambo is brash and dictatorial’

Sample this other statement that is certainly not charitable to Raila ‘So it is that whereas a structure built around Raila Odinga may have been useful in combating the influence of the likes of Kijana Wamalwa, James Orengo or Akinyi Oile in the 1990s’ It forgets that the struggle was not against Wamalwa, Oile or Orengo but more insidious anti-democratic forces that may have taken various forms. To locate it is as personalized war and vendetta is to miss the point.

Certainly the subsequent dismissal of Raila for his new hummer is apparent: ‘Where helicopter rides in the late 1990s and early 2000s brought in the right kind of attention and transformed a band of desert warriors into serious players on the national stage, acts of ostentation today provoke a backlash based on the prejudices of Luo 'flossing'!’

No – as I said – this article was written in a context; the context of a losing Kalonzo. The author may have been doing this unwittingly, but it is a classical reaction in these circumstances. I see no charity to Raila anywhere in this article. It does not reflect on his humility, statesmanship or pan African credentials.

Indeed it was Niccholo Machiavelli’s methodology, the fox and the lion, but as far as I can recall, it was applied more recently to Kenyan politics by Odipo.

...
written by roughrider , April 04, 2007

Emmo Opoti

I have promised to take up the challenge to offer Amir Ibrahim a more balanced assessment of Kenyan politics. I hope it will also address some of the issues implied in your query

But quickly, Kalonzo is a presidential candidate - in competition with Raila Odinga. The perception is that he is losing public favour. Amir Ibrahim seeks to show that this is perhaps due to Mr Odinga's political style.

I disagree and point out that Kalonzo has recently failed the scrutiny of the kenyan media and we can now begin to see a soft underbelly.

Lowly minister? Matiba, Rubia and other lesser Kenyan's stood up, they were not presidents - Kalonzo had better offer a more plausible explanation... lest we conclude that he was complicit.

Superb article
written by aeichener , April 04, 2007

Actually, I found the piece of Amir Ibrahim to be one of the more outstanding high-quality articles in Kenyaimagine. I was deeply impressed by its maturity and circumspection, as well as by the ironic equidistance.

What is interesting however - and somewhat telling about the level of political maturity, alas - is how many discutants simply refuse to read attentively what is *written*, and instead only reflect their own prejudices and pre-conceived hermeneutic backalleys.

Alexander

Trustworthiness
written by pndiangui , April 04, 2007

Adongo:
Public Trust is granted when leaders are trustworthy and any effort to portray themselves as trustworthy when their actions speak otherwise, is just an act of public relations.

...
written by Adongo , April 05, 2007

A fellow Jukwaa contributor Alexander invited us, Jukwaa folks, to the opinion expressed above.

I actually learnt about the website (http://www.kenyaimagine.com) from another friend a few days ago. I think it is a serious and lovely website devoid of the tribal drumbeats that dominate Kenyan websites, particularly those based abroad.

One thing that always amazes me about people who write all sorts of pieces about Raila is how little they actually know about him in the context of the political history of the country. I am talking about basics. A part from recycling a few stereotypes and old bogeylines from the media they offer absulutely nothing new or insightful.

This piece by Amir Ibrahim is based on a thin line of yes, Raila is a good guy, but he is sorrounded by a bunch of "Luo fanatics" who turns off the whole country against him. If I had a penny for every time I have had this "expert opinion" I would be up there with Kamlesh, loaded with cash.

Like all politicians Raila has a bunch of sycophants around him that do him more harm than good politically. But the same applies to Kalonzo for example whom the writer wants to convince us has been a victim of Raila "Hummering".

Ironically, when Raila went across the country in 2002 campaigning to get Kibaki elected as he (Kibaki) lay in a London hospital, the now so prominent Raila "experts" in the media and elsewhere forgot to warn us about his mob and how dangerous they are to Kenyans.

Raila was hailed as a hero and a nationalist. What has hapenned since? Is politics some kind of a religious faith that today you convert into one form and tomorrow the other.

It seems Raila and his supporters are being told Raila is okay as long as he is supporting somebody else, but the moment he wants to get the big seat he instantly becomes a monster. I think Kenyans have gotten to know Raila much more than some pundits give them credit for.

When Mr. Ibrahim stretches his thesis to tell us how Nark K has overcome the fear of mob politics from DP hardliners by giving leadership to Kituyi and Mr. Kamama and somehow this is what ODM K needs to do, he betrays a dangerous trait of naivity.

Kituyi was never a leader of Narc K and neither is Mr. Kamama, these are called figureheads. Do you remember when the shit hit the roof, Kituyi had to make several contradictory statements obviously following instructions fromt the Narc K remote control. Is that what we need in ODM. ( Iam an ODM supporter by the way, just so we clear that part)

Should Raila and company sit in the background, a remote control firmly in hand and put say Ojiambo in charge. Kenyans are too smart to be fooled by those kind of gimmicks any longer.

Kenyans have a sense the time has come for straight up and transparent political processes in running the affairs of the nation, at all levels and in all parties. What is wrong with that?

If Raila wants to be the president of our country, let him first gets his party's nomination and come tell us why we should elect him. What is he going to do for Kenya that Kibaki can't do or hasn't done? That is what I want to know not recycled propaganda material.

Personally I would like Raila to win the ODM nomination fair and square and face Kibaki, because to me that would be night and day distinction. But if the ODM chooses Kalonzo I will have to consider whether there is something Kalonzo brings that is different from the daily dose of Kibaki hypocricy and incompetence.

The other thing we are seeing in Kenya today is that wananchi are demanding internal party democracy. This is what is causing mayhem to the politicians.

Nobody is Tosha. ODM members want to elect their candidates at the constituency level and at the presidential level fairly and in a transparent manner. Narc K leaders and pretenders will have to face some kind of elections may be sooner than some of them want. That is Kenyan politics today. In the past Kanu didn't even need to hold elections for a decade or so. How much the times have changed.

And yes, Raila has been accused and correctly so, of imposing candidates in Luo land. He knows that era is over.

I think Raila has been unfairly singled out for criticism in this party nomination thing and we can see that there is an intense round of reviving those criticisms as it begins to emerge that Raila may actually win the ODM nomination.

The truth of tha matter is this has been the norm in all parties. In 2002 for example in all the parties DP, Ford K, Ford People, LDP and Kanu, the leadership pretty much decided who will contest what seats.

Kibaki's friends got almost automatic nominations, so did Wamalwa's in Ford K areas, and Nyachae's in Ford P areas. I am yet to hear a word about those other leaders.



Political parties have pretty much been personal properties of the leaders. Until now.

Kenyans want better and it is going to be a big battle for everybody. The ODM is a bit a head of the game here because they have gone through the toughest stages of coalition building.

Narc or Narc K whatever they want to call it is just starting and they have even bigger egos to deal with than the ODM, but I am neither a member of Narc or the ODM so I leave them to do their internal business.

My job as a Kenyan is to judge the product they provide. So far the ODM helped us defeat the ridiculous Wako Katiba, they have helped us win some room for minimum reforms and those are things that are important to me and to millions of Kenyans. And that is why I support them for now.

The bigger picture is that internal party democracy is just beginning to take root in Kenya. Let's see how far it goes.

As for the Raila myths, some are just comical. I read somewhere an accusation that the Odinga family has dominated Luo politics for 40 years and that family always has a big say on who gets to parliament.

What these people forget is that one of the biggest industries in Nyanza, at least in the political field, is the anti-Odinga treadmill. Politicians have made careers and fortunes in Nyanza and elsewhere by portraying themselves as the Odinga ghost busters.

Between 1969 and 1992 nobody could even contest a seat in Nyanza or anywhere else for that matter if they were known to have any affliations with the Odingas. Why? That is what these "odinga experts" never try to explain to us.

Remember there was a time people had to be cleared to contest seats in parliament and civic authorities. That was when being associated with the Odingas meant you were on your political deathbed.

At one time in Siaya district in the late seventies and early eighties we had 3 full time cabinet minsters in the district. Odongo Omamo from Bondo, Mathew Ogutu from Ugenya and Isaac Omolo Okero from Gem. The purpose of overloading the district with cabinet ministers was to finish off Odinga kabisa. Obviously the plan never worked. And interestingly there is very little by way of development our three cabinet ministers can point.

My point here is that fighting the Odingas has been a far more profitable engagement for Nyanza politicians than supporting them. People who want to write about these things need to get their facts straight and have a sense of history. Otherwise it just boils down to petty sensationalism.

There was a time the Kenyan top columnists including those who today claim to cherish free speech and objective reporting fed us raw dossier from Moi and co about how dangerous Raila was supposed to be.

We were warned he is a "violent man", a "revolutionary", a "communist" etc, whose primary goal was to destroy Kenya (by the way the Kenyan revolutionaries and communists I know, have never expressed, at least not to me, any interest in destroying Kenya, in fact the opposite is true.)

Anyhow to get back to the story, many Kenyans swallowed the image Moi and the media wanted. But with time Kenyans have come to see Raila for who is.

Whether they think he is the kind of leader they want is their decision to make. I doubt there is that much market left for building new careers in demonizing Raila Odinga, but there is never any harm in trying.

One thing I find funny is that almost every story about Raila starts with "Love him or Hate Him" yada yada yada. I have neither loved nor hated Raila Odinga. I respect him as a compatriot and a fellow soldier in the long journey to free our country. Not many of those competing for the presidency with him can claim that honour and that too matters to me. In fact it matters the most.

edited, now

Adongo

Thanks
written by Nya Ugenya , April 06, 2007

It is true that people ought to read and research on issues before they utter their own supposed truths. I am glad that you (Adongo) have been able to write on the histories of very important events in Kenyan politics as well as Raila's life of activism as a true nationalist and pan africanist.

I do believe that ODM-K need to put women at the fore of their agenda and this they have been able to articulate in their various meeting with the diaspora, we just hope that they will go about it well and soon. As for what ODM-K will do for us as Kenyan, I can only state what I have heard them speak of and I concur with them and these points are

ODM-K have six points that articulate what the struggle is about.

Inclusiveness; All Kenyans together one track
Democratic empowerment for the people, eliminate the deficit in Kenya
Platform of a clean government no corruption
New constitution – (the bomas draft)
Enhanced and total security
Economic growth, equity and good governance.

I can't wait to read more from their Manifesto... which as it turns out, won't be released quite soon as there are fears of Plagiarism from the government...which is not such a bad idea as was reported of the incident that just happend (free secondary education)
Look out for the Manifesto when it comes out!

...
written by Adongo , April 06, 2007

Obviously the article by Amir Ibrahim has solicited a lot of responses and debate. That is always a good thing. Of course we have the usual suspects, may be people like me and others with very predictable responses, and I think some of the comments need a response.

My approach would be to put my piece together and address issues raised as opposed to responding to individual contributors, but I find it hard to escape some views directed at my contribution. Take this one for example, from emmo opoti

However there has been a very loud and violent war on Kalonzo. One which is continued here both in your response and Honey's

I don't know what I said in my response to Ibrahim's piece that can be construed as a loud and violent war on Kalonzo. As a matter of fact I barely talked about Kalonzo, other than saying that if he is the ODM nominee, I personally would weigh my chances on whether to support him or not. Is that what Emmo calls a;violent war on Kalonzo;. Please.


Emmo continues to make the following remarks in response to my piece which I find not just perplexing but also dishonest.

I really don't get why the responses are opposed to this article. Seems to me it is actually in support of everything you have written, except that it is not willing to make a saint of Raila and continue the demonisation of Kalonzo in his piece.

;

It would be nice if Emmo or anybody else could point out where in my article I suggest Raila is a saint. As a matter of fact I raise issues in areas where I think Raila has been wrong. I thought saints never make mistakes, but then again I am not a religious person, so may be they do. And the idea that I am demonizing Kalonzo? Where is that paranoia coming from. I will leave it there and ask my friend Alex to pass my piece to the kenyaimagine forum so emmo can at least explain himself. I am having difficulties with some of the things he has said.

The other thing I want to respond to very quickly before I put everybody to sleep is what Amir Ibrahim himself said and I quote.

In fact I can see nothing at all in the article that can be seen as an attack on Mr Odinga. For a fact the vicious way in which Kalonzo was handled turned many people away from Raila and ODM-K, for a fact the NDP crowd need to let ODM-K take on a national outlook. The more the likes of Kamotho, Musila, Magara, Kerrow etc are seen to are seen to represent ODM-K, the less likely attempts to brand ODM-K as a Luo party are to succeed.

;

This is quite telling. Amir says his article is not about attacking Raila and his "mob" but what he says above speaks for itself. Where are the facts about the "vicious way in which Kalonzo was handled"? By the way where was Kalonzo viciously handled and when and by who? You cannot take innuendos, romours and street gossip and pronounce them as facts just because you said so. That is not just bad journalism, it is bad propaganda and if you publish it, folks like Adongo Ogony will tell you exactly what they think about it. Freedom of speech; remember.

And who were the people who were turned away from Raila and ODM K? How has that data been determined or is it another romour? As for Kamotho, Magara, Kerrow being visibly seen as leaders in ODM-K, the last time I checked Henry Kosgey is the acting ODM K chairman with Mutula Kilonzo is his co-chair and Prof. Anyang' Nyong'o as the SG.

Omingo Magara is the man in charge of the Treasury. It looks good to me. And by the way, I think Kenyans respect these individuals. They have earned their stripes in the Orange Movement. Very calm and very meticulous. We need that with friends and foes because we all belong in the same country. One thing though, I have major problems with, is the lack of representation of women in the ODM leadership structures.

In fact I am not the only who expressed outrage when ODM leaders traveled to talk to Kenyans here in Canada late last year ( Nov 2006) with no women in their contingent. Many women in the Audience expressed the same concern. I don't know how people inside the country feel. But I know one thing, without equitable women representation in the leadership and in mass mobilizing, the ODM is going nowhere.

Having said all that I have a few observations on this debate, and it is a good debate because if people like Raila or Kalonzo want to lead the country we have a right to scrutinize them, and we will do so relentlessly and even "viciously", but I digress, again. What I want to say probably starts with the comments from our very good friend Ndugu Kamale, whose premises is that Raila has been packaged kindly and generously by the ( Kenyan) media.

Kamale has been around for a while and I suspect he probably knows that Raila has been the "devil next door" in the media for almost a decade and a half before his union with Moi gave him a break and then he became the media darling when he led Narc to victory in 2002 even as the soon to be president was medically incapacitated. This is why I always insist on putting things in historical perspective and if that irritates some people, it is their problem.

So why has Raila been a "devil" in the media? You have to go back to when Raila hit the national scene. It was in August 1982 after the abortive coup attempt. Raila was arrested, accused of being one of coup plotters and later detained.

Now if you want bad media, being accused as a ring leader in a failed coup attempt will give you one, particularly in a Kenya with timid journalists trying to impress the government which has almost just been violently overthrown. The image the media, which was then under a tight government control, projected of Raila, was that of a "violent" and "reckless" man who wanted power at the cost of killing Kenyans.

Is it any wonder that those same words "violent" "power hungry" etc have become the regular menu for those writing/commenting on Raila and his political life. Moi finally brought Raila out to help him with the Njonjo Inquiry, which incidentally had a lot to do with the coup attempt of 1982.

After something like six years, I have to check that, Raila was released. The hope of the government was that they had tamed him. They thought he would put his tail between his legs and go back to work at Spectre in the Odinga family enterprise. They were wrong. Not long after he left the detention cells, Raila joined the organized Kenya underground movements that were teaming with activity at that time. I am talking about mid to late eighties. These are facts, not rumours and conjecture by the way.

The short end of it is that Raila was soon back in the detention cells after Moi alleged he was one of the leaders of the underground movements that were training and arming guerrillas to fight his government. What kind of good media would Raila possibly get from this. Zilch. He was now an official pariah in the media. He was unreformed fool and nincompoop according to the media. Moi had released him and instead of being nice and keeping away from trouble, here he was again, up to his "violent" ways.

I remember I used to share a laugh with my mother as she told me stories of what Moi said about us when we were in jail. She told me Moi had been telling the country that we, troublemakers opposed to his government, were like pigs. He (Moi) would wash us clean and set us free and as soon as he did that, we would run right back into the filthy mud again. That is the way the media portrayed not just Raila but all of us who refused to just get along with repression. My point here is that if there is one man whom the media has held decades of vendetta and disinformation against, that man is Raila Odinga.

Now let's fast forward to the great battles of the 1990's to end the one party rule. These were titanic battles and the Kenyan youth paid the heaviest price, in terms of lives.

We are talking about the saba saba massacres of 1990 and on and on. Once again the government controlled and other timid "independent" media often accused FORD and the so called Young Turks ( James Orengo, Paul Muite, Raila Odinga, Mukhisa Kituyi etc) as promoters of violence and anarchy in the country to explain the tide of mass unrest and civil discontent in the country. Raila of course with his track record was seen as one of the masterminds of the "violence" that was destroying people's property etc.

Of course the Moi government never talked about the violence of killing young protesters whose only crime was to demand multi-party politics in Kenya. One can take this developments to the post 1992 elections when Moi "won" by 36% votes because of reasons we all know.

After 1992, Ford K under Jaramogi Oginga Odinga becomes the official leader of the opposition. Sadly, Jaramogi passes away in 1994. This is when a new battle for leadership in Ford Kenya erupts between Raila and Wamalwa. Now this is when things got pretty rough in Ford Kenya with the emergence of groups like Baghdad Boys allegedly allied to Raila. Incidentally I happened to have been in Kenya at this time and very much involved in politics as usual. The funny thing here for me is that Amir's article seems to take this period as the beginning of Raila involvement in politics. I quote.

"Born in the heady days of the campaigns for multi-party politics and political repression, honed in running battles with the police, or in stone-throwing matches with the Baghdad boys, the core ethic of this group has been its proud self-assertion, its brash, unyielding nature, its unquestioning loyalty to its leader and its eternal war-footing constantly spoiling for a fight. As the nation has walked through time, and as its political opponents have evolved to cope with its efficiencies, these traits of Raila's core support group far from endearing it to people beyond its borders, begin to threaten them and work against the advancement of Raila's causes"

My problem here is that this is a very distorted version of history, at least on Raila and his participation in the battles for democracy in Kenya. To take this as the encyclopedia of understanding Raila's political life, is too narrow for me and I apologize to those who demand I do so. And then to twist all these to explain Kalonzo's drop in popularity in ODM K, smirks of intellectual dishonesty.

Getting back to the story. After Raila and Wamalwa fought to a near stand still for FORD K leadership, Raila lost and Wamalwa won. Conventional wisdom is that Raila should have supported the winner, Wamalwa and stayed in Ford K. Instead he (Raila) decided to quit Ford K and picked up a party called NDP which nobody knew about at the time. I think it is up to Raila and his colleagues to explain why they took that move instead of staying in Ford K. Kalonzo supporters can say the same. If they loose at the ODM elections, why shouldn't Kalonzo quit ODM K and form another party. My opinion is that, it is Kalonzo's choice to make.

Let's be honest and say this was a very tense and progressive period ( 1995-1997) in Kenyan politics. The civil society groups under the unwavering leadership of NCEC with people like Rev. Timothy Njoya, Prof. Kivutha Kibwana and Dr. Willy Mutunga at the helm were driving the Moi government nuts over demands for a new constitution.

Civic education of the masses on constitutional demands had become the order of the day. All those seeds planted then, are bearing tons of fruits today. May be not so many bananas, but there I go again, digressing. During the turbulent 1995- 1997 period, the NDP under the leadership of Raila was one of the rock steady supporters of the NCEC and never hesitated to bring their supporters to the streets to demand greater democracy and a new constitution in Kenya. In fact, the NDP was the only mainstream party to reject the very timid IPPG reforms in 1997 and stand with the NCEC.

In other words there is more to the NDP than the Baghdad boys' stories. Those are just historical facts which should be a good part of any analysis on Raila and his political growth to be a national leader in Kenya.
The first time Raila got the so-called favourable media was when he joined Moi after the 1997 elections. It was a mixed blessing, of course. By this time the Kenyan media was fairly independent and some of it quite supportive of the opposition.

I personally never supported Raila's liaison with Moi. The records will show that we had a few public skirmishes over the matter. But I also talked privately with him over the matter and expressed my opinion about it. He gave his part of the story and I respect that. The biggest development in the infamous Raila-Moi union is putting the constitutional reform process in first gear.

Let's be serious. Moi didn't want to hear the words " constitutional reforms". A "people driven constitutional reform?!!". Scandalous. When they told him (Moi) that the masses of Kenyan people could determine the constitution they want, he mocked them with the now famous, but according to him ignorant "Wanjiku". Moi's message was that Wanjiku should be content with taking the mboga to the market and leave constitutional matters to the big heads in his government.

How ironical is it that the same people (Kibwana, Murungi, Karua etc) who mocked Moi for being a relic in his thinking about constitution making embraced exactly the same ideology when power came knocking at their doors. Talk about contradictions. Let's move up a bit. In my view despite its shortfalls the NDP/KANU liaison after the 1997 General Elections opened new horizons for Kenyan political dispensations, and they paid wholesomely.

With stiff battles from the Ufungamano Group in which outstanding activists like triple O, Oki Ooko Ombaka and groups like the DP party, NCCK, NCEC stood firm to demand a people driven constitutional reform process, the New Kanu with Raila's initiative formed the CKRC and brought in Prof. Yash Pal Ghai who courageously spear headed the Bomas process.

Let's not forget that Moi couldn't stand Ghai, in fact he said he was a foreigner. Moi couldn't stand the Bomas process either. In fact he killed it as soon as he could, in 2002 after he lost Raila and co to the opposition. Yet without the Bomas process which the Kibaki government pretended they will endorse to get elected, but later tried to kill, the dreams of Kenyans for a new constitution would be dead.

How did we get Bomas and how did the nation defend it? I think it is fair to ask those questions. Like this Kenyan is doing.

When people like Kamale talk about Raila as the media darling, it is important in my view to put it in historical perspective. One thing both supporters and foes of Raila have said is that Raila joined Kanu to wreck it from within. That is not true. Raila joining Kanu with the NDP was a genuine move in the hope that they could democratize Kanu and bring reconciliation and change in the country. I will leave it to history and historians to judge that ill-fated union.

The reality of the matter is that for the first time, the image of Raila the "radical", the "power hungry maniac", "violent", "vengeful", "outcast" began to take a beating. Kenyans found it hard to reconcile the patented Raila images they had been fed by the media and the state with the reality that was unfolding before their very eyes. The rest pretty much explains itself.

Then in late 2002, Raila and a group of high profile Kanu leaders including Kalonzo Musyoka, George Saitoti, Musalia Mudavadi, Moody Awori walked out of Kanu and formed a group known as the Rainbow Coalition. Very powerful, very grassroots oriented. Loved and adored by the masses of the Kenyan people. The Rainbow coalition soon started giving Moi nightmares. This is really when Raila, considered the chief conspirator in the group, became truly a darling of the Kenyan media.

And when the Rainbow group teamed up with the NAK team of Kibaki, Wamalwa and Ngilu after the "Kibaki Tosha" declaration at Uhuru Park, Raila became a national sensation and the media loved every piece of him. The love affair between Raila and the Kenyan media took a frenzy turn when Raila became the voice of Narc after Kibaki was hospitalized during the 2002 campaign. Raila had helped secure the Narc victory in 2002 against the powerful Moi regime and all its machineries.

Everything worked fine until Kibaki was elected as the third president of the republic of Kenya and soon turned to his tribal handlers to help him govern and also turned his back on Raila and others who fought soldier to soldier with him to defeat the Moi juggernaut.

This is a very important period to analyze. At first the media turned very negative on Raila when he and his crew started talking of the now famous aborted MOU between LDP and NAK. The Kenyan media was very negative on Raila and his team. I was actually in the country at the time and kept asking my friends in the human rights movement what the heck was going on.

When Raila and his team started complaining about the MOU most media pundits dismissed them as whiners, up to no good for the country. Selfish etc. They said the MOU was a secret document that meant nothing to Kenyans. The media heavyweights in the Nation Newspaper, particularly told Raila to shut up and accept whatever his team got. They said Kibaki was now the president of Kenya and he was free to do whatever he felt was good for the country, notwithstanding any deals he made in some useless MOU.

This looked like the trend and I must say things looked very gloomy for Raila and company at that time. It could have worked very well, except Kibaki and his team became a menace. Naked and obvious tribalism became state religion. Then the Bomas fiasco where Kibaki and company opposed everything they had proposed to the CKRC.

Kenyans were shocked, but very alert. They still are. Then the Anglo thieves' stories coupled with the infamous Artur brothers ( they are back again), the Lucy Dramatics at KTN, the hooded raids and arson at the Standard Newspaper, the Githongo escape and tapes, not to mention the humiliating defeat at the referendum which pretty much put Kibaki in a five day shock therapy ending with Kibaki's reunion with Moi. All the above provided excellent positive media opportunities for Raila and the ODM which was seen by Kenyans as the anecdote for the Kibaki madness.

What I am saying is that, to the extent that Raila and the ODM has gotten positive media coverage in the last four years, it is because we have had disastrous developments with Kibaki and his regime. Raila has not been a media package for glory at any time in our history. He may be just a beneficiary to failed "statesmen" who wanted him to be the fall guy. Tough luck.

Conclusion.
The best gift to Raila and the ODM Kenya has been given, is from the arrogant fumblers who own the Kibaki government. But that is not enough for them to claim the leadership of the nation. Kenyans like me want to know; what is it that the ODM as a team, forget Raila, can offer our country to make us better as a nation.

The last thing I want to mention is this notion of making ODM top picks national leaders as opposed to tribal chauvinists. It is a fair demand from Kenyans. But to me it is like telling me; Adongo to write an article to show people that that I am a progressive writer and write it in less than 500 words, today. Now.

That is crap. You know why? Because to judge me, you have to look at my body of work and decide whether I am progressive or just another reactionary mouthpiece. The same applies to our politicians. We cannot possibly judge them from a single act. Being a nationalist cannot be a pretense or a mere image making procedure to dupe Kenyans. It can't work in this day and age. We as Kenyans, have a duty to judge the nationalist credentials of our leaders from their body of work; namely their political history and public record.

Is that too much to ask? I think not. Thank you.

Adongo

...
written by a guest , April 06, 2007

Damn...there aint anything like pesudo-lies.

Anyhow, I dont care much for policies or lack of them (after all, how many Kenyans can process, leave alone correctly the damn things, if the only requirement to lead is a loud mouth, and ability to corrupt) I just want Raila to be president, period.

The more we elect senile men (Awori, Kibaki) the more suffering. Old people fear change, Raila is relatively young.

Raila lovers too sensitive
written by a guest , April 06, 2007

I think Ibrahim was more than fair to Raila but he was wrong in one respect. The media is not biased against Raila. Raila has recieved very favourable media coverage but this is not an accident.

We know it was one of the earliest goals of ldp to use luo newsmen reporters and editors to supporting Raila. That is why whenever you read a story by a luo reporter, editorial writer or opinion like Miguna Miguna it is normally a fawning thinly disguised pro Raila propaganda.

Raila and his supporters launch vicious and unsubstantiated attacks on Kibaki everyday. These same folk fill online forums with wailing and gnashing of teeth everytime anything remotely critical of Raila is published. It is time that we allowed Raila to take his lumps. Calling a man who flosses around in a Hummer humble is ridiculous especially considering the dire poverty in which the vast majority of his constituents endure.

Decisiveness
written by Honey , April 07, 2007

Kenyans are moving towards maturity. I beleive in this session, they got some sound bread and butter issues. The youth have shown a keen interest in the state, a positive right there.

In reality, Raila is the lesser Devil here.
What ails Kenya is a indecisiveness & Complacency. We are not helping.
Raila is not ideal, accepted, but there have never been any ideal leaders. We have to go with the least risky of them.

Nothing against the incumbent personally. He is simply too old. The VP(he who runs the poorest constituency in Western, yet owns a family jet- is an opportunist, who reaps from his constituents misfortunes). He is older. Grand parents need to go home. In mid 80's in kinderharten, Kibaki I was to lead. I have started my own family, he still leads, when do my parents lead, and when do I lead?. People,

Raila is your best shot here,lest we screw it up, like we did with Matiba. Back then. the electorate was plain stupid. A chance of Matiba brilliance went to the dogs!

Matiba brilliance?
written by pndiangui , April 07, 2007

May be not the right term to apply according to the condition of the man during the 1992 elections

Adongo
Yes Odinga might have suffered negative publicity , but he is has also pushed negative publicity of others almost in the same vain or even worse.
Infact I am not sure why you would want to potray Odinga as a political achiever who fights for the 'masses'.
In my analysis , I wouldnt care much about the 'actions' as we have seen the likes of kibaki and Kituyi who were pro-wanjiku's needs yesterday and they have turned their backs on her, simply putting a big query on what their realmotives were when they did running battles with the GSU denying 'moism'. My main concern is therefore the MOTIVE behind those 1982 coups , the 1992 , NDP/KANU mearger , campaighning against the Wako-mongrel etc. What was Odinga's REAL MOTIVE?
Lets not forget what Mr. Odinga has said before including his well known double-speak. Or would you say these are just his campaign tacts to 'bring in better governance'?
Such as;
"Moi should be grateful. I organised his first meeting with Kibaki at State House. He should thank me by not attacking ODM unfairly," Raila says.

"I came to Moi’s aid when the Government wanted to take away his houses and sue him over Goldenberg during my days as the Minister for Roads," Raila adds.

"I was censured at the Cabinet meeting for fiercely defending (note that he fiercely defended) Moi but as then Minister for Public Works, I said Moi still deserved to retain his Kabarnet Gardens home," Raila says.



Yet he purpots to fight graft under all cost?
To me the Motive behind such statements probably runs parallel to 'the means shouldnt justify the ends' but even of greater concern is 'what sort of ends'. Power or Good governance?

...
written by Honey , April 08, 2007

In a perfect African way, MOI messed up Matiba.

Truth be said, before his strokes and all, Matiba was great, wasnt he?

re: Raila lovers too sensitive
written by bkichwa , April 08, 2007

We know it was one of the earliest goals of ldp to use luo newsmen reporters and editors to supporting Raila. That is why whenever you read a story by a luo reporter, editorial writer or opinion like Miguna Miguna it is normally a fawning thinly disguised pro Raila propaganda.

Raila and his supporters launch vicious and unsubstantiated attacks on Kibaki everyday. These same folk fill online forums with wailing and gnashing of teeth everytime anything remotely critical of Raila is published. It is time that we allowed Raila to take his lumps. Calling a man who flosses around in a Hummer humble is ridiculous especially considering the dire poverty in which the vast majority of his constituents endure.

Well said. These folks want to have their cake and eat it. Unfortunately that's not how things work.

Uhuru will Floor Kalonzo
written by KisumuJah , April 09, 2007

As it has turned out, Raila is actually not the threat Kalonzo has all along feared. Uhuru Kenyatta is the man Kalonzo should be watching closely. Kalonzo is now pushing for consensus which he opposed before because he has realised that the delegates system favours Uhuru Kenyatta in both central and eastern regions. If ODM goes for a delegates system, Uhuru will beat Kalonzo in eatern given that the fact that a large chunk of eastern is composed of Gema tribes. Added to his(Uhurus) own central region votes, he might just give Kalonzo a good beating. One can therefore conclude that if the delegates system is used the people to watch would be Raila, Ruto, Uhuru and Mudavadi. Kalonzo has fallen by the side so far. Its only consensus which might save him. Even then its not sure he will beat Raila or Mudavadi

...
written by KisumuJah , April 09, 2007

Honey writes, "Truth be said, before his strokes and all, Matiba was great, wasnt he?"

Me thinks he was one of the greatest tribalist before the stroke and even after the stroke

Better late than never!
written by Job , April 09, 2007

This is a great debate initiated by Amir. But I beg to differ with Amir in his diagnosis of Kalonzo's misfortunes.As elections draw nearer, Kalonzo and all other ODM-K Presidential candidates are facing a thorough test of scrutiny.

Kalonzo's recent remarks have exposed certain traits previously unknown. Apparent vibes of individualism (skipping important ODM group sessions), naivety (too much reliance on Steadman polls and blind expectation for another Tosha! without breaking a sweat), self-centredness (insistence on early nominations at the expense of the great danger of the govcernment cashing in on ODM's possible post-nomination fall out), jealousness (showing open disdain to Musalia Mudavadi mainly and to a less extent Uhuru and Ruto), pettiness (engaging the first lady-of all people, in verbal exchanges), presumptive sour-loser symptoms ( his repeated statement- I will only accept defeat if "fairly" beaten-), inconsistency ( announcing the ODM-bonding travel to London and then quickly back tracking on flimsy grounds), unforgiving attitude (failure to make-up with madame Ngilu in the political interest of Ukambani) solicitation for unwarranted public sympathy (creating a false perception that he is being violently harrassed within ODM) and one trait which will not be taken lightly -cowardice (when he took a trip to the toilet when a vote was being taken in parliament for or against mutilating the Bomas draft). This last point shows that between Raila or Ruto and Kalonzo may actually be like day and night. Kalonzo demonstrated two things, lack of courage and forthright principles besides exposing his lack of commitment to the cause of the Bomas draft. That's a dangerous red-flag my fellow brothers and sisters. We see it coming.

Kenya is truly ripe for solid, courageous leadership ready to make fundamental and bold changes for the better. Without courage that's not possible. With yet another dose of indecisiveness and cowardice, we will still be in for -more of the same crap!

The public knows for a fact (on record) that Kalonzo has previously betrayed their cause when;
Kalonzo testified with a bold face in the US Congress (on behalf of Moi) against the introduction of multi-party politics in Kenya in 1990.
It's not like this guy is an angel,
Kalonzo was part and parcel of the mlolongo rigging out of popular leaders in the 1988 elections.
Kalonzo was a relentless attack bulldog against the doyen of Kenya's opposition politics , the late Jaramogi Oginga Odinga.

The benefit of doubt could have been given if his latest actions showed otherwise, but I'm afraid there's no big difeerence between Kibaki and Kalonzo when it comes to fence-sitting and indecisivenss. Their foot soldiers do the rest of the bidding.

Don't get me wrong though, the ODM family still needs Kalonzo badly but i don't think in the capacity as presidential nominee yet. He still has to pass some milestones of progressive growth and may one day take a fundamental shift for the better. Let his self professed humility, and compassion be demonstrated in the interest of the country and not his own.
unedited
Job

Changing the topic?
written by aeichener , April 09, 2007

The article by Amir Ibrahim is not about Kalonzo.

*Yawn*

Alexander

...
written by Honey Rider , April 09, 2007

A choice must be made at the end of the year, unfortunately, it is the african we have, and must choose from.
They may well be lacking in service, but some have already failed the litmus test. Raila has yet to be put to test, I want a chance for him, period.

Raila has not been tested?
written by pndiangui , April 10, 2007

What was Raila's track-record as an Energy minister?
What was Raila's record as Minister for roads?
What has been Raila's track-record in Kibera?
And more; What are some of the bills the LANGATA MP has architected or provided leadership during his tenure in parlimanet that have significantly changed the lives of Kenyans in the last say 10 years?
Lastly whats has the LANGATA MP done with his CDF allocations in kibera?

Some specifics here
written by pndiangui , April 11, 2007

Now moving away from 'Raila's tests'

(Notice every ODM leader has made these their pet subjects of saying things like; I will bring free Secondary education without telling us a little bit of THE HOW)
Now for the LANGATA MP , Tell let us know his stand on;
How to alleviate poverty;
How to end corruption
How to to ensure basic to advanced schooling is possible
How to sustain economic growth (which he disagrees has ever happened) at over 10%. etc etc

How? and when did Raila address these things.
I remember when Raila came to Australia ,and he made a fool out of himself when he was asked the foremost goal he has for Kenya when he becomes president;
'To make hosts the Olympics in 2015'....
Everybody in the room had their jaws drop.

Don\'t Crown Him Yet,..
written by George , April 12, 2007

Certain people might idol worship Hon.Raila and see no fault in him,but for most of us Kenyans we view him differently,as some of us are still wondering what has changed in him since the days he was just another opposition figure head with a tribal party trying to oust Moi,what?the Referendum?He just got part of Luo-Nyanza and Luo-Nairobi to vote NO,as did Hon.Kalonzo with the Kambas in Eastern and so forth,lets be honest was it not for a secretive MOU,i doubt Hon.Raila would have stood on a podium to declare 'Kibaki tosha' there just has to be something for him or he's not game,that's why Hon.Kalonzo and ODM-K is getting shaky everyday..

His larger than life image is moreso a media creation,The public should know more about him,not from the books he's published which reach a privileged few,Nor through his daily and never ending political rallies,NO,why not write a small Biography about himself and publish it in the Local newspaper if he's so much mis-understood,that would be a place to start,very few people know which Colleges or Universities he's attended or his life as a public servant,adressing small things like such can take him a long way with people.

My point is few in the public domain know much about him,just what he wants us to know,or the media or from his fanatical supporters,and you wonder why they say he's hard to sell,He's NOT going to be the next President of Kenya,and if he does it will have taken something really special i don't know what..

Tired debate
written by Amina , April 16, 2007

The Raila argument is getting really tired, for the very reason that Raila supporters do not argue on issues, but that Raila is great. I urge you folks to write an article expressing why Raila should be president!!

Yes Specifics please
written by pndiangui , April 16, 2007

As Amina said above
Can we get some specifics along some very specific lines based of past performance , backed with the motives of that performance, of why we should be putting Odinga to office please.

...
written by a guest , May 25, 2007

is this the same kenyans that voted for kibaki in 2002? the man who was moi's vice president for a decade. I think they are very few sane kenyans, that why i see kalonzo being elected if he is the ODM candidate

...
written by Amadi , May 25, 2007

Neither will kenya prosper if kikuyu are alienated from this country. Secondly, raila will not be voted because he can deliver, but people will be voting against kibaki. like what happened in 2002, people did not vote kibaki, voted against moi. come 2012 and people will vote against raila. we are doomed.

...
written by Amadi , May 25, 2007

Why stop at raila who is relatively younger, lets go for ruto, he is the youngest!

...
written by Amadi , May 25, 2007

How many secondary schools and pupils are there in uganda compared to kenya?

Raila\'s Corruption
written by a guest , October 07, 2007

It appears that Raila diehards don't care if he is corrupt or not. The molasses issue is corruption. It is actually the strongest and best documented corruption allegation against any Kenyan politician.
Raila supporters are quick to point out that he hasn't been convicted of corruption but neither has any of the other politicians like Kibaki that they love to accuse of being corrupt.
Raila hasn't been charged in court but because he has filed a constitutonal case in court blocking the goverment from investigating the molasses deal.
Eventually that case will be thrown out and Raila will have to face corruption charges. Everyone knows Moi bribed Raila with the molasses plant but there are many more corruption scandals involving Raila.

1: Raila's minions were caught trying to steal KSHs 100 million from the Roads ministry using fake accounts. Raila had to be in the loop but only the poor sods acting on his behalf went to jail.
2: Raila was shaking down so called "cowboy contractors" in return for processing their payments and they complained before the referendum.
3: Raila embezzled Kisumu development trust funds. Money that was raised from wananchi to finance the purchase of the Molasses plant.
4: The Odinga family's partner in the molasses plant is a known head of a crime family in Canada.
5: Raila when he was roads minister awarded a company he part owns with an exclusive contract to supply bitumen.
6: When Raila was energy minister he gave his company a monopoly to manufacture and import gas cylinders and bilked Kenyans out of millions of dollars.
7: The hummer was a "gift" (bribe).
8: Raila has been running around Europe and America auctioning off Kenya in return for cash.

There is plenty of evidence of Raila's corruption. There may not be proof beyond areasonable doubt on all issues but there is plenty of evidence. So you guys should just admit you don't care if Raila is corrupt.

...
written by Amadi , October 07, 2007

Let's cut crap and say the real thing. Nobody is gonna vote raila because he can turn the economy around. nobody can, even God. I will vote Raila because he is a Luo like me, pure and simple, and I hope the rest of the tribes will vote Raila as protest against the Kikuyu. That is the fact of the matter, no Kalenjin or Kamba will vote Raila because they like him, NO!

...
written by Honey Rider , October 07, 2007

I concur.
Please don't tire from demanding that these Kenyan 'elite' overseas here tell us any other reasons against Raila they have, except the unproven molasses heresy, their petty inner prejudices, fear of having their god-papas dragged into oblivion (anyhow, if you reaped in the prior regimes, chill-for as long as you got brains, you will be cool. No one can take that from you!. I am certain Raila is not interested in smashing down what looters built, especially in the country. They should just bring back that which lies in Zurich), and old Moi Propaganda.

Come up with new stuff against the man

1. Mollasses plant- does not cut it. Karua tried, they have run around, anything new?
2. Hummer- Petty jealousy, and a total non-issue.
3. Get along with others?. Tired line- Light and darkness don't mix. Thieves want him to get along, i.e promise not to force them to return their loot. Maybe if they shut up they might just get away with it.
4. The cut: Kenyans no longer pay attention to that bs.
5 Artur Magari ya nani, serikali ya nani- He was right, wasn't he?.

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written by KisumuJAH , October 07, 2007

What I like about internet is that you always get an immediate reply. I have not seen any argument which can in anyway whatsoever convince me not to vote for Raila. It's only a repetition of cheap and tired propaganda from the Moi regime. I challenge anyone to come up with a better reason than molasses as point of not voting for Raila. Then that alongside Kibaki's thieving (see Githongo's dossier) and see who really deserves to be president and has the ability to turn the country around. Please dont mention the 5.8% economic for this is not far from what Tanzania and Rwanda scored. Kibaki thinks that Kenyans are not seeing their lies. It's like running a hundred meters race alone and declaring victory.

ODM-K agrees with kibaki
written by pndiangui , October 07, 2007

At least ODM-K seems to be in agreement with Kibaki on one thing; His macro-economic policies are excellent and 'wataendelea vivyo hivyo. Isn't this amazing after periods of talking themselves hearse about the lack of an economic growth , they now seem to be in agreement?
The former KANU-hawks and Nyayo sycophants, Chris Okemo and Kalonzo's statements are telling;
“ODM-K will not only maintain the momentum of economic growth but will steer the country towards double digit figures thanks to the vibrancy generated by change and prudent management of the economy,” said Kalonzo Musyoka, one of the party’s presidential contenders.
My question here to Kalonzo and Okemo would be not the WHAT but on the HOW to move from single digit to double-digit growth?
“There will be no shift in macro-economic policy. What ODM-K will do is to ensure resources are deployed equitably to arrest the inequalities that have accompanied economic growth under Kibaki,” said Okemo.
Again here my question to the former Nyatoists , would be , what would he do different to ensure that there is more equality in the distribution of those resources that has not been done by the Kibaki regime. I would go further and ask him whether he tried any of this when he was the finance minister. May be he could also explain why we could trust him to put some better macro-economic conditions today, when growth went to a negative figure during his tenure as the Finance minister yet he continued supporting the very same regime.

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written by aeichener , October 07, 2007

Pray do tell, when did V.P Moody attend New Hampshire University? The man was hounded out of Mang'u boys for lack of discipline. He never graduated from high school.
Now that he is a leader, he is from NH University?

This quotation shows Kenyan credentialism at its worst.

Karua (...) I doubt she can engage any attorney outside Kenya on any issue.

She may or may not be a good politician; I shall leave that estimate to others who may feel more competent at it than I. But I am competent to judge her legal prowess, and I can attest that she is an absolute ignorant and dunce in this respect.

Alexander

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written by Amadi , October 07, 2007

Raila must be suffering a crisis of achievement (quoting mugabe spokesman) if he sees it as necessary to include useless international awards in his CV.

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written by a guest , October 07, 2007

Raila was in Sweden and Florida for leadership awards, recognized by international organizations.
And yes, Kibaki's goverment tried to dissuade Kenyans from attending. Mediocrity taken to higher levels on the government's side.
Anyways, tell me any of todays Kenya's leaders, from Kibaki to the highway-robber Ndile Kalembe...who of them can for sure talk for Kenya abroad...none.
Anyone noted that Kibaki's Administration all have degrees from Oxford and Cambridge? And someone is yelping about fake universities in Kenya? When did V.P Moody attend New Hampshire university? The man was hounded out of Mang'u for lack of discipline. He never graduated from high school.Now that he is a leader, he is from NH University?

Karua is only rude in Kenya. shrubbing her her head off. I doubt she can angage any attorney outside Kenya on any issue. Very stale.

Raila received an award?
written by a guest , October 07, 2007

This is news to me. I didn't get the goverment notice to avoid the country where Raila was recieving the award.
Please tell us more what awards did he get and where was the ceremony? Who gave him the award?
I heard Kalonzo also received an award but these must be some very obscure awards. I did here that Raila got an award from some of his Nigerian friends. Raila has close ties to Nigerians like his biographer and others. Is that the one you are talking about?

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written by Honey , October 07, 2007

It is common knowledge that free primary education was not Kibaki's idea either.
How will they fund free high school education? A promise of good management of natural resources should guarantee that.
Uganda can afford it, why not Kenya?
Economic growth happens in Central Province practically, while it happens to other regions theoretically: right or wrong? And now, can we adress the Artur Saga.

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written by Honey , October 07, 2007

My friend, CDF funds? I bet the man sends half of Kibera to high school. Do you see any street children whose origin is Kibera, despite being such alarge slum, as opposed to the matatu-full loads delivered to the city center daily from Kiambu, one of the richest constituencies in Kenya. Go gather. I am not about to allow a selfless intelligent leader, with Kenya's best interests at heart be maligned by people who pretend not to know squat of what goes on in the central mafia circles.
It is one thing to provide a bill, it is another to have it sabotaged by those afraid of enlightened Kenya.
Raila has only had stints in these ministries, both times the 'powerful thieves' leading are dead scared he would shine light in on their dark heinous secrets that so destroy Kenya.
No one put it as perefctly as...I forget his name:
In all history, the progress of brilliant minds has been violently hindered by mediocre ones.
That is the misfortune Raila has had to face in Kibaki, Moi and all the looters misleading Kenya.

re: NO WAY!
written by aeichener , October 07, 2007

Forists are using that which was used against the man a gazillion political years ago to destroy a true leader.

But what Kenya needs is not a "leader", and certainly not the primitive African brand of liidaah-sheep. What she needs is service.
So the real question is simply: would Raila be a humble and diligent servant of all Kenyans? Or would one have to be apprehensive, as to quote Honey:
"Be warned Kenyans: You are in for more looting and raping of your livelihoods" ?
Alexander

NO WAY!
written by bkichwa , October 07, 2007

'SAFI KAMA PAMBA' Which candidate from Ruto, Uhuru Kalonzo to Senile Kibaki can mouth that.

Ahem...Extensive Kisumu Mollases Plant land given to "Mr. Safi kama pamba" as a reciprocation for cooperation and support of Kanu, at the time before Moi's exit.
Please remove your blinders, or your palms covering your eyes - you might be able to discern issues more accurately. Say what you want about the man, but please don't try and pull this one on us.

NO WAY!
written by Honey , October 07, 2007

I support Raila hands down, on that one, am prejudiced, I accept.
Respondents are using that which was used against the man a gazillion political years ago to destroy a true leader.
'Raila arrogant' is a statement in tandem with docililty so entrenched in Kenya. I heard that remark as a kid, I have watched the man, media or no media, he has what it takes: Selflessness, charisma, authority. Yaani he is winning awards abroad, yet kwao wamemkataa, are we abiding by hata yesu alikataliwa na wayahudi
He is perceived as arrogant by thieves who shiver at the thought that their ways will be exposed, worse still that they will be forced to return what was looted. They despise the man more because they can not hold anything to him.
'SAFI KAMA PAMBA' Which candidate from Ruto, Uhuru Kalonzo to Kibaki can mouth that. Karua has run around,making some of the dumbest remarks "Hakuna waume to take Raila on' (such thoughts from 'women leaders' are what have caused women more suffering than gain), she brought forth zilch against the man.

Be warned Kenyans: You are in for more looting and raping of your livelihoods if you accept the likes of Kalonzo. One who misapropriates travelling allowances (pesa kidogo tu) how are you to trust him with such power.
The rest are jokers. Mudavadi should give up all choices and join peace corps, Ruto should be behind bars, Uhuru needs to embark on making right that which was wronged by his parents.