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My wife hates politics with a passion and rarely wants to discuss it. Which would sound a little strange to most of you readers out there who know me as the political animal who talks politics here daily. I guess the thing about like poles repelling and opposites attracting in romantic relationships is so true because one of the things I have been blessed with is an amazingly happy marriage. I've now been married for slightly over 20 years. We've had our ups and downs of course (especially in the early years) but today I look back at one of the best decisions I ever made in my life.
Now a few minutes ago my wife was doing the unthinkable-discussing politics with me. She had a warning for me (this is a private conversation and you should censor a lot of it if you are going to write about it in that blog of yours.) Still let me share with you a little of what she had to say;
The Sunday Nation controversial ODM analysis that computes possible votes with each of the presidential candidates is 1000 per cent accurate because of one obvious fact that nobody wants to discuss. Very few Kikuyus would vote for Raila Odinga no matter how good he is. And Kikuyu influence is strong in the country in virtually all provinces and no candidate can afford to ignore it. To put it in her words; "It would take God for Raila Odinga to be president of Kenya." (Coming from my wife that is a very heavy statement because she is a Kikuyu from Kiambu and she is the sort of person who treasures facts over hearsay. Incidentally she always says journalists-including her husband publish too much hearsay and very little in the way of facts. Anyway, long time readers of this blog will know why most Kikuyus have this unfortunate attitude towards Raila. It really isn't their fault. Many younger Kenyans who were not around then hate it when I say this but IT IS A FACT and I am going to say it yet again. The reason is the years of deliberate anti-Luo propaganda by the Kenyatta administration.)
The reason why the United States is such a powerful and successful nation today can be traced back to its' foundation. The nation had a very firm foundation as a Christian nation and there have been many presidents who were born-again Christians (including the current one President George W. Bush). Our country, Kenya needs a serious born again Christian President to steer the nation in the way of God almighty. "Righteousness exalts a nation…" The moral decay and godlessness we see in America today will lead to her downfall.
Even American presidents who were not born-again Christians looked to God for strength, answers and solutions to pressing problems. She gives the example of the curse believed to have been instigated by the Native Red Indians of America which caused every president elected in a year ending with zero to die in office right from the 1800s. The long list of presidents who elected in a year ending with zero dying in office includes famous assassinated presidents Abraham Lincoln (elected 1860) and President John F. Kennedy elected in 1960. However the curse was broken during the Reagan administration when he invited well-known servants of God including deliverance ministry and curse experts like Derek Prince into the White House. They advised the president accordingly and the curse was broken and just in time too because Reagan himself was elected in 1980 and shortly after the curse was broken, there was an attempt on his life which he survived only because the curse had been broken. (Check out the facts yourself, there is a search engine box on this page at the top.) In the same way, the current Kenyan president and the next one should seek divine help because many of the problems facing the nation today can only be solved with a lot of help from God.
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That was hilarious Chris for you to provide a voice for your significant other. I totally respect her views BUT in all honesty and for pete's sake please keep her out of this lest she invites true murk and stench from flies plying the very road she is daring venture into.
ReplyDeleteYour 'good' post should have been a tribute to the late W Mutahi albeit without the gems he used to cloth as humour. Religion is private and personal please keep it out of this blog and Kenyan politics. I even dread venturing into it because dogma is to facts what tales is to truth. Before I incure some foaming at the mouth by many, with due respect brother save us the sermon please please. And for the records I am very RELIGIOUS (read the word agai and don't look for synonyms).
Kenya has truly increased its per capita share of religious fanatics. In the face of multiple deaths and frustrations from all four corners of the earth, our citizens have wholeheartedly turned to divine intervention. A Sunday stroll through any local market is noisier than the loudest pub in town…..reason being, the congregation of over twenty outdoor churches participating in the weekly ‘speaking-in-tongues tournament’. Kalonzo appears to be the first chap to receive ‘John-the-Baptist-type’ visions of a developing Christian voting bloc in Kenya. All he has to do now is fortify his born again credentials to bag this emerging bloc of voters. I foresee a campaign poster: VOTE FOR THE MAN OF GOD.
ReplyDeleteThis booming ‘after life insurance’ business is about to pay special dividends to Musyoka.
That being said, I see no redeeming visions of another Moses (even a transfigured Kalonzo) coming from the skies for the sake of Kenya’s deliverance. Please remember that Moi took us to church each Sunday for over twenty years but still failed to perform any life altering miracles….. for ‘our’ benefit i.e.
Still, with all intents and purposes, esp. in light of the leaked dossier, Raila is surely in desperate need of special prayers…..of the novena type.
Chris, tell Mrs Kumekucha that if she stands for any post in Kenya, I will vote for her. Infact, she can tell me now to change where I am going to cast my vote.
ReplyDeleteI have said before that for Raila to win, it will require the miracle of Lazarus on the ODM brigade of pretenders to win the presidency. I dont support Kalonzo or any other candidate.
After all, Rutto is too unclean to even have my ears, and UK my only hope has been obliterated. He is standing against a fellow tribesman and respect and taboos dictate that he steps aside.
To add to what Mrs Kumekucha says, it will take two generation to convince Kenyans to vote in Raila. The pervasive influence of the Kikuyu (Yes, Kenyans vote along tribal lines-that is why I talk of two generations) in all the sectors make it hard for Raila.
And if the Kikuyu were to vote, then not for a man who for four years has made them sleep with one eye open!
On the leaked dossier, the intents were achieved a day before, after UK declined to join the nomination race. As for Rutto, I believe that, that statement (Whoever advised Moi to issue it!) showed him what it means to be a politician, and what Professor was Siasa (he repeated it. Again! in Uyoma) can do. Rutto has run around chasing his tail in the last two weeks.
To the ODM brigade, Moi is not incosequential as people in the streets of Nairobi say. He is a force to reckon with.
Finally, no other polls will have Raila Odinga at the top, apart from his own website that make you believe that it is a welfare association in Bondo, or a CDF committee in Langata.
I can only have tremendous respect for mrs. Kumekucha. Yes I dont know her but they say that behind every successful man there is a woman and if that is true, andI believe it is, then we can credit her Chris' success.
ReplyDeleteHaving said that, I think she got it wrong on one or two points. First,it will take God for every candidate to make it to state house. No candidate is an outright favourite now and believe u me, there is nothing impossible in politics. Who ever believed that Moody Awori will have the title 'His Exellency the vice president? We all believed he was born to be an assistant minister and we even went ahead and started calling him The Professional assistant Minister.
Chris, I still refuse to buy the tribal card u so much like to play. The reason u think Kenyans are so gullible as to believe a certain community should never be voted into leadership based on cultural propaganda is inexplicable. Granted, there have been some anti-luo propaganda just like the anti-kikuyu propaganda we are seeing now but i think these litttle things dont really mean much to most kenyans. Let us look for reasons of our failures elsewhere and stop blaming tribalism.
I for one, and this is a very personal opinion, am of the view that Raila Odinga cannot win a presidential election but this has nothing to do with his tribe. It has more to do with his personality than tribe. Please allow me the opportunity to explain that more fully. Raila has a habit of making political friends at a very fast rate. More fascinating is the rate of converting those friends to enemies. look at william Ruto for example. This is a classical raila creation who would have been such an asset for him. Before the young man got used to the tribal chieftancy bestowed on him, Raila was busy courting his political juniors to tame him back home. So where does this leave Raila? It leaves him with less supporters in R. Valley and this my friends is duplicated in every other major region.
These elections will be won by the candidate with the best strategy and in my opinion , that candidate is Mwai Kibaki. Again as i said, you are never too sure in politics. I gat one message for the likes of Chris though. We should stop whipping this small child complex where we potray our communities as persecuted and exploited. Such a habit is in my opinion not only naive, it is defeatist too.
Viiki, that was a great one. I share most of the views that you have dwelt on in a mature nner.
ReplyDeleteI wish to add on to the Raila bit. Whatever other people say, it will be hard fo him to stand and win in any party. He might have the best launch, the strongest tribal backing but sure as the sun rises, he will not make it.
Well said, at the moment, Raila, who has used his Luo (read tribe) consituency to the man as his bargaining point for many things, is well positioned at the moment to use the same.
At the moment he has Henry Kosgey (no one would have him close after the 1987 All Africa Games scandal and Kenya National Assurance decline) and another Kosgey Sally, touring Rift Valley.
To get to the greasy pole, he needs to have that support but he is getting it from the wrong quarters.
Turning to the tribal card, past leaders aspiring to win Simeon Nyachae Kisii), Charity Ngilu (Kamba) and even now, Kalonzo Musyoka (Kamba) and Musalia Mudavadi (I have read that Luhya leaders are backing the bid) has been the trend, the same trend that Moi used to count on during his presidency. That leave Emilion Mwai Kibaki as the only mix-and-match presidential candidate. And that where he score better than others.
Tribal affiliations will not for the time go away. This I blame on the colonial masters. They left Kenya, a young democracy with stereotypical differences that will take long to heal. Moi came after to use it to the best of his ability - creating tribal adminstrative centres (Teso, Suba, Keiyo, Marakwet, Tharaka, Nithi, Ndia, Chuka and many more).
On the tribal affilation, at the moment, Kiema Kilonzo and Mutula Kilonzo are torn between supporting the ODM brigade or their tribeman's candidature, making the split threat real than ever before.
That bunch of pretenders, whch also has Richard Kwach (sacked for corruption) as a chairman of a commitee, should think of better things to do. Prof Nyongo has even been fored to lie, I for once never thought he was a propagandist.
ODM should think of a better way of getting around the campaigns. Whever told them to have a council of elders to decide the nominee should be ashamed now.
no body cares what your bitch thinks, i know you wont publish this
ReplyDeleteMy take on this is that if ODM can avoid NARC-K and KANU infiltration, then the best mode of nomination would be direct voting by bonafide ODM members, in which case I dont think the results would be similar to what was leaked. And I sincerely do not agree with Council of Elders findings, if what was leaked is true.
ReplyDeleteConsensus is possible and if the candidates can agree to rally behind on of their own, then ODM is forming the next government home and dry.
The power of the incumbency and the central province vote should not be under estimated. The sooner the ODM sorts out this nomination issue, the better it will be for the party. And like Ive always said, I think Raila deserves it for all the good reasons.
Phil what are the good reasons does Raila's candidature carry? Being detaiend, fearless, fighting for the second liberation?
ReplyDeleteJoshua Nkomo, had the misfortune of being illiterate and his condition stopped him from ascending to power in Zimbabwe. At the moment, Morgan Tvsangira suffers the same misfortune. What will Kenyans who have ripped from the second liberation thank James Orengo for? Was he not detained. Has he not suffered in the hands of the government, detained and even exiled. Did Raila in the government not frustrate Orengo. What about Gitobu Imanyara, Paul Muite, and quite a few of the latter day politicians.
Before you talk of supporting democracy, i know you saw what happened at the weekend in Uyoma durng Achieng Oneko's burial. Was it not Raila, in the same spirit of stopping non-NDP candidates in Nyanza in 1997, that Oneko suffered the fate of losing. Compare Oneko to Odhiambo Omamba or Joshua Ojode. Who has suffered more for Kenya. Now ODM is faced with a split because a defeat for Raila will witness a trooping out of the coalition/party/amalgamation.
Did I read that Uhuru Kenyatta and Mudavadi are touring Mukuru this morning. Then it is getting real
Derek, thanks but your comment means you did not get read Raila's vision. There's plenty of good reasons in that vision and I urge you to download it from Raila's website. As a Kenyan, I believe Raila has a right vie for whatever elective post he so wishes and when he does that, we expect that he will be given the same opportunity and treatment as other candidates - win or loose. I support ODM and will vote for whoever is nominated due to the misgivings I have with the current regime - would you call that undemocratic? The vote is mine and I will use it to support my preferred candidate.
ReplyDeleteMorever Derek, for your information, not everybody will win in a general election, and if the elections are free and fair, let the winner carry on the term to its end. Voters will be the ones to decide. The plenty of loosers will also have to do with sitting in opposition benches for that term, even if it is Raila or Kalonzo.
Oneko once run for the Langata seat and lost to Philip Leakey in the 80s. I dont think we can blame Raila for that - just as we cant blame him for what happened to Oneko in Rarieda. Similarly, both Orengo and Imanyara were voted out and are currently doing what they know best as barristers.
I see Raila's hand in almost all political developments in this country over the last two decades, and I feel I should vote for him for the public service record he has had in both opposition and government.
Of visions...read the Kanu manifesto in 1992 and 1997. What happened? Nothing apart from plander, and anarchy of the state resources.
ReplyDeleteTnen Kalonzo's blind vision (impractical) should carry the day. and Musalia has a vision that talks good about the economy!!! Goldenberg
Phil you seem to put so much emphasis on the document they are nowadays calling 'vision'. You forget what one of the gentlemen in this blog said that these things are authored by the same guy at River Road. I will not be surprised to learn that Raila has not read through his own vision. As derek tells you, that vision means nothing and it is unfortunate you've wasted your time reading it. And even if it meant what it says, how many of such eye-catching visions have been launched?
ReplyDeleteTalking of visions, I will refer you to the Ford Kenya manifesto of 1992. It was a complete beauty. Does that mean mzee Odinga was potentially the best president? No, it means the party had a higher concentration of intellectuals: jimmy Orengo, Anyang Nyong'o, Gitobu Imanyara, the Havard trained Kiraitu Murungi, Michael Wamalwa, Paul Muite and even NCEC's Kivutha Kibwana and Willy Mutunga. My point here is the authors of these documents will have nothing to do with the implentations of the proposals contained therein.
The significance of Raila over the last two decades: Are you talking about from 1987 to 2007?
1987-1992: He was one in a crowded field of multi party agitators. I will however tell you he was what Kiema Kilonzo is to the opposition today, an errand boy dancing to the whimps of the big boys.
1992-1997: He tried to institute a coup in Ford Kenya after losing in democratic elections. He then left in a style derek is prophecying to you now.
1997-2002:Betrayed the opposition from as early as Feb 1998. The Kanu government had approached Michael Wamalwa to play opposition spoiler. He was almost succumbing and the combined rebellion of party faithfuls Mukhisa Kituyi'Jim Orengo and Musikari Kombo made hm beat a retreat. Moi then approached Kibaki through Karume and Muite and Kibaki told them he had worked with Moi in the cabinet for more than 40 years and so he knew him. He said thank you but no thanks. When Moi came calling through Mark Too Raila was all over himself. After he was betrayed he joined other opposition politicians to mobolise kenyans against Moi's protege at the time, Uhuru Kenyatta.
That my friend Phil i the contribution of Raila over the last two decades.
Not at all Vikii, but I welcome your specific criticsm on any part of Raila's vision. But that can be done later.
ReplyDeleteI dont agree with your narration of events concerning Raila over the last two decades. Prior to the repeal of section 2A that made Kenya a dejure one party state, it is Raila, Matiba and Rubia who spearheaded the fight for the second liberation that resulted to Kenya adopting multi-party politics. Due to enlargement of that democractic space, a lot positive things have happened to our democracy. That was 1987 - 1991. After their release from detention, with Matiba proceeding to London for treatment, FORD was registered with Raila being among the founder members. After being elected as Langata MP in 1992, Raila served as FORD-Ks deputy director of elections, and during his tenure FORD-K did not loose any by-election ( Migori, Webuye, Kisauni, Mathare, etc), and was then the only party with a MP in all eight provinces of Kenya.He also was on the fore front in successfully campaigning for the DP in Kipipiri against a very strong KANU machinery. Before the 1997 general elections, he decamped from FORD-K and resigned his parliamentary seat, only to run on an NDP ticket and win. He and others from the Rainbow coalition were in the forefront in campaigning for Kibaki in 2002 and Kibaki himself is on record of personally thanking Raila publicly for his efforts. We all know what he did as Chairman of Parliamentary Select committee that eventually recruited Yash Pal Ghai, and how the Bomas talks were conceived and killed. The orange vote against banana is another event in which he played a crucial role.
As regards his vision, you are free to dismiss it, but if you could take time and read it, you will realise that it is the only vision that addresses constitutional review, infrastructure rehabilitation, affirmative action and accountability & transparency in public affairs. There's a big difference between those visions you claim have been authoured in river road, just as there is a difference between a party manifesto and candidate's vision.
You may accuse him of party hopping, but I think Raila is doing much better than Kibaki who currently even fears declaring which party he will seek the presidency on. As a matter of fact, can you please tell us which is the ruling party in kenya today?? Or are as confused as Ole Kaparo is?
Ruto was never Raila's creation. Raila only suported Ruto's right to declare an interest in the presidency. And even if he was, does it matter that anyone wishing to campaign in Rift valley must go through Ruto and/or Moi? Ruto is a political toddler to Henry Kosgei and Kipkalia Kones. And when he goes to campaign in Nyanza, must he seek Raila's approval? No, I dont think it is the way democracy operates.
Vikii,
ReplyDeleteGod bless you. That was spot on! I couldnt in ten years put it more clearly. Each time I look at Tinga I have this feeling that democracy to this man is a very flexible concept. Kenyans dont hate him, they just can't be sure what he stands for. The guy was also earlier heavily involved in a small democratic exercise known as a coup de tat where many kenyans lost their lives. To this man power means everything. Look at Tuju now at Raireda, despite this man being involved in serious development issues in his constituency he may not get back to parliament. seems to me what our brothers from the lakeside want is not development, but they eat, sleep, and talk politics. sad reality. No wonder the politicians end up having to bribe Tinga. And why in God's name does he surround himself with all the known thieves. Look at Kajwang, he wasnt even paying his rent at komarock, Ruto, Mudavadi, Sally Kosgei, Koech. No wonder Anyang' Nyongo finds himself at pains looking for anything good to say about this bunch. By the way my name is Gitau, a kikuyu, and I and my wife have been praying to God to give us Tuju or Kituyi as our next president after Kibaki. were any of these two to stand with Kibaki I would vote them in. That is why I voted for Ngilu when she first vied for president. It's never been about tribes.
I have read anon's post above and laughed until tears streamed down my eyes.
ReplyDeleteAti Gitau and his wife praying daily to God to give them Tuju and Kituyi over Kibaki.....!
How many Gitaus exist in central region who will vote for Kamotho and Uhuru on ODM ticket?