Handshake is blackmail, a mockery of the vote
In a five-page letter dated March 1 and addressed to the two leaders, Prof Lumumba laments that with the grandstanding by both the Kenya Kwanza and Azimio coalitions, the situation in the country remains extremely fragile which if not well managed could degenerate into chaos.
President William Ruto cannot break the Constitution by entertaining an illegal handshake with Raila Odinga.
It matters little who heads the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission since every time Raila loses an election he has always called for a change of its composition.
Zacchaeus Chesoni, Samuel Kivuitu, Issack Hassan and Wafula Chebukati were all rejected by Raila even after the opposition leader participated in the formation of their IEBC teams.
Raila has always resorted to violent demonstrations to get his way into government illegally, which amounts to a mockery of Kenyan voters.
Of what use is the voting process if election losers need only to use violence to share power?
Then we’d rather revert to a one-party dictatorial state because it seems some Kenyans have no respect for democracy.
A question Kenyans must ask themselves is if Raila were to assume the presidency, would the cost of living come down?
Take a few items apart from maize flour and fuel. Eggs are now retailing at Sh15, up from Sh12 last year.
Sukuma wiki, which was was retailing at Sh20 last year, is now retailing at Sh30.
The availability of these two items has been affected by the prolonged drought, which no one, including those in power, have control over.
When it comes to maize, prices are high locally because during last year’s planting season, there was no government subsidy on fertilisers and the cost of a 50kg bag was between Sh6,500 and Sh7,000.
So, even if Raila were to be president, maize farmers would not lower their prices.
Kenya is a capitalist economy where consumer prices are determined by the forces of supply and demand.
It is only in socialist economies where governments control consumer prices.
Farmers are simply trying to recoup the cost of farm inputs, which is the way to go in any business and the government is merely a bystander.
On the economy, Kenya is not an island to be immune to the turbulence occasioned by Covid-19 and the Russia-Ukraine war.
These have directly affected world trade and commodity prices.
Food prices have risen all over the world.
So, let all Kenyans respect independent institutions such as the IEBC, the Judiciary and the law-enforcers.
Otherwise trying to sugarcoat violence disguised as dialogue is in itself wrong.
Respect Kenyan voters who made their choice on August 9, 2022.
Robert Musamali , Nairobi
