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Post by anyuola on Sept 24, 2005 20:37:20 GMT 3
AN OPEN LETTER TO HON. RAILA ODINGA
“Better is a poor and wise youth than an old foolish king, who will no longer take advice, even though he has gone from prison to the throne or in his own kingdom had been born poor”. Ecclesiastes chapter 3: 13 – 14.
Dear Sir,
RE: SALVATION, REDEMPTION AND LIBERTY
I salute you in the name of all the young men who lost their lives fighting for the liberty of their country. I further salute you in name of the widows and orphans who daily pray and hope for a better tomorrow. This letter is dedicated to them.
For a generation that opts to be blind when vision holds the key to progress is a wasted generation.
Similarly, should a leadership embark on incessant bigotry for selfish economic advances at the expense of the laboring masses it purports to represent, or should it appear to establish an exclusive political dynasty, or should it cripple critical thinking through the invention of sophisms around fictitious foes of day and mates by night, or should it engage in sophisticated corruption to consolidate its economic empire as the ultimate lever of power or should it unscrupulously manipulate the peoples fears through the creation of a false communal siege, or should it reward sycophancy yet ban principled patriotic action, then that leadership has no space in history’s register of honor. That is the leadership of the gin gin gin.
In retrospect, our history is replete with examples of great men who are eternally saluted for their stoic bravery, sagacity or exemplary leadership. Their place of honor is ever etched in the minds of our people. They include the likes of Odera Akango, Gero, Rabwogi Ondiro K’ Ochieng, Tao K’ Ogot, Okore K’ Ogonda, Gor Ogalo amongst other “Thuondi Luo”. They are the wan wan wan.
Their exploits contrast greatly with the ignominy of the likes of Okal Tako of the “dhira agora piny” infamy, Nyamgodho, Nyamuche, Nyamundhe and other reprobates.
The charisma of these great men incarnated chivalry and inspired scores of our young people to fight for justice and liberty.
From Kenyatta, Moi, to Kibaki, not a single fight for progressive change has occurred without Luo blood being shed. From the Kisumu massacre of ’69, to Ochuka’s ’82 four hour coup, to the Saba saba killings of Kisumu in 2005 inter-alia, over the campaign for the adoption of the “Bomas Draft” under the Kibaki government which you now serve as a minister.
Furthermore, should a leadership also demonstrate exceptional skill in the engineering of poverty amongst its own people through the ruthless transfer of community resources to itself, it is then also guilty of mass economic asphyxiation of an entire community. That is the height of gross betrayal! On the issue of poverty, I quote Nelson Mandela “Like slavery and apartheid, poverty is not natural. It is man-made and it can be overcome and eradicated by the actions of human beings. Overcoming poverty is not a gesture of charity. It is an act of justice”.
¨ The Luo thrift and Trading Co. and the Luo union E.A. - Assets valued at hundred of millions of shillings. The two form the largest real estate concerns in the entire Lake region. All assets assimilated into your familys company "Spectre" in total disregard to the community’s role in their establishment.
¨ The Kisumu Molasses plant - the largest industrial plant in the entire Lake region. Sits on 600 acres of land. Land market value, nearly Kshs. 300 million. Also assimilated from the people and its new owners are now set to control the sugar belt and its policies through it. It is a grim reminder that we as a community are mere chattels of negotiations for a family’s aggrandizement. Indeed it explains how the vast plains of Luo poverty surround mountains of individual wealth.
¨ The Rent-A Lake scam that intended to put the “Sango” exclusively into private hands. Its assimilation was only stopped after I blew the whistle. The Lake is our identity and is therefore sacred. No man would have dared touch the “Sango” without first “talking” to you. Not even the mercenary Kikuyu have dared hawk their sacred Mount Kenya. The control of the “Sango” would have marked the final seal for total assimilation of all communal resources available in Luo Nyanza today.
¨ Partnerships with the Asian business community have confirmed your leadership as hostage to class interests. A large section of this community in Kisumu and Kenya is guilty of socio – economic exclusion and has rejected all encompassing integration. To reward their mercenary exploits they have been offered three nominated seats at the Kisumu Municipal Council. No one knows what you were rewarding! Why should our leadership be “Indianized” by joining economic cartels when it ought to be “Luonizing” the monopolistically owned wealth? You appear to have done more for this lot than for the suffering Luo! To whom do people turn when you work in cahoots with perpetrators of ruthless forms of economic exploitation?
As a gesture of compassion, Income accruing from these communal assets should be placed in the hands of a trust of widows, orphans, and political youth members who are left to live woeful lives after being misused to force fabulous financial and political deals. Their anger will soon boomerang on your leadership. Indeed one cannot question their guiding principles for social equality and justice. They form our most disadvantaged social constituency and should have at least been captured in your political radar.
Indeed, it is high time we carried a comprehensive review of all political and economic unions that the community has been indulged in including the merger, the co-operation, the partnership, the still-born “Nyachae tosha”, the “Kibaki tosha” and who are the actual beneficiaries and losers.
The last general election 2002 was merely an opportunity to abuse the people’s trust and oversee the appointment of members of the dynasty to parliament. Non-relatives were compelled to purchase the party nomination certificates at exorbitant prices. One can only conclude that the grand plan is to turn Nyanza into a family serfdom complete with prefects and a firm resource base i.e.
Hon. Jakoyo Midiwo – first cousin and prefect of Siaya district, Hon. Gor Sunguh – brother-in-law and prefect of Kisumu district, Hon. Dr. Oburu Odinga – brother and prefect of Bondo district, Hon. Odhiambo Omamba – “father in law” and prefect of Migori district.
In short party nominations were nothing but a “banana” democratic exercise to legitimize and sanitize the selection of your rich friends and relatives.
Sadly, your merry band has focused all its energies on “dok eliete and liete”. This is a strategy in mass distraction through cultural emotion as a brand of opium for the dispossessed. While we respect our dead, your leadership appears to have no plan for the living poor of Luo Nyanza!
At ideological level, we witness a power politician whose political rhetoric is these days totally devoid of sympathies for the poor. One who has been reduced to a political broker and whose presidential ambitions are gone! There is no political strategy worth the lives of an entire people!
Furthermore, the famous M.O.U. should be redesigned to include; fishermen, orphans, widows, farmers, sugarcane cutters, “ngware riders” and all other hoi poloi who may not have been considered in the drafting of the initial agreement. Locally, all constituencies are advised to sign MOU’s with all political parties interested in their votes, including yours. This reality is meant to check against anybody who enters into agreements that promise individuals political posts under the guise of communal benefits. It is also meant to guard against individuals who misuse the community for their own selfish ends.
The Luo nation is crafted and constituted on a strong social base that stands challenged, as long as their exists glaring social contradictions. There are only two ethnic communities in Nyanza and Kenya. The dieing poor who cannot afford education, food, health or water, the wan wan wan and the fabulously wealthy that control their wealth, political pulse and destiny, the gin gin gin. Unfortunately all these inequities have been visited upon our people in the quiet fear of church leaders and politicians at large. It has to stop.
Recently, you initiated a process that culminated in the appointment of a spiritual and cultural leader for the Luo community. The abuse of the institution of “Ker” has led to a decline in its prestige amongst our people. The current holder of the position is seen more as a pillar in your quest for the preservation of your political dynasty than a community guide. At risk for us, is perhaps the relevance of one of the last surviving cultural institutions of our land.
Your tribe of the rich survives by creating a dependant “herd mentality” in its approach to community political mobilization. You preach the “trust and obey” creed to the mercilessly exploited poor and bind them to the hallucination of a non-existent ethnic destiny. As a community we are caught in the dilemma of who our real enemy is: Is it Mwai Kibaki who refused to honor the M.O.U. or is it those who have swallowed all the community’s assets and profits?
Lastly, the prevailing strangle hold of the gin gin gin can only be countered by the renewed vigor and unity of the wan wan wan, to achieve salvation and redemption.
We look forward to your “dwoko”.
En an Anyuola,
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Post by mimi on Sept 26, 2005 3:29:24 GMT 3
Very revealing but isn't this what we have tried to raise especially on the Molasses factory? How dare you let the late Bob Ouko die and his project die? Shame on you people for being hoarded like sheep to follow one person. Learn from other people who have learnt to assert themselves in the nation as individuals. Remember kikulasho humo nguoni mwako.
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Post by nakinson osare on Sept 27, 2005 2:35:12 GMT 3
Who told you all these misdemeanour in the luo land are being caused with Raila being your (our) leader, what was your last open letter to Mr Moi saying and of late did you ever manage writing to Mzee kibaki your everything role together against our Raila?.
Dont be stupid in fourth sence of Raila thing. you bloody foolish mujaluo...Ngege drunk mann same on you with your raila open stupid letter.
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Post by former Bowenite on Oct 10, 2005 23:11:36 GMT 3
just testing this Jukwaa
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Post by Bowenite on Oct 10, 2005 23:13:44 GMT 3
Hey, the jukwaa works and there is no cumbersome registration and logins
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Garibaldi Wa Gatheru
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Post by Garibaldi Wa Gatheru on Oct 12, 2005 10:55:47 GMT 3
Woe betide those doomsayers at RCB who predicted your demise. It is evident that you put your self-imposed exile into very good use. As for your open letter to Wuod Raila, I suggest you and Njeri maintain a low profile next time you visit Othumo, the Sango mafiaso is baying for your blood. The thorough public ass-whipping that Dalmas absorbed in the hands of fringe elements of the Sango Mafia should be fresh in your memory ! Be warned for you have crossed the line !!
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Caxton Wellington Oketch
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Post by Caxton Wellington Oketch on Nov 1, 2005 23:18:40 GMT 3
Next time you call home, tell the people not to fall for the Odinga family lullabies. These guys are herding Luos like sheep while they reap the profits.
Raila sold Luos to Moi, and then to Kibaki, then back to Moi. When he joined Kanu, he was given 300 acres of land for free. He was appointed a minister to enrich Sprectre.
He left Moi and herded Luos to Kibaki. He sold them for a ministerial post. He used it to give contracts to his companies and those of his cronies. Now he says Kibaki is not good and he is selling Luos to Kanu. He is already getting money from Moi and the British government. After he is done he will sell us to somebody else.
Tell our brothers back home to reevaluate their stand. Ask them what they have gained from Raila and the entire Odinga family. These guys are giving us a shaft.
They are busy receiving bribes to rig in unpopular leaders in Luoland. This must end now.
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Post by Ed on Nov 6, 2005 0:49:24 GMT 3
Raila has no birthright to be the Luo leader
THERE is no hate campaign being waged against Raila Odinga by anyone, least of them all, President Mwai Kibaki’s closest aides. Here is one fact. It is inconceivable for anyone to engage in a hate crusade against the Roads and Public Works minister particularly in Luoland as claimed by the Mbita MP. The simple reason is that such campaign will be bound to fail. Like him or hate him, the Lang'ata legislator has a fanatic if not a cult-like following in Luo-Nyanza, and those in the Diaspora. For Otieno Kajwang' to claim that President Mwai Kibaki’s closest ministers are bankrolling the hate campaign is preposterous. If I may ask, who in Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) allied to Raila would be so close to the State House to become privy to such “clandestine’ information if at all it exists? Secondly, what is there (really) to be bankrolled?
The war of words between Raila and the Information and Communications minister Raphael Tuju is a war for political supremacy in Luo politics, nothing more. In fact, what the Rarieda legislator and other like-minded leaders in the region really want is just to create democratic space for the Luo, hence the formation of the People’s Progressive Party. The democratic space for the Luo they passionately yearn for is the one their community has been deprived of since the emergence of Raila as the unelected community’s political supremo. The president’s closest ministers have nothing to do with that political war of words because they know it’s not their fight. Some of them have their own battles to fight at their respective regions.
It is a known fact that when the Mbita lawmaker speaks he is usually echoing the feelings and the thinking of none other than those of his Lang'ata counterpart. It is funny that Kajwang' (or is it Raila?) is the one making such claims now because not long ago, Raila himself publicly asserted that Tuju is a political nobody and not in his political league. Other Raila sympathizers’ (including Kajwang') claimed that the Information minister has dug his own political grave for opposing his Roads and Public Works counterpart. One might be tempted to ask: why worry for the actions of “a dead politician walking”—as they claimed Tuju is. It now appears that, the youthful minister has stood up his ground on Raila like others (in LDP) did before him. Tuju might not have become a serious political threat to Raila in Nyanza but he is getting closer to achieving such status where many before him had failed. This is something that many will agree was unthinkable a few months ago, as the fall of the Berlin wall before it fell.
It should be recalled that before the fall of the communist Union of Soviet Socialist Republic (USSR) “Empire,” everyone thought that the late United States President Ronald Reagan, who eventually brought down the communist empire and the disintegration of the communist regime, was wasting his time in his political war against the Soviet Union. Reagan won the day and today some of the former Soviet republics are fledging and vibrant independent democratic countries with a capita income better than some of other European countries. These are important political science lessons some of our political leaders in Kenya can and will ignore at their own peril.
The politics that subscribe to the motto: “you are either in the ‘Team Raila’ or you are against the Luo community” are political strategies that have failed elsewhere before. United States President George Bush tried that strategy on the war on terror where “you were either with the United States or against them” when it came to the international war on terror. The fact remains that without the serious help from countries, both large and small, rich and poor, populous and sparsely populated, the war against Al Qaeda and other terror groups will be a long one and cannot be won. That is why President Bush toned down his rhetoric and is now seeking every help his country can get to combat the menace for the betterment of not only United States but the entire free world.
Kajwang' should not drag the names of Njenga Karume, Maina Kamanda and others in this personal political war of words. The fact the Special Projects minister ditched Kibaki presidential campaign during the countdown of the 2002 election, has nothing to with the Luo politics, or on the war of words between Raila and Tuju. Whatever happened between the president and his longtime confidante and friend happened. It is human. No one is questioning Raila and Kalonzo Musyoka in their political marriage with William Ruto and other Daniel arap Moi’s Administration political hawks from Rift Valley. That is the game of politics.
The recent violence in Nyanza was not started by the “Yes” vote campaign group as they—the “Yes” vote camp—had their meeting disrupted by the “No” vote supporters. The “No” vote bigwigs might not have sanctioned their sympathizers’ disruption plan or send them to disrupt Tuju-led 'Yes' vote campaign meeting in Kisumu, but they must have been privy to their supporters plans. They might deny any prior knowledge of their supporters plans but they ought to have known and they had the power to stop them before they disrupted the meeting that caused lost of innocent lives. For instance, who will refuse the existence of Raila’s influence to the Luo Council of Elders action of opposing any future Yes vote campaign meetings in Luoland because the community has already taken its stand on the referendum. Kenya is a free country and it shall remain free before, during and after the referendum and so will the Luo.
Boldly speaking Raila Odinga (akae akijua) that he does not have a birthright to lead the Luo community. Leadership is not a birthright, it is earned and in some occasions it is also lost. Tuju once said: “Let nobody cheat Luos that they are a special lot different from the rest of Kenyans. They must be ready to work with other people and curve a new image as responsible people.” This is a statement from a true leader with his people’s interest at heart .
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Post by Matunda on Nov 7, 2005 8:29:34 GMT 3
Corruption in the 2002 NARC Nominations
Minister Tuju made a bold statement a few days ago to which there has been little or no response. In discussing how he came to be the NARC candidate for Rarieda, he suggested that the Luo Nyanza kingpin, Raíla Odínga, got "something" in return for ensuring Tuju's candidacy.
That there was corruption in the 2002 NARC nominations has been an open secret. An open secret that no one has talked about openly to date.
Tuju's allegations are clearly intended to hurt his nemesis, Raíla Odínga. And if there is truth to the allegations, i.e. that Raíla personally benefitted or looked the other way in the implied bribery, then Kenyans need to know the truth. And for a number of reasons:
- Raíla is a key player in the campaign for change in the country; and corruption is one thing that any leader must be prepared to deal with. In fact with his influence and impact on government, the minister should not only come clean but also demonstrate that he is squeak clean; and that once he becomes prime minister or president, which he is gunning for, he would offer clean government; it is unlikely that a corrupt individual can offer clean government!
- Raíla and the Orange team have made a lot of fuss about Murungaru, the minister of transport. The latter, who has been banned from the UK and USA, is a man that should have long resigned or fired from the cabinet. He remains an embarassment to Kenyans who thought that corruption will start to taper with the arrival of the new government. That said, those pointing fingers at Murungaru should demonstrate that they are different; and that once they hold keys to power they will not perpetuate the same corruption we are seeing in the current government. If indeed Raíla and his cohorts were bribed or demanded bribes to tamper with NARC nominations, Kenyans should treat them with suspicion.
- Corruption is a two-way process; Tuju's allegations suggest that he played a part in this process of giving "something" to Raíla. Kenyans should demand that Tuju reveals what this "something" was and whether or not it benefitted Raíla personally and also whether or not Raíla was aware of it. Tuju should come clean and spill the beans. If there is no truth in this allegation, Tuju should be asked to shut up and debate in material points pertaining to the referendum.
I don't want to judge who is telling the truth until all facts are published. However, it is interesting that since Tuju's allegations were made in public, there hasn't been denial from those alleged to have perpetuated this corruption. It is also interesting that anti-corruption crusaders in the Orange team (Kalonzo Musyoka, Otieno Kajwang', Prof Anyang' Nyong'o, amont others) have been silent on this matter. They should take their Orange leader to task the same way they have been challenging Murungaru and Mwiraria!
Corruption is corruption, no matter the perpetrator and no matter whether it is to do with public or private resources. The alleged corruption in NARC, if true, subverted democratic process, replacing winners with losers! It denied Kenyans in Rarieda, and perhaps other parts of the country, true representation in parliament. In a word, the alleged corruption, if true, resulted in fraudulent elections.
Kenyans should demand that the affected politicians come clean.
Matunda Nyanchama
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Post by kioko on Nov 7, 2005 8:51:36 GMT 3
I have looked at the responses being generated by this topic and I am disappointed that Luos have once again ganged up to rubbish the article without any fidelity to facts. I argued with statistics from the Electoral commission of Kenya. Why can't the Luos responders look at the same data and show us how I misinterpreted it? Once again, Raila Luo supporters are proving to all and sundry that truth is anathema to them. The same way they don't want to read the draft constitution, or are reading it selectively, is the same way that my article was read.
I will reapeat it again. In 2002, Raila, having been hounded out of KANU by Moi's antics, saw the winner, and, as someone wrote the other day, brought a rap CD for people to boggie to. That's all he did - provide a song that he had not produced himself, yet another instance of Raila using other people to advance his political ambitions. Were these young people paid for the use of their song, I wonder?
No one is denying that Raila enlivened the 2002 campaigns. After all, he was the one who brought the catchy song. He also brought the soccer idiom, sending everyone into pyroxisms of laughter. If this man wanted to be the executive prime minister of comedy, why, the position is his for the taking!
What Raila does not realize is that Kenyans are not fools. They can see right through this veneer of bonhomie, right to his empty, blindly ambitious, scorched-earth heart. That is why they laugh at his rallies, but vote with their feet - away from him.
A lot of desperate Luo responders to my article are hinging all of their hopes on the coming referendum. They have once again worked themselves into both a range and a baseless conviction that Raila will come to power after the referendum. There is a lot of talk that that if NO wins, the government will resign. Other conjencture involves an "Orange" revolution if YES wins.
What those who are sold this idea forget is that Nairobi is not Kiev or Manila. No government worth its name will allow a takeover of an elected government by force of arms or force of civil disobedience. Even Moi could not have allowed it to happen, precisely why it never happened.
And another thing. Luos cannot just hope to come to Nairobi and do what they did in Kisumu. The people of Nairobi will not allow it; even the Luos of Nairobi will be against the violent Luos.
So Raila is once again teetering on the blink of failure, irrespective of the outcome of the referendum.
As a result, we ought to be considering what next for him. Personally, I don't see him changing tactics. He cannot hoodwink anyone anymore. He cannot, for instance, offer to dissolve his LDP and join NARC as people clearly remember his sojourn in KANU under the guise of NDP.
Which African proverb says that if fire burns too much it denies itself meat? This is what Raila has done. He has exposed himself. He is now a known quantity. No more tricks.
So I guess he will continue to harangue Kenyans about change. Fortunately, he will be doing so outside government. This will be a good thing. It will allow him to politick as much as he wants without enjoying a package of benefits from the very government he aims to destabilize.
It will also give him a headstart in the 2007 elections. Which he will lose again to whoever succeeds Kibaki. In 2012, Raila will be as old as his father was in 1992 and there will be other more promising leaders.
Sorry Tinga. You were never meant to lead Kenya. jkkioko
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Post by kioko on Nov 7, 2005 22:22:01 GMT 3
Did Raila Really Win the 2002 Election for Kibaki?
It is widely held that Raila Odinga won the 2002 election for Kibaki. The myth goes that since Kibaki had lost previous elections to Moi, in 1992 and in 1997, then he was not going to win in 2002. He only won because of Raila’s help, the myth goes. We are constantly reminded that towards the 2002 election, Kibaki was involved in a car accident which literary finished him off, and certainly took him off the campaign trail.
It is at this moment when Raila declared that the football game must go on even if the captain was injured. This was reminscent of his father, Jaramogi Odinga Oginda stating that Kenya cannot be independent unless Kenyatta was released from prison by the colonial authorities.
Since then, Raila has never let an opportunity pass without claiming credit for the 2002 victory, and without reminding Kibaki that he won that election for him.
So did Raila really win this election for Kibaki?
I would be first person to perpetuate this myth if Raila had been fair to Kibaki which he has not. Because he has chosen to play hardball, subjecting the country to unnecessary suspense for no apparent reason, myths that he has actively constructed must now be deconstructed.
After being lured to join KANU by Moi, Raila had by 2002, been boxed to a corner by the same Moi. Having joined KANU with the promise and hope that he would be the presidential candidate in 2002, Moi trashed whatever MOU existed between him and Raila, and declared that Uhuru would be the presidential candidate.
As can be expected, Raila was raving mad, and decided to bolt. Together with other pissed off KANU types such as Kamotho and Saitoti, who had himself been passed over when he was told “wee prefessor keti chini!” in Kasarani, and others like Kalonzo who had been serving dictatorship in the hope that they would be nominated, they left KANU. They started holding a series of meeting to decide who amongst themselves would be the presidential candidate.
Kalonzo, Saitoti, Raila, Kamotho? They could not agree.
At that time, Kibaki, Wamalwa and Ngilu, had already achieved the elusive opposition unity that had eluded them for a decade. It is important to note that these three would have garnered for their presidential candidate nearly 50% of the national population just by relying on their communities – the GEMA, Abaluhya and Kamba – alone.
So, with the promise of 50 % of the national population, what really did Raila bring?
To believe that Raila brought the rest of the vote needed to elevate Kibaki beyond the bar, is to believe that Raila was responsible for the fate of the rest of the national support. It is to believe also that Saitoti, Kalonzo, Ntimama, and others who left Moi did not exercise sway over their own supporters. It is also to believe that these people were beholden to Raila and were bound to do exactly what Raila told them to do.
Wouldn’t it be more sensible to believe that if Raila had the support of these people, he would have gone for the presidency himself?
The fact is, they were all suspicious of him, and they were ready to give their support to anyone rather than Raila.
Hence when the idea came up that Kibaki could be supported, these leaders were relieved. Kibaki, therefore, benefitted from a protest vote against Raila, and so in that sense, Raila assisted him to win. I concede that point without a fight.
What is important to realize is that having left KANU, and being wary of being called a spoiler again after what he did to FORD, Raila did not really have a choice but to join the now already united opposition. Contrary to common perception, Raila did not solve the problem of opposition unity which had dogged the Kenyan opposition since multipartysim – he merely joined the unity that was already very advanced. People would not have forgiven him if he had done otherwise.
Moreover, in Raila’s own calculations, Kibaki was weak and easy to deal with compared to Moi; he figured it would be easy to remove him from power. Thus he made the same mistake that Njonjo made of assuming that Moi was a “passing cloud.”
But what do the numbers show? The results of the 1997 general election were as follows:
Daniel T. arap Moi (KANU) 40.12 % Mwai Kibaki (DP) 31.09 % Raila Odinga (NDP) 10.20 % Michael Wamalwa (FORD-Kenya) 8.29 % Charity Ngilu (SDP) 7.71 %
This means that Kibaki, Wamalwa and Ngilu, assuming that their popularity had had remained constant in the intervening period, could have been expected to rake in 47.09 % of the total vote.This means also that without counting support from Raila, it was possible for Kibaki with the support of Wamalwa and Ngilu, to have won 47.09 % of the total vote.
Notice another fact: in 2002, Moi was barred by the constitution from contesting. He was out of running. The new KANU candidate, whoever he was going to be, was not guaranteed to get the 40.12 % that Moi received in 1997. Anybody else Moi would have foisted would have had to compete with Kibaki who had better credentials as an outsider, and who was, presumably, going to start with a 47.09 % vote.
This means that if Moi had respected the MOU between him and Raila and decreed that Raila be the presidential candidate, Raila would have faced a much stronger Kibaki than the Kibaki of the 1997. And Kibaki beat Raila soundly in 1997.
The fact that Raila got 10.10 % of the total national presidential vote in 1997 is also important. It shows that this percentage corresponds with the total Luo population which is at 13 %. In all fairness, this is the vote that Raila would have been expected to deliver to Kibaki in 2002.
Was he able to deliver this vote? Let us interrogate the 2002 election results further.
Kibaki received 279,683 votes in Nairobi, 701,916 votes in Central, 748,273 in Eastern, 34,916 in North Eastern, 228,913 in Coast, 626,266 in Rift Valley, and 507,386 in Western. This adds up to a total of 2,847,949 votes out of the total 5,869,788 cast, or 48.5 % of the total votes cast, which corresponds nicely with the 47.09 % vote Kibaki would have got with the support of only Wamalwa and Ngilu based on their 1997 support levels.
Raila’s Luo Nyanza gave Kibaki a total of 509,965 votes. No one is discounting this vote as insignificant. As a total of all the votes that Kibaki got, this adds up to 14 %. However, it is clear that despite the existing euphoria, the Luo did not vote enthusiatically for Kibaki. According to Electoral Commission of Kenya, Nyanza had 1,564,675 registered voters in 2002, out of which only 856,837 voted. Of this, Nyachae took 270, 159 (31.5 %), Uhuru 66,162 (7.7%), Orengo 9,467 (1.1 %), and Ng’ethe 1,084 (0.1%). In other words, a total of 346, 872 votes in Nyanza were given to someone else other than Kibaki – under Raila’s watch. In all, a total of 707, 838 votes in Nyanza, or nearly half, an usually high number, were not used, despite Raila’s supposed spirited campaign for Kibaki. You can expect that the Kisii, the other big community in Nyanza, voted for their man, Nyachae, in large numbers. What happened to the Luo vote? Why was turnout so low?
The only other places with significant Luo population, Langata and Makandara constituencies, had 114,384 and 108542 registered voters respectively, but ethnicities in these constituences are so mixed up that it is impossible to know how many Luo voters there were.
But it is important to ask what would have happened if Raila had stayed in KANU. He would definitely have denied Kibaki the 14 % Luo vote, and probably nothing more. If you add this Luo vote to the 31.6 % that Uhuru received, you end up with 45.6 %. This means that Uhuru would still have lost to Kibaki in 2002, even if Raila had supported Uhuru. This proves further that Raila saw the winner and run to support him. He did nothing more, nothing less.
But even more significant is that Kibaki would still have won 25 % of the vote in at least seven provinces except Nyanza, meaning he would have easily formed a government without Raila’s mythical support. KANU’s Uhuru, even with Raila’s support, would have won 25 % vote in only six provinces, including Nyanza. As it is, Uhuru received 25% in five provinces, meaning that Uhuru would still have acquited himself well even if Raila had decided not to participate in the elections. With this kind of record, one wonders what Uhuru is doing associating with Raila.
Even more importantly, the entry of Raila appears to have made Simeon Nyachae to harden his resolve not to join NARC. It is likely that if Raila had stayed in KANU, Nyachae could conceivably have joined Kibaki, Wamalwa and Ngilu in the last minute, bringing the 270,159 votes that he received in Nyanza to Kibaki, and thus putting him well over the 50 % mark. If you look very keenly at Kibaki and Nyachae, there is more that could have potentially united them than there was to unite Kibaki and Raila, barring political opportunism. It should also be remembered that Kibaki’s relationship with the Kisii has been longstanding. James Nyamweya was one of the big wigs in the initial DP, and in 1997, the Kisiis voted for Kibaki in big numbers. It is also possible that Nyachae would have offered himself to form a coalition government with Kibaki after the elections, just like he eventually did.
So, did Raila really win the elections for Kibaki or did he just assume that by convincing a bunch of Luo rappers to allow the use of the “Unbwogable” song in NARC campaigns, he had played a key role in the electoral outcome? Raila certainly presented a lot of fanfair in the compaigns. There certainly was a lot of song, dance, and entertainment. But why should we continue to think that this spectable produced the results we saw while numbers show otherwise? Is this man an astute propagandist or what?
This myth has been perpetuated with the aid of the Kenyan media, particularly the Standard. The Kenyan media treats Raila with kid gloves. They don’t want to question his statements and strategies. They make the wrong assumption that because he was one of those who fought dictatorship when it was real and palpable, he is always acting in the national interest, is always right, and is always telling the truth.
Raila has used the myth that he won the election for Kibaki to hold Kibaki to ransom, to make all manner of threats, to demand equal share of government appointments (meaning more key positions for Luos who support him and none for those who don’t), and to make it difficult for Kibaki to administer.
But did Raila really win the 2002 election for Kibaki? The jury is out.
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Post by Observer on Nov 7, 2005 22:24:18 GMT 3
In the 1990's, Raila was jailed for working to change the government. One side will say that he was fighting for 'democracy' whereas others might say he was competing for power in the only way that was then available.
Towards the end of the 1990's, when many could see that the government in power was at some point going to lose power - when the 2 term presidency rule came in to force - many started to position themselves for what was going to be a changing of the guard whatever the outcome.
In 2002 that time came, and Raila made not one but three moves: the first was to form his own political faction. This is a clear signal that he intended to acquire power, and that power was the power to run the nation. Whether the title was President, King, Prime Minister or whatever is irrelevant: the ambition was one and the same, to rule the Kenyan nation.
I achieving this aim he joined forces with the very group that he had gone to jail for opposing. One wonders how it was that one can suffer the harshness of Kamiti, then join forces with those that made you suffer. One can only imagine that you would do this knowing that by joining forces you are really just using them to get what you wanted in the first place: the power that they have. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em. Especially if you know they are in power handover mode.
In late 2002, Kenyatta was annointed by Moi. This meant that the strategy of joining the winning team was not going to work, and therefore another strategy was required. Hence Raila took a clear step to backtrack and try another route. Still the aim was clear: to acquire the power to rule the nation.
He signed the MOU with that understanding, and did indeed win through into power, but not true power: the mechanations of the internal NARC machine meant that his route to the top was still barred.
Thus another route became clear: constitutional change that would allow for the same people to be in the same chairs, but that the power equation would bestow more power to the Prime Minister's chair than the President's chair. It is such a battle that we are now witnessing with Raila, for there is no doubt as to where his ambitions lie. Obviously there are other factors as to why we Kenyans may choose to reject or accept constitutional change in the way we are being asked to do, but we should have no doubt about Raila's ambitions, for there is no reason to believe his desire to be ruler of the Kenyan nation has subsided in any meaningful way.
The question really is whether his desire to rule the Kenyan nation is founded on his own personal desire for glory and power and enrichment, or whether he is acting in order to really serve and benefit all Kenyans. Personally, I admire his tenacity and political resourcefulness. However I do not believe his ambitions are ultimately designed to serve the nation and people of Kenya, rather than to serve Raila himself.
I think this is also clear to much of the Kenyan electorate, and unfortunately will probably ultimately be the political undoing of Raila. But that may be decades away yet.
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Post by mutua on Nov 7, 2005 22:42:13 GMT 3
Raila has no birthright to be the Luo leader
THERE is no hate campaign being waged against Raila Odinga by anyone, least of them all, President Mwai Kibaki’s closest aides. Here is one fact. It is inconceivable for anyone to engage in a hate crusade against the Roads and Public Works minister particularly in Luoland as claimed by the Mbita MP. The simple reason is that such campaign will be bound to fail. Like him or hate him, the Lang'ata legislator has a fanatic if not a cult-like following in Luo-Nyanza, and those in the Diaspora. For Otieno Kajwang' to claim that President Mwai Kibaki’s closest ministers are bankrolling the hate campaign is preposterous. If I may ask, who in Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) allied to Raila would be so close to the State House to become privy to such “clandestine’ information if at all it exists? Secondly, what is there (really) to be bankrolled?
The war of words between Raila and the Information and Communications minister Raphael Tuju is a war for political supremacy in Luo politics, nothing more. In fact, what the Rarieda legislator and other like-minded leaders in the region really want is just to create democratic space for the Luo, hence the formation of the People’s Progressive Party. The democratic space for the Luo they passionately yearn for is the one their community has been deprived of since the emergence of Raila as the unelected community’s political supremo. The president’s closest ministers have nothing to do with that political war of words because they know it’s not their fight. Some of them have their own battles to fight at their respective regions.
It is a known fact that when the Mbita lawmaker speaks he is usually echoing the feelings and the thinking of none other than those of his Lang'ata counterpart. It is funny that Kajwang' (or is it Raila?) is the one making such claims now because not long ago, Raila himself publicly asserted that Tuju is a political nobody and not in his political league. Other Raila sympathizers’ (including Kajwang') claimed that the Information minister has dug his own political grave for opposing his Roads and Public Works counterpart. One might be tempted to ask: why worry for the actions of “a dead politician walking”—as they claimed Tuju is. It now appears that, the youthful minister has stood up his ground on Raila like others (in LDP) did before him. Tuju might not have become a serious political threat to Raila in Nyanza but he is getting closer to achieving such status where many before him had failed. This is something that many will agree was unthinkable a few months ago, as the fall of the Berlin wall before it fell.
It should be recalled that before the fall of the communist Union of Soviet Socialist Republic (USSR) “Empire,” everyone thought that the late United States President Ronald Reagan, who eventually brought down the communist empire and the disintegration of the communist regime, was wasting his time in his political war against the Soviet Union. Reagan won the day and today some of the former Soviet republics are fledging and vibrant independent democratic countries with a capita income better than some of other European countries. These are important political science lessons some of our political leaders in Kenya can and will ignore at their own peril.
The politics that subscribe to the motto: “you are either in the ‘Team Raila’ or you are against the Luo community” are political strategies that have failed elsewhere before. United States President George Bush tried that strategy on the war on terror where “you were either with the United States or against them” when it came to the international war on terror. The fact remains that without the serious help from countries, both large and small, rich and poor, populous and sparsely populated, the war against Al Qaeda and other terror groups will be a long one and cannot be won. That is why President Bush toned down his rhetoric and is now seeking every help his country can get to combat the menace for the betterment of not only United States but the entire free world.
Kajwang' should not drag the names of Njenga Karume, Maina Kamanda and others in this personal political war of words. The fact the Special Projects minister ditched Kibaki presidential campaign during the countdown of the 2002 election, has nothing to with the Luo politics, or on the war of words between Raila and Tuju. Whatever happened between the president and his longtime confidante and friend happened. It is human. No one is questioning Raila and Kalonzo Musyoka in their political marriage with William Ruto and other Daniel arap Moi’s Administration political hawks from Rift Valley. That is the game of politics.
The recent violence in Nyanza was not started by the “Yes” vote campaign group as they—the “Yes” vote camp—had their meeting disrupted by the “No” vote supporters. The “No” vote bigwigs might not have sanctioned their sympathizers’ disruption plan or send them to disrupt Tuju-led 'Yes' vote campaign meeting in Kisumu, but they must have been privy to their supporters plans. They might deny any prior knowledge of their supporters plans but they ought to have known and they had the power to stop them before they disrupted the meeting that caused lost of innocent lives. For instance, who will refuse the existence of Raila’s influence to the Luo Council of Elders action of opposing any future Yes vote campaign meetings in Luoland because the community has already taken its stand on the referendum. Kenya is a free country and it shall remain free before, during and after the referendum and so will the Luo.
Boldly speaking Raila Odinga (akae akijua) that he does not have a birthright to lead the Luo community. Leadership is not a birthright, it is earned and in some occasions it is also lost. Tuju once said: “Let nobody cheat Luos that they are a special lot different from the rest of Kenyans. They must be ready to work with other people and curve a new image as responsible people.” This is a statement from a true leader with his people’s interest at heart .
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Post by Odhis on Nov 10, 2005 0:06:38 GMT 3
The political leaders in the orange camp should stop lying to Kenyans. The citizenry are more informed than before. By telling Kenyans to vote no without quoting the relevant sections is itself hypocrisy of the highest order. Take for example
Raíla; the former president is on record having said that nobody can satisfy his thirst for power. His only problem is that the position of a powerful prime minister has been shattered down. He pretends to champion democracy in the country yet it is in in Luo Nyanza where single party dictatorship thrives. The current line-up of progressive peoples' party tells a lot. These are people who have served him and his father as close confidants and personal physicians yet have been locked out of the democratic space. These are bitter people.
The last general election 2002 was merely an opportunity to abuse the people's trust and oversee the appointment of members of the dynasty to parliament.
Hon. Jakoyo Midiwo - first cousin (Mothers are sisters)
Hon. Gor Sunguh - brother-in-law (married to oburu's daughter)
Hon. Dr. Oburu Odínga - brother
Hon. Odhiambo Omamba - "father in law"(father to Ida)
Hon. Ochilo Ayako - Relative from Sakwa Bondo who migrated to South Nyanza
Hon. Sammy Weya - First cousin (Son of his uncle)
Hon. Otieno Kajwang -Sycophant and personal lawyer
Hon Reuben Ndolo- son of former jaramogi's entertainer.
Hon Peter Owidi- who bought the parliamentary seat by paying Raíla 4million after loosing the nomination to Paddy Aenda.
In short party nominations were nothing but a democratic exercise to legitimize and sanitize the selection of relatives and rich friends. While we respect our dead heroes, Raíla leadership appears to have no plan for the living poor of Luo Nyanza! Consequently our minds have been colonized so that we can't think or read the proposed law on our own. He has to read for us and even advise us to burn the copies before reading to remain in political slavery. If Raíla wakes up tomorrow morning and decamps to "YES", nobody would be left behind including Kalonzo. Whenever he tells us as a community to jump we normally ask how high but not why! As a community we are left to wonder whom our real enemy is: Is it Mwai Kíbaki who refused to honor the M.O.U. or is it those who are misleading us and have swallowed all the community's assets and profits? What about the shares we bought in order to own Kisumu molasses as a community? What happened to the property owned by the Luo thrift, which was owned our grandparents and parents? Kisumu molasses is now run by the Odínga's (Oburu chairman,Achieng-ED et el) locking out non-family members.
Uhuru Kenyatta: he owns a tract of land larger than entire Nyanza province and fears that new constitution would tax it or redistribute. Take for instance coast province, which is the headquarters of squatters surrounded by idle land which uhuru owns.
Ole Ntimama: he is responsible for the Enosopukia tribal clashes and is therefore aware that the new law will catch up with him.
Former president Moi: he is responsible for tribal anarchy that locked the rift valley and parts of coast and therefore would prefer the old constitution.
William Rutto: he has benefited immensely as a moi sycophant through grabbing, remember he has a case in court regarding grabbing NGONG/KAREN forest. He therefore must oppose the proposed new law to the teeth.
Musalia Mudavadi: have benefited from resources dished to him irregularly by the former president who is his real uncle and therefore wouldn't support the new laws.
Anyang Nyongo: the learned professor of political economy should tell Kenyans what is factual. That is why he went to school. Instead of dwelling on the contents on the document he has gone wild on Anglo leasing. Which section of the proposed law talks of Anglo leasing? He sits in the anti-corruption committee. Since he seems to have evidence, he should take it to the CID or police commissioner or even sue the perpetrators on behalf of the citizenry. We do not see the correlation between the contents of the proposed constitution and Anglo leasing. The good professor should be careful not to be seen as another sycophant added to the long list of Raíla's sycophants. We respect him for his brain and look to him as a voice of sanity in Luo leadership where there seem to be none.
***Uhuru, Gideon and Raíla have one thing in common. They are either sons of former presidents of vice-presidents, have amassed a lot of wealth to the detriment of ordinary citizens and are therefore out to establish an exclusive political dynasty.
**The focus of 2007 elections tells us that the orange group are not interested in the new law but how to remove the current government. They must ensure that it is unable to deliver anything so that they can use it in 2007-campaign platform. The mere fact that distribution of famine relief in Akamba land coincides with the referendum period doesn't mean that the government is bribing. Should the government wait until after referendum to distribute food?
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Post by adili on Nov 21, 2005 9:28:02 GMT 3
this man raila is totally corrupt, and lacks an iota of integrity. how could we trus him with national leadership??
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Post by iko kitu on Feb 24, 2006 8:27:20 GMT 3
AN OPEN LETTER TO HON. RAILA ODINGA
“Better is a poor and wise youth than an old foolish king, who will no longer take advice, even though he has gone from prison to the throne or in his own kingdom had been born poor”. Ecclesiastes chapter 3: 13 – 14.
Dear Sir,
RE: SALVATION, REDEMPTION AND LIBERTY
I salute you in the name of all the young men who lost their lives fighting for the liberty of their country. I further salute you in name of the widows and orphans who daily pray and hope for a better tomorrow. This letter is dedicated to them.
For a generation that opts to be blind when vision holds the key to progress is a wasted generation.
Similarly, should a leadership embark on incessant bigotry for selfish economic advances at the expense of the laboring masses it purports to represent, or should it appear to establish an exclusive political dynasty, or should it cripple critical thinking through the invention of sophisms around fictitious foes of day and mates by night, or should it engage in sophisticated corruption to consolidate its economic empire as the ultimate lever of power or should it unscrupulously manipulate the peoples fears through the creation of a false communal siege, or should it reward sycophancy yet ban principled patriotic action, then that leadership has no space in history’s register of honor. That is the leadership of the gin gin gin.
In retrospect, our history is replete with examples of great men who are eternally saluted for their stoic bravery, sagacity or exemplary leadership. Their place of honor is ever etched in the minds of our people. They include the likes of Odera Akango, Gero, Rabwogi Ondiro K’ Ochieng, Tao K’ Ogot, Okore K’ Ogonda, Gor Ogalo amongst other “Thuondi Luo”. They are the wan wan wan.
Their exploits contrast greatly with the ignominy of the likes of Okal Tako of the “dhira agora piny” infamy, Nyamgodho, Nyamuche, Nyamundhe and other reprobates.
The charisma of these great men incarnated chivalry and inspired scores of our young people to fight for justice and liberty.
From Kenyatta, Moi, to Kibaki, not a single fight for progressive change has occurred without Luo blood being shed. From the Kisumu massacre of ’69, to Ochuka’s ’82 four hour coup, to the Saba saba killings of Kisumu in 2005 inter-alia, over the campaign for the adoption of the “Bomas Draft” under the Kibaki government which you now serve as a minister.
Furthermore, should a leadership also demonstrate exceptional skill in the engineering of poverty amongst its own people through the ruthless transfer of community resources to itself, it is then also guilty of mass economic asphyxiation of an entire community. That is the height of gross betrayal! On the issue of poverty, I quote Nelson Mandela “Like slavery and apartheid, poverty is not natural. It is man-made and it can be overcome and eradicated by the actions of human beings. Overcoming poverty is not a gesture of charity. It is an act of justice”.
¨ The Luo thrift and Trading Co. and the Luo union E.A. - Assets valued at hundred of millions of shillings. The two form the largest real estate concerns in the entire Lake region. All assets assimilated into your familys company "Spectre" in total disregard to the community’s role in their establishment.
¨ The Kisumu Molasses plant - the largest industrial plant in the entire Lake region. Sits on 600 acres of land. Land market value, nearly Kshs. 300 million. Also assimilated from the people and its new owners are now set to control the sugar belt and its policies through it. It is a grim reminder that we as a community are mere chattels of negotiations for a family’s aggrandizement. Indeed it explains how the vast plains of Luo poverty surround mountains of individual wealth.
¨ The Rent-A Lake scam that intended to put the “Sango” exclusively into private hands. Its assimilation was only stopped after I blew the whistle. The Lake is our identity and is therefore sacred. No man would have dared touch the “Sango” without first “talking” to you. Not even the mercenary Kikuyu have dared hawk their sacred Mount Kenya. The control of the “Sango” would have marked the final seal for total assimilation of all communal resources available in Luo Nyanza today.
¨ Partnerships with the Asian business community have confirmed your leadership as hostage to class interests. A large section of this community in Kisumu and Kenya is guilty of socio – economic exclusion and has rejected all encompassing integration. To reward their mercenary exploits they have been offered three nominated seats at the Kisumu Municipal Council. No one knows what you were rewarding! Why should our leadership be “Indianized” by joining economic cartels when it ought to be “Luonizing” the monopolistically owned wealth? You appear to have done more for this lot than for the suffering Luo! To whom do people turn when you work in cahoots with perpetrators of ruthless forms of economic exploitation?
As a gesture of compassion, Income accruing from these communal assets should be placed in the hands of a trust of widows, orphans, and political youth members who are left to live woeful lives after being misused to force fabulous financial and political deals. Their anger will soon boomerang on your leadership. Indeed one cannot question their guiding principles for social equality and justice. They form our most disadvantaged social constituency and should have at least been captured in your political radar.
Indeed, it is high time we carried a comprehensive review of all political and economic unions that the community has been indulged in including the merger, the co-operation, the partnership, the still-born “Nyachae tosha”, the “Kibaki tosha” and who are the actual beneficiaries and losers.
The last general election 2002 was merely an opportunity to abuse the people’s trust and oversee the appointment of members of the dynasty to parliament. Non-relatives were compelled to purchase the party nomination certificates at exorbitant prices. One can only conclude that the grand plan is to turn Nyanza into a family serfdom complete with prefects and a firm resource base i.e.
Hon. Jakoyo Midiwo – first cousin and prefect of Siaya district, Hon. Gor Sunguh – brother-in-law and prefect of Kisumu district, Hon. Dr. Oburu Odinga – brother and prefect of Bondo district, Hon. Odhiambo Omamba – “father in law” and prefect of Migori district.
In short party nominations were nothing but a “banana” democratic exercise to legitimize and sanitize the selection of your rich friends and relatives.
Sadly, your merry band has focused all its energies on “dok eliete and liete”. This is a strategy in mass distraction through cultural emotion as a brand of opium for the dispossessed. While we respect our dead, your leadership appears to have no plan for the living poor of Luo Nyanza!
At ideological level, we witness a power politician whose political rhetoric is these days totally devoid of sympathies for the poor. One who has been reduced to a political broker and whose presidential ambitions are gone! There is no political strategy worth the lives of an entire people!
Furthermore, the famous M.O.U. should be redesigned to include; fishermen, orphans, widows, farmers, sugarcane cutters, “ngware riders” and all other hoi poloi who may not have been considered in the drafting of the initial agreement. Locally, all constituencies are advised to sign MOU’s with all political parties interested in their votes, including yours. This reality is meant to check against anybody who enters into agreements that promise individuals political posts under the guise of communal benefits. It is also meant to guard against individuals who misuse the community for their own selfish ends.
The Luo nation is crafted and constituted on a strong social base that stands challenged, as long as their exists glaring social contradictions. There are only two ethnic communities in Nyanza and Kenya. The dieing poor who cannot afford education, food, health or water, the wan wan wan and the fabulously wealthy that control their wealth, political pulse and destiny, the gin gin gin. Unfortunately all these inequities have been visited upon our people in the quiet fear of church leaders and politicians at large. It has to stop.
Recently, you initiated a process that culminated in the appointment of a spiritual and cultural leader for the Luo community. The abuse of the institution of “Ker” has led to a decline in its prestige amongst our people. The current holder of the position is seen more as a pillar in your quest for the preservation of your political dynasty than a community guide. At risk for us, is perhaps the relevance of one of the last surviving cultural institutions of our land.
Your tribe of the rich survives by creating a dependant “herd mentality” in its approach to community political mobilization. You preach the “trust and obey” creed to the mercilessly exploited poor and bind them to the hallucination of a non-existent ethnic destiny. As a community we are caught in the dilemma of who our real enemy is: Is it Mwai Kibaki who refused to honor the M.O.U. or is it those who have swallowed all the community’s assets and profits?
Lastly, the prevailing strangle hold of the gin gin gin can only be countered by the renewed vigor and unity of the wan wan wan, to achieve salvation and redemption.
We look forward to your “dwoko”.
En an Anyuola,
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