Come Baby Democracy, Come

"...if hypocrisy were a commodity that we could export and earn money from, then Kenya would today be richer than China and the Arab world put together."

The return into the country of the man whose second name is also his first is akin to a bad dream  that has come back to haunt the Raila camp. Yep Miguna Miguna is back.

But let us be brutally honest, something the vast majority of Kenyans just don't like.




Democrat Miguna Miguna whose democratic eyes were opened by a sacking from the most democratic political party in democratic Kenya.
 
The truth is that if hypocrisy were a commodity that we could export and earn money from, then Kenya would today be richer than China and the Arab world put together.

Take this democracy thing as an example. Raila is known to be the leading democrat in the country. In fact he and his supporters are so democratic that they have openly told Miguna Miguna that he is no longer welcome to Luo Nyanza. And those who know the passionately democratic supporters of the PM will know that they are serious, so serious that Miguna would not be safe in Kibera today, let alone far off Luo Nyanza.

Miguna Miguna himself is a leading democrat. He is so democratic that he did not get the idea for Peeling Back The Mask until he was fired by the PM. That firing opened his democratic eyes.

Indeed Kenya is full of die hard democrats starting with the president himself who is so democratic that for the good of the country he could not bear to hand over the presidency to Raila and chose instead to democratically steal the election. President Kibaki's democratic credentials are further confirmed by the fact that no other president in the history of Kenya has introduced so many bills in parliament seeking to control the press. And no other president has raided a daily newspaper and disabled their presses. And don't forget the name of the party that Kibaki founded with the late Njenga Karume is DP (Democratic party of Kenya). In fact if it was up to some of the diehard Kikuyu supremacy democrats within the party the name of the party would have actually been Democratic party of Kenya Democracy.

Kenyans are so lucky because we have had a long string of democratic presidents right from Jomo Kenyatta who was so democratic that he never changed the law about having competing political parties but instead murdered those who even tried to think of doing such an undemocratic thing as starting an opposition party.

Did you know that the "T" in former President Daniel T arap Moi's name stands for tolerance of a true democrat. So tolerant was Baba Moi to those who had opposing views to his that all he did was to have their private parts squeezed by a pair of pliers in the infamous Nyayo torture chambers. He was a true tolerant democrat because unlike Kenyatta before him, he did not murder his opponents (take careful note of the fact that Robert Ouko was not Moi's political opponent).

The vast majority of Kenyan voters are so democratic that they will democratically vote for the most democratic tribe (the one they belong to) before they can begin to vote for any issues or even a member of the other undemocratic tribes.

Have a most democratic weekend will you.

Raila May Well do a Moi During 2013 Elections

By Joseph Lister Nyaringo
Should Raila overcome the present court hurdle by proving the authenticity of his degree from German, he may as well be heading to greater things come the next elections.

In the coming election, the 1992 and 1997 history is likely to repeat itself when a fragmented opposition would not beat former President Moi. This time round, Moi, will be none rather than Prime Minister Raila Odinga. And here is why.

The two leaders in the grand coalition government President Kibaki should hold with esteem are Prime Minister Raila Odinga and Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka, because of their positive role to his 10 years Presidency.

That’s why I think that Raila and Kalonzo are the most betrayed by Kibaki. As he strides towards the end of his political career, he does not appear to favour any of the two to succeed him.

This has sent tongues wagging especially in the Vice President’s camp, which have been holding their breath for payback time from Kibaki. They feel that the President should return the favour which Kalonzo extended to him in 2007 during the disputed Presidential election results.

What shall we conclude about President Kibaki who has been in politics since age 28 and who unsuccessfully vied for the Presidency twice before clinching the seat in 2002?
Shall we conclude that he is a principled leader and not a rewarder of political cronies or an unthankful person who dumps those who helps him to ride to his glory?

The Vice President had every right to turn Kibaki down when he offered him the Vice presidency and join Raila’s protesting camp over the disputed presidential election results. Perhaps we would not have the current coalition government, since it would have changed the political equation in the Country.
It’s also remembered that President Kibaki's victory in 2002 is largely attributed to the role played by Raila. The deputy Premier, just like the Vice President, even if both leaders don’t speak openly, must be feeling that Kibaki owes so much.

I'm 100% sure that the Vice President’s heart bleeds more than Raila’s especially when he sees the succession debate from the President’s community shaping up negatively to his presidential ambitions.
Its true Kalonzo saved Kibaki during the inevitable hour in 2007; a period viewed by many as the most desperate in the President’s political career. It can’t even be compared with 2002 when Raila Odinga, used the phrase “Kibaki tosha” at Uhuru Park.

Several political events have kept the Vice President extremely sceptical. First of all, a party formed by State House insiders- UDF, is spearheading Deputy Prime Minister Musalia Mudavadi to succeed Kibaki.
It remains to be seen if Kibaki will eventually support Mudavadi and if he does, will he succeed in convincing Uhuru Kenyatta to forego his ambitions to support his fellow deputy PM?

If he doesn’t, Mudavadi should not expect any support from the President’s backyard and his exit from ODM will be seen as the most miscalculated political move in recent history.

Secondly, the pact this week which brought together Uhuru’s (TNA), Kiraitu’s (APK), Kimunya’s (PNU) and Kiunjuri’s (GNU),all from Mount Kenya, has left Kalonzo in tenterhooks.

Kalonzo may look passive and sound calm on State House’s silence over his Presidential quest but he bitterly feels betrayed by a community whose man he stood with and accepted to take the number two slot when the Country was smouldering.

When the campaign hits a crescendo soon, Kenyans will hear alot from the Akamba community who have continued holding their breath; hoping that since their man helped to legitimize Kibaki’s grip on power, Kalonzo would have been his preferred successor.

Watching the vigour with which Uhuru Kenyatta, Peter Kenneth, and Martha Karua are campaigning for the top seat, Kalonzo Musyoka and Musalia Mudavadi should not bank on Kikuyu votes. Even if Kibaki will rally behind one of the two, it’s unlikely that the community will deny their own and vote for an outsider.
The formation of the G7 alliance gave a new lease of life to the Vice president where he thought that the group will automatically endorse him. However, key figures in the alliance are expanding their energy and resources to advance their campaign on the national radar. This is a clear demonstraton that the success of the alliance to rally behind one presidential candidate is elusive.

It’s ironical that UDF, URP and TNA parties led by Mudavadi, Ruto and Uhuru respectively were all born almost at the same time except the Wiper party of Kalonzo and New Ford Kenya of Eugene Wamalwa. If these party leaders believed in a similar ideology and unity of purpose, why can’t they rally behind one candidate?