That
the just concluded inconclusive party primaries conducted in the last week in
the country were at best a sham and a direct affront to the rule of law, the
integrity of the new constitutional dispensation in general and the spirit of
devolution in particular, is a foregone conclusion.
From
the shores of Lake Victoria in Nyanza, the ridges of the Great Rift Valley and
the sloppy mountains of Central Province, the media was awash with reports of a
democracy raped beyond measure and then held hostage at the whims of parochial
political interests of the powers-that-be through an nomination process bungled
with intention.
But
of all the corners of the nation, Nyanza province single handedly took home the
trophy as the province with the most reported cases of nomination malpractices.
Of all the political parties, ODM emerged victorious as the most disorganized
and a notorious rapist of the people’s voice. And of course Luo Nyanza bore the
brunt of disgruntlement and public protests at this blatant disregard of the
wishes of the voter. Being the uncontested stronghold of ODM as a party and
Raila Odinga as a presidential contender, it thus goes without saying that the
Prime Minister took the mantle as the presidential candidate whose image
received the most scathing blame and backlash from his hitherto ardent
followers from this region. But why was this so?
Like
it or not, ODM is synonymous with Raila Odinga, just like TNA and URP are with
Uhuru and Ruto respectively. Raila Odinga is the head and defacto leader
of ODM. If you remove him from the helm of the party, the flames of ODM as we
know it would slowly amber off to mere ashes. In effect, he has the reigns of
the party in his hands. Being the one whose image crops into the mind whenever
the party is mentioned, it’s only logical to expect his name and presidential
ambitions to stand to suffer or gain from the tribulations and success stories
of the party.
As
the captain of the party, he is therefore personally charged with the mandate
of charting the way forward and equally expected to be at the forefront in
battling to steer the party in the direction of transparency and democracy. It
behooves of him to rise to the occasion and endeavor to achieve feats matching
the name and reputation he has sought to build as the flawless leader firmly in
control - the ‘meupe kama pamba’ leader. Leaving the party rudderless to
thaw perilously close to sinking in dangerous waters is therefore detrimental
to him in person and his presidential bid.
When
members of the party in Nyanza asked him to let them elect their own candidates
of choice this time round – as opposed to the past where he would single-handedly
handpick a candidate and declare him ‘fit’ – by no means did they imply to have
him allow the party elections board to organize and then fail to preside over
the shoddiest of nomination processes. Neither did they ask him to let his
stooges nor close political attack-dogs to run roughshod over the nomination
process and generally make a mockery of the will of the people.
While
letting the people decide, he should have labored to ensure that the elections
board organizes a credible process that would have furthered his seemingly last
shot at the presidency. He cannot afford to adopt a laid-back approach (reserved
for Kibaki) to leadership if he expects to be elected to manage the affairs
of this nation. For it sends the wrong signals. if he appears unable to take
control of a party, what about the challenging demands of a nation? Would he
let sycophants generally run amok plundering the wealth of the nation with
impunity in their wake? He is supposed to be the democratic leader firmly in
charge.
Now,
coming right in the wake of allegations and accusations that he was interfering
in the nomination process – especially in Siaya and Kisumu counties where he
had family relations and close political henchmen vying for elective county and
senate seats, the Prime Minister is on record as having categorically assured
the country that he had nothing to do with the fiasco and was ready to work
with any candidate elected by the people.
What
no one can ascertain for sure is whether or not the Prime Minister was directly
involved in the underhanded manoeuvring and machinations that was witnessed.
That is for him to know.
But
whether he participated or not, what is for sure now is the public outcry and
subsequent bashing the fiasco generated both on the mainstream and social media
platforms and the subsequent perceived dent it has left on the credibility of
Prime Minister, the ODM as a party and CORD as an alliance. In effect, ODM in
particular and CORD in general has just handed its rivals in the TNA party and
Jubilee coalition a round of lethal ammunition with which the rival camp is
bound to gleefully seek to assassinate and possibly annihilate the reputation
CORD alliance.
That
ODM and Raila Odinga will have a daunting task in appeasing the population of
Nyanza whose angry section has sworn to vent their ire by voting for the rival
political camp cannot be gainsaid. As was evidenced in all the media platforms,
furious members of the party have sworn to humiliate their leader and his
perceived candidates of choice in the forthcoming general elections should he
fail to intervene on the matter. Some went to the extent of publicly tearing
their party membership cards while others chanted the ‘no Raila’ slogans.
Whether this threat is carried to the full is another matter.
