Raila’s big day and the battle ahead

Yesterday was Mr Raila Odinga’s most important day this election cycle and there is a good chance that at last it will be the start of an epic journey to State House after being thwarted repeatedly in the last two decades.

It is a big pity that due to the exigencies of deadlines it was not possible to explore the impact of his much-awaited declaration for the presidency at Kasarani Stadium, but that should not in any way stop people speculating on what the important occasion will mean to his personal ambitions and to the country at large.

The most obvious thing is that Mr Odinga is still a redoubtable crowd-puller. He may have somewhat mellowed temperamentally – age has something to do with it – but when it comes to bringing the capital city to a standstill, he has no equal. Certainly, he is a past master at staging spectacles.

In the past, Mr Odinga has been very unfortunate in not clinching the presidency when everything seemed to be working for him. As a result, the optics may not always tell the whole story. Indeed, that is a lesson that every contender this year should heed.

The other thing to realise is that there is a difference between voting for an individual or a political party and voting against his opponent. As of now, and I am sorry to say so, many people, at least in the Central region, may not be thinking so much about voting for Mr Odinga, but against Deputy President William Ruto. 

The perception created by Dr Ruto’s acolytes in the Mt Kenya region that he has the Mountain’s votes all sewn up may be misguided, and he probably knows this quite well, otherwise he would not spend so much time campaigning in the area.

Mt Kenya region votes

While it is true that he has made deep inroads in the region, to believe that the vote-rich region is already in the bag may be delusional. Many potential voters in the area have not yet been quite convinced by his message of economic redemption because they see it as potentially divisive along class lines.

However, he should take courage in one fact: Among voters who never went beyond Class Seven, he commands the kind of fanaticism once reserved for Mr Odinga in his strongholds – quite unthinking declarations of fealty.

Recently, I made the mistake of contributing to a febrile debate on WhatsApp concerning some event which was supposed to take place at a posh Nairobi hotel last Tuesday to raise funds for Mr Odinga’s campaign. A message to that effect was posted and two fellows went ballistic, asking why Raila is always seeking donations – in this case, Sh1 million per plate – considering that he is not poor. So, I pointed out that both President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy have on two separate occasions raised campaign funds the same way and none of them is a beggar.

I should have kept my peace. The tirades that followed from these two fanatics were quite out of this world. All the iniquities associated with Mr Odinga were parroted out in lurid, unintelligible and actionable prose. Thankfully, both my question and the answers were soon deleted.

In any case, it appears the whole funds drive idea had been mooted by some fellows seeking relevance, as nothing like that had been planned at Chungwa House. The whole thing taught me a lesson; never try to argue with a zealot on politics or matters of faith. It doesn’t pay.

Raila endorsement

The situation is bound to get worse in due course with intolerance reigning supreme, which means the National Cohesion and Integration Commission and other bodies whose duty is to keep the peace must up their game in the time left before next year’s election.

It is important that ordinary people’s views, if made public, be protected, for it appears that blind acceptance of dirty propaganda is likely to be normalised by fellows who find it difficult to think for themselves, and we all know where that leads during election periods.

Since the quest for political power is legitimate, and since Mr Odinga seems to be playing catch-up to Dr Ruto in many parts of the country, what should Baba do to ensure that an avalanche of lies does not sweep him off his feet in the next eight months? 

It is too early to tell but this week’s endorsement by the Mt Kenya Foundation billionaires should give him a leg-up. Regardless of this group’s motives, the endorsement should not be sneered at and those chanting “hatupingwingwi” may be in for a surprise.

While we are at it, the rest of us mortals could do with a lot more civility during the campaigns. There is no need for all this name-calling and infantile insults. Elections come and go but we remain in this corner of the world as the politicians move on to loot from us with complete impunity.

Let those so inclined eat from them and then vote with their heads because, in the words of singer Meghan Trainor, “... we are not promised tomorrow”.

Mr Ngwiri is a consultant editor; [email protected]