Ruto, Raila Should Sidestep Their Hardliners, Hold Dialogue

By: Joseph Mutua Ndonga

Worth Noting:

• As the two maintained hardline stances, the international community would no longer sit and watch the continuation of the bloody confrontations and loss of lives.
• The super powers led by the US played a key role in setting up a committee of eminent persons and picked former Secretary General Koffi Annan as the chair.
• The mediation team managed to broker a breakthrough deal two months after two months. By then, 1,333 Kenyans had lost thier lives and properties worth billions destroyed.
• Many Kenyans believed this violence could have been avoided if Kibaki and Raila agreed to swallow their pride, cede hardline stances and engage in one-on-one talks of reconciliation and national healing.

I have been following closely the ongoing demonstrations called by Azimio La Umoja-One Kenya Coalition leader Raila Odinga.

One thing is very clear. The country is going in the wrong direction and there is need for the two main protagonists- President William and Raila Odinga-to cede hardline stances for the sake of peace, stability and development of our country.

The leaders should always bear this in mind. The country is more important than an individual.

Without peace, the economy bore the greatest brunt as the sectors that stimulate and serve as anchors of the economic growth are targeted.

Allow me to mention a number of key negative impacts of mass action.

One, businesses are shut down because of fear of looting and destruction of properties.

Two, no foreign investor will agree to invest in a country that is known and popular for holding demonstrations.

Three, three-quarters of raw materials used in Kenya’s industries is imported.

As some of the shipping companies put on hold thier operations, the local   transport is also affected.

Remember these materials are supposed to be picked at port of Mombasa and transported through the roads to their destinations.

It is also worth to note Kenya is losing business to Tanzania. This is because our neighboring countries which are land locked are using the port of Dar-es-Salamu to import thier goods.

Before The Demonstrations Started, They Were Using The Port Of Mombasa

The flow of the tourists who brings the badly needed foreign currencies has also reduced drastically.

In the first day of the demonstration, the Deputy President Rigathi Gichagua announced that the country lost Sh2 billion.

He called on Azimio leader and his brigade to call off the demonstrations but this fell on deaf ear.

Raila insisted that the demos will continue and he escalated this by adding another day.

He claimed he was responding to public demands. The demos will now be held twice a week-Mondays and Thursdays.

At this juncture, I want to say this. This is not the first time we are witnessing these episodes of demonstrations and violent confrontations.

In the aftermath of 2007 and 2017 general elections, the script was the same.

In the former, the situation degenerated into an almost full blown war. Hell broke loose moments after President Mwai Kibaki was declared the winner of the hotly contested elections.

Raila Odinga of ODM, who was his main competitor, outrightly rejected the results.

He said he had won this elections but he was rigged out. He rejected calls to pursue the matter in court and called on his supporters to come out in large numbers to fight for their rights.

The judiciary is totally compromised. It is serving the interest of President of Kibaki and his handlers. In various occasions, he referred Kibaki as ‘illegitimate’ head of state.

As the two maintained hardline stances, the international community would no longer sit and watch the continuation of the bloody confrontations and loss of lives.

The super powers led by the US played a key role in setting up a committee of eminent persons and picked former Secretary General Koffi Annan as the chair.

The mediation team managed to broker a breakthrough deal two months after two months. By then, 1,333 Kenyans had lost thier lives and properties worth billions destroyed.

Many Kenyans believed this violence could have been avoided if Kibaki and Raila agreed to swallow thier pride, cede hardline stances and engage in one-on-one talks of reconciliation and national healing.

Well, after the two agreed to sign the National Peace Accord and hold joint rallies across the country to reconcile Kenyans, they seemed unaware of a key hurdle that lied ahead of them.

This happened during the formation of the grand coalition government based on 50-50 power sharing.

Their respective hardliners would not give them a peace of mind.

The sharing of the top government slots-particularly cabinet ministers and permanent secretaries-stood out as the main cause of the splits.

At one points, President Kibaki and Raila, the designate Prime Minister, opted to keep off the hardliners.

The retreated to Sagana State Lodge and managed to come up with a lineup of thier government.

I would expect President Ruto and Azimio leader to borrow a leave from this.

Sidestep the hardliners. They get relevance when things go wrong. They don’t care about the country.

I have been listening to Raila’s demands and in my considered view only one that is legitimate.

This is the one touching on the high cost of living.

I’m not holding brief for the President but I tends to believe he may not have any problem discussing this issue with him.

However, I know Ruto will ask him two questions. Why are inciting Kenyans against me? Why can’t you tell them the truth? That you  contributed largely  to the mess of the high cost of living when you served as the core principal of the ‘handshake’ government together with then President Uhuru Kenyatta.

This is the mess I’m correcting. I told you to give me time. You have refused.  Now, tell me how we are going to fix it in one day.

For ‘Nusu Mkate’, forget it. I defeated you. Stick to your role of the opposition.

Joseph Mutua Ndonga is a writer and political analyst based in Nairobi

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