History seems to be repeating itself in Kenya as opposition leaders once again sing in unison that they will not go to the polls until the government initiates some minimum reforms to level 'the playing field' ahead of the December elections.
In the frontline for the reforms are non other than erstwhile presidential aspirants Raila Odinga and Uhuru Kenyatta who have called on Kenyans to go to the streets if the government refuses to carry out crucial reforms ahead of the polls.
The signs are already there that Kibaki's men have panicked as a result of the enormous support enjoyed by ODM-Kenya and if the past events are anything to go by, Kibaki might go down in the history books as the first Kenyan president to serve only one term.
It is a bit too far fetched to expect Kibaki's administration to initiate any meaningful reforms considering that the promise of delivering a new constitution within 100 days in power has never been achieved even 1,460 days down the line.
Though the justice and constitution minister Martha Karua seems to have softened her hardline stand towards the issue of the constitution, it is evident that this is only part of an elaborate political game, since the time left before the elections is too little to initiate any changes which is an advantage to the ruling elite.
President Kibaki will play the double role of being a competitor as well as the referee in a game that the opposition is poised for a smooth victory as long as they remain united against Kibaki's tribalistic government that has disillusioned millions of unemployed youth who constitute majority of the voters. A government that has lost the goodwill of the people virtually overnight.
The recent move by the president to go ahead and appoint electoral commissioners without consulting the other political parties speaks volumes on how the incumbent will use the powers vested upon him in the constitution to ensure he wins the elections at all costs.
However, former president Moi tried to do the same with Uhuru Kenyatta by giving him an upper hand by instructing the provincial administration and civil service to campaign for him but the forces against Kanu were so overwhelming that those entrusted to campaign for the ruling party were sucked in by the opposition wave.
Majority of Kenyans only know too well that even if Kibaki refuses to level the playing field by allowing for minimal reforms, this will not only make him lose a substantial amount of votes, but will also ensure that his defeat will be resounding.
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Chris, just a quick one here. Please don't get angry. I appreciate the work you are doing. It's marvelous. I just started reading this blog yesterday but it's like I know everything happening in Kenya. In short, it's quite informative. My problem is the level of inconsistency in your articles. As much as you want to potray yourself as impartial, you are not, in my opinion. And because of that I believe you should be consistent. One moment you are demonising the ODM team and heaping praises on Kibaki and his NARC K bandwagon, the next moment Kibaki is the demon. For the latest few articles I have read, you seem to concentrate so much on digging the pasts of the ODM members not knowing (or intentionally ignoring) that Kibaki too has a very dark past. In short, these politicians are the same. We (me & you) for example may fight(physically) and even lose our lives because of our political affiliations yet these politicians continue to dine together regardless of their parties. How come you have never carried an extensive analysis (running into parts 1,2,3...) of Kibaki, Kombo or Ngilu? Why does it have to be Kalonzo, Raila (especially) and Ruto? Please note that this is just my opinion and I stand to be corrected.
ReplyDeleteHow would I get angry at such constructive criticism? By the way this is very rare online, these days most of the people who leave comments are just agents of major politicians with only one agenda in mind-to distribute propagnda and falsehoods at all costs.
ReplyDeleteActually I have been so critical of Kibaki in the past that I have often been labelled a Raila sympathiser.
However I am hungry for any information that you may have. For instance I have a lot of information on Kibaki but the problem is it is difficult to verify (I always make an effort to verify the information I publish here as much as possible).
Can we compare notes on Kibaki's dark past? You can either give me what you have here or send it to my email address umissedthis@yahoo.com.
Please keep reading, and most of all please keep criticizing because that's the only way we'll stay on our toes and hopefully improve.
Kumekucha
ok, before i comment(in a follow up to the person who commented first) first i would like to say thati ahve commented twice on ur blog the first time i think u liked my comment and invited me to further. the second time i commentd on ur blog i disagreed with ur ideas (i think it had to do with youth and young leaders). after which u wrote a whole article criticizing youth who dont believe in youth and talked about them as online govt agents - so i stooped taking ur blog seriously and stooped reading it.
ReplyDeleteanyway im back checking it out.
hence my comment below.
why do MP's in kenya act like the parliament does not exist. if an MP has a problem with the law - they are legislators let them legislate!
and if they want publicity why dont they have debates broadcast so they can they can get credit for that.