Raila's Options...

Or Meru, as you have also guessed in the past? As to the brevity of my statements:
Kwoguo mûkaamenyaga arathi a maveeni na ciîko irîa mekaga.

Bigmanism and tribalism are often joined, and you make no exception. The important question is what Raila's political issues are, and for what contents he stands; the set of questions that OO has posed here, point into this direction too.

Alexander

Pathetic that anyone should fetch for use against Kalonzo from the same arsenal they refuse to have blemish Raila's name.

For starters, Raila composed the refrain that Moi should not be held accountable for his excesses as president, but that he should instead be honoured as an elder statesman. Now the ferrets are after Kalonzo's bowels for his rendition of the very tune.

Secondly, the allegations surrounding the Armenians refer to both Kalonzo and Raila. Raila and his myrmidons fail to appreciate this, even as they attempt to force the corruption tag onto Kalonzo.

Third, those who seek to paint Kalonzo as a psycophant forget that he was surpassed in this,both in talent and reach by Raila. This both prior to the Cooperation and in the glory days of helicopter rides, battering of pro-Katiba types and even after the Kibaki plutocracy came into office.

Kalonzo is supposedly an enemy of the nebulous concept of freedom, being peddled by the congregation, simply because he is supposed to have met Kibaki for tea,this on the same day he declared Kibaki lacking the moral authority to lead Kenya. This visitation claim, the 'Engima' himself saw fit to rubbish and which if true he provided precedence for.

Kalonzo stands accused of vaccilation,and a lack of spine. But again it is Raila who weighed and measured Saitoti and found he met the golden standard, it is Raila's embrace that proclaimed the career thief Kibaki king, and in Raila's hands that Moi's blood-soaked hands were made whiter than snow. Today it is in Raila's halo that Gumo finds a national stage, and contemporaneously that Musalia takes his turn at inculpability for Goldenberg. Yes, it is Raila who spent the doldrums of 2003- 2005 declaring his unwavering support and loyalty to the great government of Kibaki.

Most glaringly though, the Raila parishioners fail to account for the way in which Raila has failed to show respect for party institutions( in Ford-K, in KANU, in NARC and in LDP), order or consultation throughout his political life. The way he has enriched himself, at mwananchi expense, the callous way he tried to sell off the lake, his penchant for violence and undemocratic declarations. This in a nation already polarised by Kibaki's naked ukabila and corruption. They fail to give reason why Raila and his minions should be expected to provide a departure from the thieving Wanjiku hating ways of Kenyatta, Moi and Kibaki. They have not done so in Nyanza where they had unrivalled power, they will not do it in Nairobi.

Admittedly, I have great reservations about Kalonzo too, but I find it disturbing that without exception everyone seems only too eager to promulgate the goodness of Raila. Some like Museveni genuflecting in invocation and benediction. Oloo's love for scrutiny and analysis lare Gone with the Wind, Alex aversion for bigmanism finds it is now a Hidden Whisper, even Maina's winding essays are Lost in Translation.

It is said that a people, especially in a democracy deserves its leaders. Any nation that reveres a man whose nickname is Agwambo is treading on very thin ice.

Excellent, Pharlap, excellent. And mature. Not the idle bigmanism we see here so often.

Alexander

Pharlap,
Do me a favour. Publish on these pages any evidence you have showing that the Kibaki government has made a radical departure from the economic policies of the Moi years? I have gone through all the budgets and have seen nothing of the sort.

Do not be beguiled by our 'economic growth'. Read Ochieng' Rapudo in today's newspaper.

None of the folks who parade the figures around have ever cared to tell consumers of the information that the fundamental reason the numbers are looking good is that in 2004, the Government changed the way it measures the GDP to the new System of National Accounts (SNA) and changed the base year (a determinant of prices of goods and services) to 2001 from the previous one of 1982.

Actually start a thread on it. People idly bandy this and other untruths about, what benefits to Wanjiku are either ephemeral or plain invisible. Either way that is not the business of government. I want to see radical economic policy, not band-aid measures like paying off coffee farmers only for them to be uprooting their coffee trees and growing vanilla instead two years down the line.

Miguna's article is a total disappointment. According to him Raila is true leader because he formed and transformed political parties - how pathetic. Kalonzo has shown his lack of leadership qualities, but to disqualify him because he has not held a political office or fought for during the 2nd liberation is trivial on Miguna's part. I can argye that Raila has also failed to provide leadership in Luo Nyanza where his party holds almost 100% of the civic posts. Once again I would argue that he, Raila should have used luo Nyanza as his lab to be used as benchmark for the rest of the country. Raila has failed as leader just like many before. Constant agitation does not make one a better leader, it might sway the public into a frenzy of excitement then what?

Fortunately, Raila's options are not to be found on Jukwaa. We can postulate all we want here but the theater of operation has a whole set of dimensions that cant be comprehended by most contributers on this board. And I report as one very much in the thick of that operation.

And thats is why I keep the Hon Prime Minister in my thoughts daily.
The mafiya have a long tract record from here to Timbuktu, of how they have mercilessly killed those they thought were threats.
And not only that, now they even kill innocent "luos" too as the gray haired rasputin muthaura said in his leaked tape.

I tell you these guys have no qualms about killing their own FATHERS (we ALL know who did that dont WE?), publicly REJECTING THEIR WIVES and DAUGHTERS (we ALL know who did that dont WE?) just to retain power.

They have no sense of shame. Bring the arturs, nominate their kith and kin to all the top Govt posts, hata now they do that to the middle cadre jobs too, and they do it without the blink of an eye.

They sent us to a mini civil war without caring.
They killed over 12000 youths from central eti ni mungiki, buried 500 in mass graves in ngong etc etc etc.

Some were homeguards during ukoloni and now still lord over us after independence.

These guys are no joke.
Unless and until we have a society with structured institution who can enforce the law we are doomed!