German poet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe once wrote; “Divide
and rule, the politician cries; unite and lead, is watchword of the wise.”
These words ring true for any keen observer of Kenyan politics and anyone who
understands the brand of politics exercised by ODM leader Raila Odinga.
In 2007, Raila rallied his supporters behind the propaganda
of “41 against 1” which in essence meant that 41 Kenyan ethnic communities were
facing off against the remaining one community. At the end of it, he created a
division between the 41 communities and the one community that had one of its
own as the leader of this great nation.
His propaganda was aimed at showing that there was no way
that this one community could beat the other 41 in an election. The result of
this propaganda is something that all Kenyans would wish to forget as it marks
one of the darkest period in our country’s history.
Ten years later, Raila has not changed this approach
forgetting that Kenyans are wiser than they were during that period. He and his
die-hard supporters are already demonstrating that they will base their 2017
campaign on a “40 against 2” propaganda.
It is unfortunate that Raila, at his advanced age and
political experience, is still trying to use this archaic method of “divide and
rule”. Of all the issues that Kenyans can unite against, the opposition chief
is choosing to rally other Kenyans against two communities – just because their
leaders came together and said it is time to unite all Kenyans.
It is laughable that Raila and his brigade think that this
can actually stick looking at how President Uhuru Kenyatta and Deputy President
William Ruto have employed the wisdom noted by Goethe of “unite and lead”.
Every time the two stand in any corner of this country, they always ensure that
they call on Kenyans to unite and work together for development.
For starters, the results of the last election show that the
Jubilee dynamic duo won 20 of the 47 counties and more than 25 percent of the
votes in 33 counties. Clearly, this cannot justify the notion by the opposition
that the Jubilee Coalition was a union of two ethnic communities.
The recent formation of the Jubilee Party also goes to
underscore the fact that very many Kenyans take President Kenyatta and DP Ruto
as the key uniting factors in the country. The inclusive “big tent” approach by
the two since they came to power is embodied in the creation of the Jubilee
Party.
The Opposition wants Kenyans to believe that the Jubilee
Government is grossly incompetent and corrupt. The president has been able to
initiate many successful projects and has been at the forefront in fighting
corruption and even asked his ministers to step down which was a first in
Kenya.
At the same time, Raila has remained silent on the manifest
and verifiable corruption that has been reported by the Auditor-General in
counties led by Opposition Governors. For a man who chides the President on the
basis of allegations contained in draft reports, Raila should be able to dress
down “his” Governors.
Instead, we have witnessed Raila seeking to shield the
Opposition Governors as witnessed in Mombasa on Wednesday where he was joined
by Kilifi Governor Amason Kingi and Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho. Raila tried
deflecting the focus from the two and instead focusing on an interim audit in
the Ministry of Health whose author has said is still incomplete.
The Opposition also wants to create a narrative that
pre-election pledges have not been fulfilled. This is also a fallacy as most
pledges have either been fulfilled or are ongoing with a small percentage not
initiated.
We as Kenyans must look beyond propaganda and mudslinging,
and elect a president in 2017 that will look beyond tribe and focus on
transforming this country. That leader, is Uhuru Kenyatta.
Written by
is a writer,political and communications consultant.
Twitter @MachelWaikenda).
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