The Mt Kenya Times 
Azimio La Umoja-One Kenya Coalition leader Raila Odinga
By: Joseph Mutua Ndonga
Worth Noting:
- The situation was so bad during the Kibaki presidency. After shaking hands with him and taking up the position of the Prime Minister, he immediately started to sabotage and derail Kibaki’s economic and development agenda.
- Kenyans would not, therefore, reap from the unity deal he had signed with him that ended two months of the deadly post-election violence.
- According to Gachagua, the Mt Kenya region will never forget how he frustrated their son. I have spoken with a number of people drawn from this region and they fully concur with him. Gachugua is just reminding us the obvious.
- At the back of his mind, Raila thought this card will help him to succeed Kibaki in 2013 but he never made it.
A few days ago, the Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua in a bare-knuckled attack renewed his onslaught against Azimio La Umoja-One Kenya Coalition leader Raila Odinga.
Speaking in presence of the president William Ruto at a church service in Embu, he said: Mr President, we the people of Mount Kenya gave you a huge chunk of votes that catapulted you to power.
The position of our people has not changed. They do not want that old man-Raila Odinga- to join or serve any role in our government. We are seeing him from angle 18 and we know the reasons why he is calling for mass action. This has nothing to do with championing the interest and rights of downtrodden
He is pushing you simply because he thinks you can bend to his political machinations and force you to share the government. He used the same tricks to arm-twist President Mwai Kibaki in 2007 and later president Uhuru Kenyatta in 2017 and eventually managed to secure Nusu Mkate [half bread]. Apart selling the fear to them, he never added any value to their administrations.
The situation was so bad during the Kibaki presidency. After shaking hands with him and taking up the position of the Prime Minister, he immediately started to sabotage and derail Kibaki’s economic and development agenda.
Kenyans would not, therefore, reap from the unity deal he had signed with him that ended two months of the deadly post-election violence.
According to Gachagua, the Mt Kenya region will never forget how he frustrated their son. I have spoken with a number of people drawn from this region and they fully concur with him. Gachugua is just reminding us the obvious.
At the back of his mind, Raila thought this card will help him to succeed Kibaki in 2013 but he never made it.
For DP, President Ruto is not a coward. Mr Odinga is a tested person. So, he cannot allow him to join his government because he knows he would not add any value.
At this juncture, allow me give Raila unsolicited advice. If it is true mass action plan is meant to push Ruto to give you a nusu mkate [half bread], reconsider this decision.
President Ruto has been repeatedly stating. When President Uhuru and Raila Odinga led handshake was running the government, we did not know what kind of leadership it was while arguing it was not adding any value to Kenyans.
At one point during the campaign he traveled to the United Kingdom [UK] and in his presentation at Chatham House, he described it as a ‘mongrel kind of thing’.
I want to promise you that if I win this election this will change. We shall have the government and the opposition as separate outfits and each will play their distinct roles of serving the people of Kenya.
Ruto has maintained this position since he was sworn-in. Raila should take advantage of this and ensure the law is amended to create a strong opposition.
A friend of mine told me chances are high that his political orphans were behind the push for Nusu Mkate. Most of them lost the elections and hence they had no jobs. So, it is about personal survival without caring for Raila’s legacy.
If Raila falls to their trap, this is what is likely to happen. Many Kenyans will turn blind eye to his long history of fighting for second liberation. They will view him as a greedy person out to satisfy his personal and selfish interests. This is at the expense of their livelihoods. If the mass action turns violent, they will lose properties and this will disrupt the efforts of Ruto-led Kenya Kwanza government to rebuild our economy.
Their parting shot: Raila is now an old man and previous reports indicate he has been experiencing health complications. He has fought a good fight. He should now call it a day, nurture and pass the baton to other leaders in his coalition.
Joseph Mutua Ndonga is a writer and political commentator based in Nairobi
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