William Samoei Ruto “I Am Not My Own Man”

November 29, 2012, Nairobi, Kenya

United Republican Party and The National Alliance are proposing to share the government down the middle in their pre-election agreement expected to be unveiled on Sunday, UK Daily Nation sources have said.

The highlights of the agreement are a 50-50 sharing of Cabinet and Civil Service positions in a government with Mr Kenyatta as President, Mr William Ruto as Deputy President and TNA producing a candidate for Speaker of the National assembly and URP getting the Senate Speaker slot.

Asked if only Kikuyus and Kalenjin are to share all of the Cabinet and Civil Service positions, what will happen to the rest of the communities, both Uhuru and Ruto dismissed the question as too presumptuous as to assume either cared if the outcome of their election is that all other tribes are locked out of power except the two they belong to.

“You see, this thing belongs to us (read Kikuyus); we have just decided to try and hoodwink the Kales into buying our bunk just to be sure,” said an almost gleeful Uhuru, adding, “we are confident they will do just that because of my convenient friend Ruto’s luck of being co-accused with me with crimes against humanity at the ICC; I cannot let him hang alone.”

Ruto claims that he gathered more than 3,000 elders from the Rift Valley Province and after telling them what goodies he had for them and what more lay in store for them, the elders gave the United Republican Party leader the go-ahead to work with TNA.

The URP leader said the pre-election pact with Mr Kenyatta offered them a “realistic chance” of forming the next government and to help them bring the case at The Hague, the Netherlands, where they are charged with crimes against humanity, back to Kenya.

“We are uniting to have a greater chance of bringing back this case to Kenya,” Mr Ruto told the elders at the Eldoret Sports Club.

Asked whether this was not a flagrant effort and actually a shameless disrespecting of his community’s intelligence by lying to them the cases against him and Uhuru can be brought back to Kenya merely because the two are elected as president and deputy president, Mr. Ruto shrugged his shoulders and dared the reporter asking him the question if he can find one person among the 3000 who gave a hoot about the law or facts about PEV.

“We have done a good job of synthesizing most of our supporters into believing our unparalleled importance and absolute right to vie and take up the presidency is more important than finding justice for PEV victims,” added Ruto, not even as blinking or hesitating to show any sign of concern about what he had just said.

“We are sure of winning the next General Election in the first round. We have built our party (URP) attracting a large following from different parts of Kikuyu and Kaleland. TNA-URP alliance is meant to foster peace and development in the country of the kind anyone who doesn’t care about PEV victims or the implications of the serious charges we face can imagine,” said Ruto.

On being asked why he opted out of the presidential race, Mr Ruto said he realized that he could not make it on his own.

“I am not my own man,” declared Ruto, adding “without Moi, I would be absolutely a nobody today—well, at least no more anybody than your miserable self asking me these questions. Without Raila, I would not have risen to the height of power I am enjoying today. Without Uhuru, I would not even have dreamed of vying for the presidency among these giants. I am just a small village boy who was thrust into the limelight too soon in my life I need a few more years to cogitate before I can come out and seek the presidency on my own as my own man. Kindly understand that and don’t ask me this question again!”

Pressed on why he at least couldn’t offer himself for the presidency even as others argue he is constitutionally barred from vying because of the serious crimes against humanity he faces, Ruto argued that it was almost impossible for him to get 50 per cent plus one votes all by himself, hence the alliance.

“Lone rangers will not form the next government given the strict guidelines of the new constitution. Kikuyus have got the numbers and if we add our votes we will form a formidable alliance that will triumphantly enter State House,” he said.

Several reporters had to be resuscitated from the shock of hearing first hand such a blunt admission from a politician of this naked tribalism.

“Mr. Ruto, are you saying for you what matters is not what a candidate has to offer the country in terms of leadership and vision for development rather what matters for you is what tribe you can align yourself with to get to power?”

At this point Ruto turned to talk to his assistant in Kalenjin the reporter is still trying to get a translation of what he said from the recording but everyone he has asked who knows the language can only laugh and say its not printable.

Meanwhile, Ruto’s alleged partner in crimes against humanity, Uhuru Kenyatta, was busy consulting with his top brains for hire on how best and quickly to shred the freshly minted MOU the two claim is already signed in the unlikely event he is elected president.

“Irimu ikenagira undu muru (a foolish person rejoices even over a bad thing), Uhuru was overheard saying of Ruto and his excitement he is about to play second fiddle to Uhuru against prevailing common sense that he doesn’t were he to remain politically relevant in Kenya but someone can also make an easy case this applies to Uhuru as well and his thumbing his nose on the whole country saying he must vie for president notwithstanding the serious crimes against humanity he faces that could actually find him convicted and locked up.

In fact, this applies to both.

***The foregoing is a parody of the news item appearing in the Daily Nation”

 

Ruto’s Reasons For Rejecting Raila’s Offer To Return To ODM Or To At Least Work With Him Are Bogus

The Standard Online is reporting that Eldoret North MP William Ruto has explained reasons why he turned down an offer by Prime Minister Raila Odinga to be his running mate.

According to the Standard, Ruto complained of the PM’s abandonment and lack of concern for tribulations facing him, saying the PM called him for the first time in three years last month to ask him to back his presidential bid.

“I was surprised and I kept asking myself whether he had run out of credit for the whole three years,” the Standard quotes Ruto as telling this to a meeting of elders in Eldoret Wednesday.

Ruto said he put the PM to task for mistreating him and told him that he would not work with him politically, says the Standard.

“I told him his payback time had come and he had to face the consequences of turning his back on an ally,” he added. Ruto said when the International Criminal Court indicted him over post-election violence, Raila never showed any empathy.

“I expected that he would have even called to express his concern because he knew where we, as his lieutenants then, were at the time we are said to have perpetrated the violence,” he said.

Ruto said Raila further allowed his party ODM to write letters pressing the international community to support and pursue the case against him and his co-accused at The Hague.

“He never came to my defence or asked his people to stop doing what they were doing. This showed he wanted me finished,” he said.

The PM will speak for himself as to these allegations by Ruto but, going by what is known publicly, Ruto is here at best engaged in the worst form of disingenuity at best and outright lying at worse.

First, it’s simply not true that Raila abandoned Ruto; rather, the facts are it was Ruto who abandoned Raila and ODM for purely political reasons that had everything to do with his now obviously miscalculated and bone headed belief that he could topple Raila from the height of his political power or at least damage Raila enough to render him impotent in his efforts to succeed Kibaki.

Put another way, back in 2007, Ruto did not join Raila and ODM until it was abundantly clear that Raila and ODM were set on sweeping the entire country, including Rift Valley.

Having come in the last minute, Ruto reaped the greatest benefit from the half-loaf Raila and ODM got from the coalition government deal reached between Rail and Kibaki following PEV in that not only did he get appointed to a very significant Ministry of Agriculture, the entire Rift Valley region got more share of the half-loaf than any other in the country.

In terms of what Raila could have done for Ruto and/or RV following the stolen elections of 2007, he actually did as best as anyone could have done and that is a truth no one can deny.

Ruto therefore had no good reason to abandon Raila or ODM other than the pursuit of his own personal political ambitions which every indication is thus far he miscalculated and may as yet pay the ultimate price for such miscalculation and that’s being rendered politically irrelevant, if he doesn’t get locked up at the Hague.

Yet, this is exactly what he did, namely, walk away from Raila and ODM for no good reason, or more precisely, for badly miscalculated reasons and now he is whining about the fact albeit disingenuously as he falsely claims it was Raila who abandoned him when that’s clearly and obviously not the case.

Second, much as it’s false Raila did not abandon Ruto, it’s equally false that Raila did not show or has not shown any empathy with Ruto and his tribulations.

Long before it was known who were the suspects most responsible for commission of crimes against humanity in Kenya during PEV, Raila led efforts to try and establish a local tribunal to try whoever the suspects were as recommended by the Waki Commission.

Ruto, on the other hand, led efforts to defeat establishment of a local tribunal and joined the choir singing the now famous PNU refrain sang by all those opposed to a local tribunal, “don’t be vague, let’s go to Hague.”

This is because Ruto and those opposed to a local tribunal mistakenly believed then that the ICC process will take ages and changed tune only after realizing this was, in fact, not the case.

Raila therefore had nothing to do with Ruto and other ICC suspects being hauled to the Hague and this now stale lie that he did must be laid down to rest for good.

Yet, when Kibaki made it known early last year that the government would only pay legal fees for Uhuru, Muthaura and Ali, Raila and ODM strongly protested and said ODM will nonetheless provide and pay for Ruto, Kosgey and Sang’s legal fees in addition to their own.

Addressing a press conference attended by 10 MPs at Parliament Buildings at that time, ODM Deputy Secretary-General Joseph ole Nkaissery and Parliamentary Group Secretary Ababu Namwamba announced that they have completed work on yet another proposed bill seeking to establish a local tribunal—again, evincing ODM’s commitment to ensuring justice for the victims of PEV, not hauling the ICC suspects to the Hague as they falsely claim.

Although ODM Secretary General later appeared to contradict the views expressed by this group of MPs, this was more an issue of internal split as to how to proceed with the Ruto issue than a manifestation of non-caring with his plight.

Speaking on behalf of Raila and ODM, Westlands MP Fred Gumo noted at about the same time, ““We cannot abandon them at the hour of need because they are our members. We are the ones who know what they did not do.”

There is more but even going by this, it’s obvious neither Raila nor ODM has ever abandoned Ruto and neither is it the case that either or both have not been concerned about his tribulations.

Having said that, however, it’s important to note despite Raila’s and ODM’s efforts to be of help to Ruto, he nonetheless chose the path of being a thorn in the flesh of Raila in the false hopes as noted above that he could topple or at least cripple Raila and ODM to the enemies of the latter’s benefit and therefore vicariously his benefit as well but all that boomeranged.

It is in this context that Raila said in Swahili soon after it was clear Parliament will not pass the law establishing a local tribunal, “” If a child cries for a razor blade, you as a parent should give him or her and if he or she cut himself or herself with it, they learn.”

Ruto cried for the razor he can’t now whine about it for any reason but is certain to cry like a baby when the cutting happens.

Ironically, knowing fully well he has been trying the hardest to be a pain to Raila, Ruto now whines that Raila has not called him for the last three years; who would?

Is it not classic humility and statesmanlike for Raila even after all of this to pick up the phone and call Ruto to try one last time and have Ruto get back to his senses and return to ODM he should never have left to begin with?

Third, it is obviously false as Ruto claims that Raila has mistreated him.

If anything, Raila has been very good to Ruto’s fortunes: he made him part of the Pentagon that propelled him to the height of political power, minimal as it may be; he appointed him to a key cabinet position soon after the formation of the coalition government; he bent over backwards to make sure the RV was more than proportionally represented in the cabinet and other appointments; when Raila called for Ruto’s suspension for corruption, this was not mistreating an ally but doing what was and always is the right thing to do if were are to end the culture of corruption and impunity.

In sum, the reasons Ruto has given for not accepting Raila’s offer to return to ODM are bogus.

The real reason is Ruto is beholden to Uhuru for the financial support he has been enjoying in their marriage and is concerned the price to pay in abandoning Uhuru for Raila is greater than doing otherwise.

No one can blame him for that.

The sad reality therefore becomes Ruto has come this far and high politically and this fast yet in no time, he must fade from the Kenyan political scene as a political point of influence or relevance.

He will not be the first one to do so and what an epic ending to an otherwise promising political career had the man made the right decisions and choices.

Such is life.

[Unedited]

 

Raila Pledges To Set-Up Grants Kitty for Youth To Combat Poverty in Kenya

For those who may have missed it, the import of the blog Reflections From A Field Trip To Medical Clinics In Poor Communities of RV of Kenyais the question of poverty and the widening gap between the poor and the rich.I in particular posited in that blog that we should judge and decide on who to vote for based on their stand and/or proven record as to helping the needy or at least doing something about it besides promises of what they can do once elected.One would have to assume in the weeks ahead we shall see these records come to bear witness as to where these leaders stand on this critical issue but in Congratulations To PM Raila Odinga For Looking After The Education of Our Children I noted some of what Raila and our other First Lady Mama Ida are doing in their individual capacity to educate poor children.

I am also happy to note the PM has reiterated his commitment to doing something about closing the gap between the poor and rich in pledging to set-up grants for the youth to start businesses once he is reelected as our next president as it has just been reported in Raila Pledges To Set-up Grants Kitty for Youth appearing in the Standard.

It goes without saying the PM is once again providing solutions for our country’s myriad of problems when all his opponents are spending all their waking hours even in their dreams is trying to figure out how best to gang up against Raila and “stop” him from being reelected as president without offering any solution for any of our country’s problems.

In their view, the country’s biggest problem is Raila crushing their individual or collective political ambitions, which is really a shame not because that should never be and cannot be a valid reason to oppose anyone for office, but because we have well informed and educated adults of voting age that support that shortsighted and outdated view of engaging in politics far removed from what really matters as far as our beloved country is concerned and that is, electing leadership with skills and ability to bring about progress and development, not merely advancing their narrow-minded and entirely selfish political ambitions.

 

Reflections From A Field Trip To A Few Medical Clinics In Poor Communities of Rift Valley, Kenya

Most of us who visit home regularly from Diaspora rarely if at all find ourselves visiting other than our own villages, which is quite normal.

The other day while visiting Kenya, however, I had occasion to go on a field trip with a senior official from the Ministry of Health that initially was to cover several community clinics in Naivasha, Nakuru and Elburgon but, due to unavoidable circumstances, this was scaled back to just visiting several clinics in Naivasha as we had to return to Nairobi. The whole exercise was intended to gather information directly from the care-providers with a view of improving their delivery of health services, including identifying enabling tools to make their critical clinics more modernized and efficient.

Two things stuck to my mind from this field trip.

First, the dedication and commitment of these basic care providers, who double up as owner/operators of these clinics. Every one of the owner/operators we visited showed a level of genuine desire to provide basic health-care and not one gave me the impression they were in for their own aggrandizement. Contrast that with the hawks we often have to deal with elsewhere with overstretched hands asking what’s in it for them and never mind what the business proposal is or how it would benefit the country.

Second, just looking at the abject poverty surrounding many of these clinics was quite an experience for anyone to behold. There we were riding in our SUVs into these communities which basically are slums and as we are rolling by what somehow is a way meandering through these jam-packed residential areas, you could up close look and see the eyes of an impoverished child that says it all.

And the first question that comes to mind and I loudly asked those riding with me, is why?

Why in 2012 we can have this much poverty still devastating many an innocent child, let alone their adult families?

In a way, this was a rhetorical question for we know the answer.

The bigger question and one Kenyans must answer come 2013 is who really among those vying would be best placed at the top as president not only to change this culture of status quo on everything, but to really do something to make a dent in addressing the serious problem of rural and urban poverty.

I know many of us are doing what we can to alleviate the poverty from an individual point of view but it’s obviously going to take a collective effort by both us as individuals and the government formulating and implementing policies that can finally seriously begin to tackle head on and eliminate or greatly reduce this devastating trio-problems of poverty, malnourishment and poor or lack of healthy living conditions.

Rather than basing voting along tribal lines or alliances, Kenyans must focus on asking a fundamental question and that is, which among those seeking the top seat cares and has actually done something about alleviating these unacceptable living conditions and overall who has a proven record of catering to the needy and not the otherwise well to do.

Casting a vote based on an honest answer of that question will for the first time give us a leader at the national level who can actually finally make a difference in the majority of our people’s lives who otherwise will remain languishing in the same poverty and poor living conditions.

Let’s all reflect upon this and share and inform widely.

It’s the least we can do.

 

Response To A Flawed Standard Newspaper Article Comparing The Titanic Sinking To ODM

It’s the day after Thanksgiving and having just returned from an overseas trip in time for this treasured family holiday, one would think rest and more rest and enjoying time with family should and must be the order of the day but there are so many flaws both in logic and facts in Peter Nguli’s article ODM Titanic: The Ship Sinks As The Captain Watches appearing in the Standard I have decided to take time and highlight several of them for the sake of at least keeping the record straight and also to help the unwary or passive followers of politics who may read this article and be confused to believe it’s on to something when that’s obviously not the case.

This Nguli says, “Just as one of the world’s biggest and mightiest ships, The Titanic sunk 100 years ago in 1912 after hitting an iceberg, one of the most popular and mightiest political parties in Kenya, ODM seems to be sinking in 2012.”

This very assertion is an admission this is a misplaced metaphor: the metaphor would be appropriate only if examining ODM as a dead political party, not one thriving and by latest polls one that is still the party to beat and its leader the man to beat for the presidency.

To his credit, though mistaken that its potency is over, Nguli at least recognizes the mightiness of ODM and in this limited sense, his analogy to the Titanic may be apt, namely, a mighty and magnificent ship except this one is sailing straight and shall dock at State House from upon which Raila will disembark to be sworn as our next president and everyone else in it (read all Kenyans) will be merry.

All other analogizing of ODM to the Titanic is misplaced and, on this count alone, Nguli’s entire piece can be dismissed as fantasy writing wholly without any anchor in fact or sound analysis but not to outdo himself, Nguli has provided sufficient flawed logic and reasoning in the rest of his article to make that point, namely, that his is nothing based on fact or analysis but misplaced notions about sinking ships and parties that have nothing to do with each other.

He, for example, says, “Unlike the Titanic which hit just one iceberg, the ODM ship has hit many icebergs. And just as the captain of Titanic, Edward John Smith watched his ship sink and ultimately himself too, the ODM captain Prime Minister Raila Odinga is watching his ODM Titanic sinking fast. Will he also sink with his ship?”

This is a mouthful but let’s break it down into smaller parts to expose the flawed logic and reasoning in just this one paragraph:

The Titanic needed only but one iceberg to sink it; were that not the case, we shall not here be talking about the sinking of the ship.

Yet, in his flawed logic, Ngilu seems to think it would or could have taken several icebergs to sink the Titanic and from that flawed logic, he seems to suggest that somehow the ODM Titanic will sink because it has hit many icebergs.

This is obviously flawed logic for it doesn’t matter how many or what size of debris, boulders or lesser obstacles in its path, a ship the size of the Titanic will plough right through them without even a single passenger feeling the impact and will dock safely at the end of the voyage.

Ngilu’s metaphor on this also fails in another respect which is more fundamental and actually straightforward even for a lay observer and that is, he commits the classic fallacy many a person commits and that is saying something is so in the hopes some gullible or unwary reader or listener would believe it’s so.

As is often said, saying something is so doesn’t make it so.

It is one thing to posit the illogical proposition that ODM is sinking because it has “it has hit many icebergs” but it’s also quote another leap to expect people to buy the other side of the flawed proposition that ODM has “hit many icebergs” without telling the reader what these are and why they are fatalistic.

The fact is, ODM, like any giant party in an evolving young democracy, has had to face and deal with all manner of challenges but the test of a party’s strength or weakness is not how many or few of these challenges it faces but how the party deals with them with the ultimate measure of success or failure being performance at the polls.

Judging from ODM’s very strong and impressive performance in all by-elections held since the last general elections, and more importantly given the party’s ability to have thus far stood strong in remaining the force it is despite unprecedented efforts to bury it by a combined force of virtually all political parties in the country, the betting type will put their money on ODM once again sweeping the country in victories come 2013 and see its flag bearer Raila Odinga reelected but this time sworn our country’s next president.

Unlike the Captain of the Titanic who was basically helpless once the Titanic hit the iceberg, the Captain of ODM has been fully in control of the mighty and magnificent ship ODM contrary to what this Nguli says and in due time shall guide the ship to dock as he triumphantly disembarks to be rewarded the presidency for his good job not just in piloting the ship but much more he has done for our beloved country.

In other words, contrary to Nguli’s bold lie, Captain Raila is not watching helplessly as the ODM ship sinks; no, not at all.

He is, in fact, doing exactly what the Captain of such a mighty and magnificent ship ought to do and that is, to ensure save and steady sails of the ship along with its precious cargo and invaluable lives to her destination and for that, he shall be forever indebted by all those sailing along and more.

He says, “The RMS Titanic liner had travelled almost three quarters of her doomed maiden voyage from Southampton, UK and was very close to her destination, New York, USA when it hit an iceberg at Newfoundland in North Atlantic Ocean. Similarly, The ODM Titanic liner has sailed for three quarters of its political journey and now has started hitting political icebergs in 2012, sinking together with its captain.”

Besides misstating and misusing a metaphor as above, this assertion is particularly flawed in that it’s neither supported by any facts nor any logical reasoning.

Again, to be plausible, Nguli would have had to tell us here what “political icebergs” has ODM hit and show by even bare reasoning how that can conceivably be deemed to be fatalistic as to the fate of the ODM ship otherwise sailing quite predictably along to victory come March 4, 2013.

Because he has failed to show either, namely, he has failed to show by fact or logic this impending sinking of ODM that must exist in his and like-minded imagination and nowhere else, his claim must be readily dismissed as just that, namely, an assertion based not on fact or reason but shear imagination.

Nguli says, “The captain of ODM Titanic, also known as Kenya’s enigma of politics is watching as the ship sinks together with his political career.”

Again, this is simply a false assertion because the ODM Captain is not only in full control of the party and guiding it along to victory come 2013, he is doing so in what is characteristically the enigma he is.

This Nguli appears to acknowledge Raila’s prowess in this regard, yet quickly forgets or feigns ignorance to accuse him of doing nothing to save this imagined sinking ship.

He says, “Renowned West African novelist Chinua Achebe, would undoubtedly decscribe Raila Amollo Odinga, the captain of ODM Titanic, as Amalize the cat with nine lives and whose political back never touches the ground.

Nothing wrong with that.

He says, Achebe, in his Things Fall Apart, would probably describe Raila as Okonkwo who was known throughout the nine villages of Umuofia but ruled his household with an iron fist.

No he will not.

It’s readily obvious this is Nguli’s attempt to use Achebe—or more accurately, to misuse Achebe and his classic novel to lay the foundation for the attack that follows but only the most gullible and least informed can buy such nonsense which has been peddled before by the likes of Mudavadi, Ruto and others but all have all failed to impact Raila for one reason: some lies are just not that easy to peddle especially when they fly in the fact of glaring facts.

He says “Prime Minister Raila Odinga, the captain of ODM Titanic, who is set to re-launch his campaign strategy, is said to have slowed down on seeking alliances with other presidential candidates sailing in other ships nearby after some key leaders in the G7 Alliance declined his SOS offers.”

This is mere confirmation this Ngilu is simply imagining things and making some as he plows down this illogical path.

Raila is nowhere “re-launching his campaign strategy” and if this Nguli knows something even Raila himself doesn’t know about his campaign strategy, then he should tell us so and see if that reduces the speed with which we dismiss him as one engaged in fantasy writing.

Officially launching one’s presidential campaign, which is what this Nguli must be referring to is not “re-launching” one’s campaign strategy.

It’s not only false that Raila has made “SOS offers” that has been “declined” by the so-called G7 alliance, to so characterize Raila’s outreach to other political parties which is no different from that being made by those parties to him and others betrays this Nguli’s true motivation in penning this peace and that is to paint a picture he sees or wishes to be but one not supported by neither fact nor logic all likely because he as many others simply doesn’t like Awambo and where his ship is headed: State House.

Nguli says “After realizing that his ODM Titanic is sinking, the premier sent an SOS signal to other ships but none is willing to come to his rescue.”

This is needless to say a repeat of the same false assertion made above and must be dismissed for the same reasons stated above, namely, Raila has not made any “SOS” appeal to any of the other leading politicians any different than they have made and continue to make to him.

It’s called politics and one has to be extremely naïve not to know all of these politicians will and are actively making offers and counter-offers to one another to advance their political interests—be it publicly or privately and to somehow try to make it appear as if it’s Raila only engaging in this normal political activity is the height of that naiveteb or willful ignorance as clearly can be deduced from this assertion by Nguli.

He says, “Apart from icebergs, there is a northerly political turbulence and a tornado from the south. Just as 1912 Titanic captain sent SOS signals in vain, the captain of 2012 ODM Titanic has sent SOS signals of apologies.”

This is another mouthful one can dissect and show its total lack of factual basis or logic but let’s just leave it coming from someone who is obviously clueless as to what type of communication is taking place between Raila and folks in RV or what response he is enjoying beyond what is publicly observable, the proof shall be in the pudding what these naysayers say notwithstanding as it’s totally irrelevant and not even part of the equation as there is classic wishful thinking.

He says, At a time when the political climate is awash with political deals and alliances ahead of the December 4th deadline, it appears no one is willing to form alliances with the ‘reformer’ captain even after sending his historical SOS apology to the Rift Valley citizenry.”

Again, an assertion coming from someone like this who is obviously clueless as to what talks are going on between who and who, where and when other than what they probably read in the media if not being ill-informed by bar-gossipers, it would be prudent to let those play out and when it’s all said and done, it shall come to pass as to who is aligned to who, keeping in mind titans like Raila really need not anyone other than their strong coalition remaining strong to march to State House.

H says, Just like some passengers of Titanic started to play piano and Saxophone tunes as the ship sunk, the former passengers of ODM Titanic have started playing songs of consolation from political arena advising the PM that he should consider retirement, leave the ship sink gracefully and go and try fish farming at Bondo.

This is now too bad a misuse of a metaphor that now borders on the criminal.

If this Nguli wanted to say people like the politically dead Mudavadi have asked Raila to retire to Bondo he can say so without trying to drag the Titanic and its tragic history to make this non-point

A metaphor can be tortured to death for no good reason and it’s obvious this is where we are headed with this.

Nguli says, “While this political cat captain with nine lives has learnt the art of political survival under harsh harmattan political climate, the sun seems to be setting for the liberator and ‘reformer’ of the common man as the ship sinks. Unfortunately, there is no time left and the waters are ice cold as political passengers start falling one by one into cold the waters and swimming on their own looking for life-saving boats when the ship is half way sunk.

An assertion like this could easily win hands down as imaginary prose far removed from facts and reality and totally devoid of any logic but it’s not clear whether this is what this Nguli intended for this assertion to be so we shall let it crash under its own weight of total irrelevance and uselessness as a political assertion.

Suddenly, just as Titanic captain Smith started shooting his annoying passengers with a pistol instead of listening to them, the Captain of ODM Titanic stops listening to his political passengers’ grievances and starts shooting them with his dictatorial tendencies.

As noted above, others have tried but failed this line of attack on Raila that he is dictatorial so too will this Nguli and whoever else naively believes merely saying things makes them so and more so those who are so naïve as to believe they can repeat a lie often enough to be believed but some lies as just too obvious as not to be believed, merely repeating them is laughable as in this case.

While he has fought strongly for democratic freedoms and liberty for all Kenyans, the ODM Titanic captain seems to have played the political chessboard wrongly this time round and at times placing the cart before the horse long before his doomed political voyage in his luxurious Hummer ship model liner.

There is no better political survivor, strategist and leader in Kenya than one Raila Amolo Odinga.

All of his opponents spend sleepless nights trying to figure ways to beat him politically but for decades he has proven to each and every one of them he is unbeatable and so shall be the case in 2013 despite such blather as this Nguli spews here about his “doomed political voyage.”

Ever since he became Kenya’s second premier since independence, Raila has made more political foes than friends in his ODM Titanic.

False.

This is another lie we have seen being propagated by those who desperately wish people to believe their imagined tales but the reality is it’s simply not true that Raila has “made more political foes than friends in his ODM” it’s a shame someone would actually state such a falsehood with such finality and almost as a matter of fact.

Now that the famous ship is sinking, it’s everyone for himself and God for us all.

The “famous ship” is sinking only in the minds of those who think it is.

The ship has now sunk three quarters but there are no enough life boats. It’s time to lower the few life boats onboard. The first boat to be lowered is to be rowed by a new captain, the Rift Valley King-maker, William Ruto who escapes into the sea with a considerable number of voters from the rich-vote Rift Valley Ocean.

Soon, other boats are lowered and their captains include Musalia Mudavadi and Najib Balala who both escape with voters in different boats into the deep seas. Suddenly, ODM Titanic captain’s SOS signals are heard by one good Samaritan sailor in a boat nearby and as recent media reports indicate, the captain of the boat, VP Kalonzo Musyoka is almost about to rescue ODM Titanic captain but the VP suddenly changes his mind and instead of rescuing the ODM Titanic captain, he rows his boat to catch that of his speeding neighbour Musalia Mudavadi. Kalonzo abandons his own boat and jumps in Musalia’s boat and leaves the ODM Titanic to sink on its own.

As this happens, the political life boats then return to rescue more political passengers swimming in cold waters of the North Atlantic. More MP passengers are rescued from the sinking ODM Titanic. As the ship sinks deeper and deeper, it hits more political icebergs.

Rescued passengers include Charity Ngilu, a political Ukambani Ocean captain, Rachel Shebesh and Bomet Ocean captain, Beatrice Kones. Other passengers continue to jump from ODM Titanic in order to safe their political life, predominantly those from Rift Valley Ocean as the ODM Titanic ship sinks together with its captain.

In 2013, mourners in a replica Titanic II visit the scene in remembrance to commemorate the sinking of ODM Titanic with flowers and placards reading ‘ R.I.P., ODM Titanic’!

Never interrupt someone in the middle of a dream—good or bad, self-serving or utilitarian—just let them dream on as we must with this now turned dreamer Nguli from merely badly misusing metaphors, to abusing and assaulting them to now having bad dreams about Raila and ODM.

Pole ndugu.

The truth shall come to pass and it won’t be anything as close to what your dream is but I suppose you’re not alone in this dreaming.

Going by known facts, history and the resilience of our Kenyan people, they shall one more time say one man tosha and that’s unfortunately for you and other naysayers none other than Raila Odinga.

I suggest you start practicing or get ready to hearing quit a bit of those majestic words I have been urging others to and these are simply, His Excellency President Raila Amolo Odinga.

Peace, Unity and Truth.

[Unedited]

 

Will Kenyans Be Gorverned From The Hague?

In Will Kenyans Be Governed From The Hague? published in the Star, I analyze the meaning of the ICC cases in the Kenyan political context and note how unprecedented and impractical it would be to have a president and even a president and his deputy spending months at the Hague defending themselves–an outcome that should never be if we are to move our country forward.

I in the meantime also conclude the only solution that can bring a close to this dark saga in our country is to bring the cases home and set up a mechanism for the suspects to be tried in a civil proceeding and if found liable, to pay a civil penalty for the benefit of the victims.

I come to this conclusion because it’s my view none of these suspects will ever be convicted, let alone see the inside of jail for the serious crimes they stand charged.

Excepts:

In any mature democracy, such charges, especially when the indictment is handed down by a global court would not be compatible with holding high office. It is taken for granted, that you can either be president, or you can face charges at the ICC – but not both.

…

The reality of it is, and the sooner everyone comes to grips with this the better, it’s unlikely anyone will ever be found guilty, let alone be hanged or sent to prison for a long time. Indeed, of the remaining four suspects, only Uhuru and Muthaura stand a remote chance of being convicted but even they, will likely walk free just as Ruto and Sang will.

…

Given this fact, it would be more meaningful and a sense of justice and closure for the PEV victims if the aforementioned three conditions for bringing the cases back home are met, we have the cases tried at home and, in the event the suspects are not found guilty of the criminal charges they are charged with, they can still be subjected to trial for civil liability where punishment shall be monetary compensation of the victims, not going to jail—punishment any of them would be happy to pay in lieu of going to jail.

Granted, special laws have to be passed to make this happen but that’s a far much better proposition than what they face now where they all could walk and the victims are left with nothing.

More importantly, imposition of a civil penalty in lieu of criminal sanction will be the best way to end this national nightmare everything considered and right now we need closure more than anything else as we head into electioneering period.

 

Money From Raila Haters and Opponenets To Losing Mitt Romney Campaign In The United States

It is illegal under American law for a presidential candidate—and candidates for other federal offices as well to receive donations from outside the United States.

Apparently someone in Kenya doesn’t know that or know but pretend they don’t for I learned today from a reliable source that apparently someone or a group of individuals recently decided to pump a lot of money into the Mitt Romney campaign.

The logic: If Mitt Romney wins, he will see to it that Raila is not elected as payback to his “cousin” Obama.

Besides being laughable, this development if true as my usually reliable source insists it is reveals a number of things, and merely confirms others:

First, it clearly shows to what extent the anti-Raila forces are desperate now that it’s even more clear Raila is on an unstoppable winning path.

I have blogged before that those bent on “stopping” Raila from being reelected as president would say or do almost anything to achieve that now elusive goal.

However, I didn’t think breaking other countries’ laws was in that equation but apparently it is—unless they feign ignorance of the law, which is no excuse anyway.

Second, it’s simply amazing and one can only shake their head in disbelief how these anti-Railaists and those bent on “stopping” Raila from being reelected have absolutely neither principle nor substance to run on other than this notion they simply don’t want Raila to be reelected as president.

To now hope that Mitt Romney, of all people, would help them in their scheme to “stop” Raila is actually a matter of concern as we may be dealing with individuals who may have lost it mind-wise and we are therefore basically dealing with loose cannons capable of exploding anytime to everyone’s harm.

The only consolation is ICC was not mentioned as a factor or reason for these geniuses to contribute to Romeny, namely, the money was not contributed in the hopes Romney can win and help there, which neither he nor any other president other than the president of Kenya can be of any help, anyway.

News flash: Mitt Romney will not be elected as president of the United States thanks to his doomed candidacy and a life-line thrown to Obama by the name Hurricane Sandy now all but assuring him victory tomorrow, which means these schemers have basically wasted their money donated to Romney—well, the public’s money as hardly any of it is theirs having stolen or otherwise inappropriately siphoned it from the public purse.

Finally, even if Mitt Romney were to be miraculously elected president, there is nothing he could do to stop Raila from being reelected but this time sworn as our fourth president if the people maintain he is still the best man for the job as every indication is they still do and will through Election Day.

 

Shedding Ukabila and Negative Ethnicity in Kenya

These kids know nothing about ukabila and negative ethnicity unless they are being raised by tribalists and shall become so in their own adult life; it’s a circle that must be broken for good.

On any given day, there are tribalists who if you ask them the path to State House for any of the serious candidates, they barrage you with tribal math of imagined scenarios of usually how their preferred candidate makes it there or how the one they don’t like or hate doesn’t.

Some of us have held a view for a long time that Kenya has not only changed its government structure by way of the new constitution but attitudinally there has been a significant shift still in progress, which shall have an impact in the 2013 elections beyond what these tribalists can comprehend or do but are in denial.

While tribalism may yet be a major factor in the electoral process for 2013, it shall by no means be the only and one determinative factor as has been the case for all elections heretofore.

For the same reason, tribal lordship and bloc voting shall be proven to be less significant in 2013 in virtually all communities except for two areas: Luoland and Kikuyuland.

One would have to be extremely naïve to think anyone but Raila is going to get the Luo vote.

On the other hand, despite what I posit below, the Luos will be followed by Kikuyus in who they shall vote for en masse and as a bloc albeit to a much lesser extent for the reasons I offer below.

Okay, give or take 2-5% of the registered voters representing extreme Luo Raila haters will vote for someone other than Raila at the presidential level but everyone else including ordinary haters from the region will at the end of the day pull the lever for Raila and ODM.

Is this tribalism?

Not at all.

This phenomena can be distinguished from all others where people vote as a bloc for “one of our own” for several reasons and we are here really talking about the Kikuyus—unless you consider the Kalenjins during the Moi era but even then it was less the phenomena it is among the Luos and Kikuyus, again of the two, one is understandable and justifiable but the other one is not for reasons I will attempt to expound on in this piece.

When Kikuyus vote almost to a man for their own, the message is usually very clear: this thing is ours you would have to wrestle and pry it away from us as we are not just willingly going to give it up even for the sake of our country and if that means clinging to power by any means as was the case in 2007, so be it.

Fortunately, more and more progressive Kikuyus are rejecting this thinking as evinced by an emergence of a number of Kikuyu organizations championing inclusion, cohesion and national unity such as Kikuyus for Change and others.

Ditto for leaders from the region like Hon. Martha Karua who have publicly declared they’d rather work with Raila than support Uhuru merely because he is Kikuyu—a very commendable outlook on life more brothers and sisters from the area should embrace.

A good segment of “old moneyed” and former powerful leaders from the region have also rejected this thinking with some like the renowned former Attorney General Charles Njonjo outright declaring Raila tosha.

Others are prominent businessman and MP for Kiambaa Hon. Stanley Munga Githunguri and former Foreign Affairs Minister Dr. Munyua Waiyaki.

There are many others this writer is aware of who are waiting to publicly declare their support for Raila once the coast clears, so to speak.

There is a lot of chatter and noise these men and women would rather speak when they can be heard and that time is fast approaching.

Granted, many of these are from one side of the River Chania, even though Raila has not given up on reaching out to folk on the other side of the river.

Does this have anything to do with bibiki cia Kenyatta itikariinga Chania (the Presidential motorcade outriders will never cross the River Chania, i.e. the Presidency would never go to Nyeri?)

No one can be in the minds of these politicians to know exactly what motivates them to take the position they have with respect to Raila but it is quite logical and proper to say no, this has nothing to do with the rivalry between the two cousins from Kiambu and Nyeri primarily because there is no one from Nyeri seriously vying and Kibaki himself has been rather coy as to publicly declare who he supports, even though one can easily put two and two together to know who his project is.

A good case can be made that project is, in fact, dead and Kibaki and Co must be scrambling to figure out what to do next as the Raila train rumbles on to the intended destination of State House.

Now, a more convincing case can be made these wealthy and influential men from Kiambu are simply making a statement enough of the “we must vote for our own win or lose” mentality and are saying it’s about time we all as Kenyans voted for our leaders on the basis of their leadership ability rather than where they hail from.

This is a message Raila has been driving home for years and the fact these men have heeded it partly because of Raila’s efforts to reach out to them and partly because of their own volition and belief, speaks volumes as to what to expect in the new Kenya and in particular come 2013 elections.

Raila has been reaching out not just to these wealthy and influential men and women from the former Central, he has also consistent with who he is done and continues to do a good job in reaching out and delivering a message of hope to the very poor and those struggling to make ends meet from the region whose desires and needs are no different from the rest of the country he hopes to transform for the better and for good if Kenyans once again give him the nod but be sworn this time as our next president.

Raila’s outreach efforts in Kikuyuland is no different than what he is doing in other regions of the country except obviously Luoland to make sure when the votes are counted in the first ballot, he garners enough votes to propel him to State House as our next president consistent with the constitutionally mandated 50% + 1 of the total votes cast in addition to carrying at least 25% of the vote in at least 24 of the 47 counties.

The thinking behind this strategy has to be there is no vote to ignore or take for granted—again, with the exception of the Luo vote for Raila which one may rightly and not unreasonably assume is his no matter what.

Which brings us to the question of whether Luos voting for Raila as a bloc is a desirable thing or is it a form of tribalism?

Luos voting as a bloc for Raila is not undesirable neither is it a form of tribalism for several reasons.

First, voting as a bloc is not necessarily a bad thing; what is bad or evil is the reason for doing so.

When Luos vote to the man for Raila, many may be voting for him simply because he is one of their own, which is wrong but it is equally the case Raila is actually the best qualified among all those vying so there is absolutely nothing wrong with Luos or any community for that matter voting to a man for him for doing otherwise one would have to vote for someone less qualified, which is wrong in by itself.

Second, a related reason why voting as bloc is not necessarily a bad thing is a leader cannot expect to have any serious impact or be taken seriously at the national level unless he can demonstrate his or her people who should know him or her best are behind his quest.

In the United States, a presidential candidate by the name Al Gore failed to capture the presidency in that country’s 2000 elections because he failed to carry his own home state of Tennessee, which forced the comical state of Florida chat examination in the hopes finding enough votes to give gore a majority but none were forthcoming so the US Supreme Court decided to appoint the not too brilliant George W Bush as president.

George W went on to serve two terms marked only in how unremarkable his presidency was other than digging Americans into a hole Obama has been trying to dig them out of ever since he took over as president.

In Kenya, the Mudavadi project was quickly dismissed by everyone even by those who conceived it because the man has proven to be a weak and indecisive leader who cannot even deliver a fraction of the Luhya vote to himself or to anyone, let alone the entire community.

The point being, to be taken seriously as a leader, one must show command and control of his own backyard vote—granted some get an excess of this love and support beyond the simple majority or even super-majority but one can’t blame them or their community for such support provided its grounded on substantive grounds such as their demonstrated leadership ability and not just mere tribal loyalty and this is precisely the case in Raila near total support in Luoland.

Third, unlike one community we know that has historically been adamant in not voting for none other than their own regardless of the prospects of that person winning, Luos have actually historically voted for ironically a presidential candidate from the same community that has historically not voted for anyone other than their own, which means their bloc voting is not based on a belief no one else is or can be president other than their own—a major distinction between benign and invidious bloc voting.

That being said, bloc voting is quickly becoming a thing of the past in all communities.

Abagusii, the most independent voter community in the country long ago rejected the idea of bloc voting and have for all seriously contended presidential elections split their votes.

Nearly all other communities—and again I am here excepting the Luo will genuinely split their vote.

Even the Kikuyus who are the exact opposite when it comes to split voting will this time around split their vote regardless of whether Uhuru vies or not such that those not from the region who have been courting their votes (read Raila) will harvest a good chunk of votes from there to make a difference not only numerically electorally speaking but the outcome will change the nature and style of politics forever.

The Kalenjin are also poised to split their vote with Raila being the net benefactor unless Ruto joins him in which case we are talking a landslide victory for Raila come 2013 much as was the case in 2007.

Were Ruto not to join Raila, the PM has made and continues to make sufficient progress in regaining lost ground in the region such that when all is said and done, common sense and practical politics would have ensured his carrying of a significant chunk of the vote there to again make a difference in propelling him to State House whether Ruto joins him or not.

A good indicator of that was his meeting over the weekend with more than 600 Kalenjin elders from North Rift Valley where he was jubilantly joined by Kosgey, Kosgey and Bett, which sounds like a good firm name and they are, indeed, a good team that exudes confidence in delivering a good and significant portion of the vote from the whole Rift Valley region.

Ruto had better take note and act wisely in joining them or be left leaking his own self-inflicted wounds.

Same analysis holds true for the Luhya community, which is equally poised to split its vote in favor of Raila.

Notice how no one is pleading with Mudavadi to return to ODM much as some of us are pleading with Ruto to do so.

This is because it’s a foregone conclusion Mudavadi cannot make a difference in anyone vying for the presidency, including himself.

There are a number of abana ba ingo who are quite capable of delivering the Luhya vote compared to Mudavadi and those are the ones to watch how they proceed even though thus far their posture is again in favor of Raila.

Even if one were to remove all these ancillary factors such as who is aligned with who in Luyland, in a head to head match-up between Raila and Mudavadi for the Luyya vote, Raila wins handsomely and hands down.

So does Raila win in any match-up against anyone nationally and thus the reason for this breathless efforts to gang-up against him.

What stands in the way of these gang mentality is the people’s resolve not to bloc vote as previously.

Much as the Kikuyus, Kales and Luhyas will not bloc vote in 2013, the rest of the communities will follow suit—again benefitting Raila who is the only candidate who has seriously and genuinely mounted a 47-county campaign strategy as opposed to his opponents who as noted above either individually or collectively only talk of ganging up against him or otherwise simply trying to block him from becoming president instead of making the case why they are better than he—a strategy one can understand because they cannot make such a case.

The split-voting discussed here should not be confused by the various efforts underway to split communities in favor of some preferred candidate by those so scheming as that type of conniving, too, is destined to fail much as the tribal arithmetic and mentality shall in the new Kenya.

In sum, a Raila presidency will mean an end to tribalism as we know it and an ushering in of a new pattern of voting in Kenya.

That’s not a small order, given we have tribalism so entrenched even those who are or claim to be educated and/or well informed are cursed with the vice to hear them defend their tribal based politics and beliefs in the guise of offering an opinion is unnerving save for the faith and belief many otherwise progressive minds have that even they shall sooner than later come to see the light of day and shun the backwardness.

That will be the day we shall all join forces in building a much more prosperous and peaceful nation.

Meanwhile, having Raila and other reform minded individuals and leaders elected or re-elected to office—as the case may be shall begin the journey toward that noble end; an end those of us speeding past middle age will live to witness and certainly a phenomena all of us must agree has to be the in thing for our children and in infinity.

I am talking about charting a course for our beloved country free of ukabila and negative ethnicity save for where it’s necessary such as cultural preservation and only and only then.

Okay, at least charting a course for our beloved country more free of ukabila and negative ethnicity as one would have to resign there are those unfortunately who may not as easily shake the vice.

That’s my prayer.

 

Congratulations To Prime Minister Raila Odinga For Looking After the Education of Our Children

Let’s all join in congratulating the Right Hon. Prime Minister Raila Odinga and MP for Langata for yet again another development success story this one in his individual capacity involving continued improvement of educational opportunities in Kibera.

The Raila Education Center, one of the many initiatives and projects undertaken by Raila in his individual capacity and as a way of contribution back to society, is set to build a new ultra-modern school at the center.

The new school will be a center of academic excellence and will admit students from the East Africa region who will have the Research, Innovation, Science, Engineering and Math (RISEM) driven education as their foundation.

During the during the ground-breaking ceremony at the center in Kibera this week, Prime Minister Raila Odinga revealed that the education center will be built in three phases.

The first phase includes the construction of 14 classrooms and a girls’ hostel.

A state-of-the-art library and laboratory will be put up in the second phase.

Finally, a sports academy will be built, which is expected to double the number of students at the center.

The center currently has more than 1,116 children in its primary and secondary school, 64% of who are orphans from informal settlements.

About Raila Educational Centre

The Raila Educational Centre (REC) is located in the heart of Kibera, a slum with an estimated population of approximately 500,000 situated on less than 5% of Nairobi’s land mass.

While many families cannot afford to pay school fees, REC provides students with opportunities and a quality education to uplift themselves out of their current conditions.

Where a sense of hopelessness is common throughout the Kibera slum, REC students are resilient and strive for academic excellence and to become well rounded individuals.

Raila Educational Centre aims to:

Provide quality education for students from vulnerable backgrounds

• Offer support to ensure academic achievement and personal growth
• Develop well rounded students who excel in academics as well as in extracurricular activities
• Provide students with opportunities and resources
• Prepare students for university and to compete in a global market
• Train and develop staff to enable students’ academic achievement
• Improve infrastructure

Given the inadequacies in public schools infrastructure, REC provides access to education wherein students are able to enroll in the school to undertake both their primary and secondary education.

In addition, there is a free lunch program, provided by First Love organization, to ensure students have a good balanced diet, critical for their development and academic success.

Again, let’s commend the PM for these worthy accomplishments and wish him success as he continues to provide leadership in achieving even more success for all Kenyans.