ODM leader Raila Odinga at a past event
By: Gitau wa Kûng’û
Worth Noting:
- The de facto ODM party leader decades’ long role and position in Kenya’s political arena indomitably makes a man with a heart of iron and the will of a hunting lion.
- His sycophantic, parasitic circle has juxtaposed him with the Biblical Joshua taking Kenya to the Canaan of Mau Mau freedom fighters’ dreams. Yet, it makes him a Joshua with a head as hard as his heart of iron. His proclaimed mission of “unburdening Kenya from the yokes of corruption, perverted democracy, and bad governance” has been sweet to the hopeful ears but sour to reality. The blame?
- His strategy team has failed to uncover a potent campaign strategy to quench Kenya’s thirst for the corruption-free, super economy of the democracy revolutionist.
Monotony is mutinous to motivation, even in revolutions. The longest serving leader of opposition and 1997, 2007, 2013, 2017, and 2022 presidential aspirant Hon Raila Odinga must yield to the practicality of reality.
Pulling the monotonous card of mass demonstrations against “stolen elections” in 2023 paints a fading picture of an aging leader of opposition’s embittered exeunt from the stage of competitive politics. It makes the former Prime Minister in the infamous H.E. Mwai Kibaki’s “Nusu Mkate” coalition government (2007-2013), an unstudious, power-obsessed, perverted, disillusioned revolutionist!
The de facto ODM party leader decades’ long role and position in Kenya’s political arena indomitably makes a man with a heart of iron and the will of a hunting lion.
His sycophantic, parasitic circle has juxtaposed him with the Biblical Joshua taking Kenya to the Canaan of Mau Mau freedom fighters’ dreams. Yet, it makes him a Joshua with a head as hard as his heart of iron. His proclaimed mission of “unburdening Kenya from the yokes of corruption, perverted democracy, and bad governance” has been sweet to the hopeful ears but sour to reality. The blame?
His strategy team has failed to uncover a potent campaign strategy to quench Kenya’s thirst for the corruption-free, super economy of the democracy revolutionist.
First, he’s the man with a knack for retelling his role in the birthing of multiparty politics in 1994 even to unbothered 21st century born audiences after throwing a ‘kitendawili.’ However, he poorly invests in drawing a picture of a digital future for the tender electorates.
Secondly, he has failed to expand and galvanise his strongholds beyond Nyanza.
He has played well the case of Machiavellian prince whose reliance on hired mercenaries pushes him and forsakes him right at the centre of the enemy lines. His former deputy in the coalition government Musalia Mudavadi, Former CORD and NASA principal M. Wetang’ula who rallied the Western block behind him are now powerful people in the ruling KK government. His Coast mercenary Hassan Joho is nowhere to rally Coast behind him. Charity Ngilu has also gone into the woods and so is Isaac Ruto.
I’d compel Raila to heed to his proactive S. African counterpart in leading the opposition. Raila should indeed hang the boots and pass on the baton to the young generation. An aging hero has no admirers!
Otherwise, if Raila remains adamant, his loyal ground support will also get rebellious and boo the old man to his political cardiac fall. I bet that in such an eventuality, the young rebels in his backyard would play a script as that of Bobby Seale and Huey Newton and make ODM like the Black Panther Party of the US in 1960s. That is, if the younger brood will be smart enough!
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