Odinga sets pace for opposition politicians

What you need to know:

  • Raila may have mutated fast enough to expose a heart different from what his outside countenance reflect; he was seen as a man of endless hunger for power and insensitivity to the plight of Kenyans.
  • Dr Besigye should take the honours and give up his false claim to people power for the good of Africa.

Last week, Kenya celebrated a reawakening in its politics when president Uhuru Kenyatta and opposition leader Raila Odinga buried their political hatchet and vowed to work together for their country’s advancement. Odinga had been holding out as “people’s president” after swearing himself in on January 30, a move that was widely condemned and reviewed as a mere show of ego. Personally, I predicted that Odinga wouldn’t get to State House on that ticket and that he was turning himself into a laughing stock.

Odinga had been misled by a coalition of disjointed figures and a crowd of anarchists to believe that Kenya’s government would crumble under the weight of political gimmickry. The Uhuru government paid a blind eye to the jokes and laughed down its spine. I suspect there were emissaries of government speaking to Raila behind-the-scenes and yet still he might have been sending signals suing for peace and suggesting inclusion in the country’s affairs. In fact, the swearing in itself was such a signal calling for attention.

Raila may have mutated fast enough to expose a heart different from what his outside countenance reflect; he was seen as a man of endless hunger for power and insensitivity to the plight of Kenyans. People had died at his instigation, including a small boy, Geoffrey Mutinda, who was shot during NASA protests over elections. A man of his record, spanning close to 40 years of activism, and from a legendary family of Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, who himself missed out on Kenya’s presidency inexplicably, threatened to erode any image of statesmanship and proven to be an arch enemy of democracy. Uhuru won the election, clean and out; on both occasions.
In fact, Uhuru not been committed to stability and peace in Kenya, he could have ordered some extreme measures in regard to the man who had become a thorn in his foot. But Uhuru is a democrat, a man who listens to wisdom and whose aim is for regional stability and to maintain his father, Jomo Kenyatta’s legacy. He is now on his way to greatness.
Raila should be true to his heart and uphold the values that drove him to drop all pretences to power and chart a common path for Kenya. In my mind, I feel that a position can be found for him to serve his country, yet it should not always be about positions but simply knowing when to concede when things don’t go one’s way.

He is already a great man. Some call him baba (father). He can set a sharp example for other opposition wanters in Africa and how to lose graciously. There is no ventilator to sneak into power through but pure mass appeal and endorsement.
If Kenya has done it, Uganda can do it. After all, Raila was copying Dr Kizza Besigye when he took a comic oath and had claimed to have an active plan to get him to State House. May be he meant the way it turned out-for talks with the leadership.

President Museveni is unique in the way he approaches politics. That’s why he may easily rule for life. Faced with assumptive opposition, he runs an open policy akin to a governance of national unity. A man of the people, and being one among them, he respects everyone. A peasant can access him and speak his mind.

Despite Mr Museveni’s expertise and seniority, he counts on the common man and doesn’t pretend about his affinity with them. Nobody can take that away. He has people’s interests at heart and is closer to them than Dr Besigye will ever dream of.
Raila had more chances of a claim to universal appeal than his Ugandan counterpart so much so that his losing range was always narrow compared to Dr Besigye’s successive resounding defeats.