When James Orengo got news that Raila Odinga had died, he fainted and was assisted back into consciousness. So much was at stake. Top on the list was the future of the ODM party.
Back on his feet, Orengo later started making calls to
relevant party officials drawing their attention to party stability and
leadership. The state intelligence informed RUTO of Orengo's moves.
RUTO instructed his men in the party to install Oburu Odinga
as Acting Party Leader immediately to derail the internal party machinery a
chance to respond to the situation guided by their institutional logic.
The SG didnt attend the meeting that appointed Oburu. Of
course this is not the only FAST thing RUTO did as we now know. He signed crazy
bills over Raila's dead body. That fast! Talk of thoroughness!
Contest over party leadership is not new. When Raila and
Wamalwa Kijana fought over the leadership of Ford Kenya, Raila invited me for a
drink in Makuti club in South B. On this day, Kenya breweries had just
introduced the big Guiness onto the market.
"They have introduced the big one? Niletee Guiness
kubwa pia" Raila spoke as he sat down. Well, he later switched to porridge
according to Uhuru Kenyatta.
He asked me what I thought about the leadership tussle in
FK. At the time I considered him the representative of the left within Ford
Kenya. Their division then is comparable to the current situation in ODM; the
pro-government and the supporters of change.
The factions in ODM seem to be trying to answer the
question: WHICH RAILA IS AUTHENTIC? THE ONE WHO FOUGHT FOR CHANGE IN KENYA OR
THE ONE WHO PROPPED UP RUTO'S FALLING REGIME?
On that day, I told Raila that he would lose the contest to
Wamalwa Kijana. Wamalwa was a last minute defector to FORD in 1992 therefore he
enjoyed the sympthies of the system.
"The fight will consume our energies but the eventual
winner will be chosen by the system. I think its cheaper for us to register our
own party rather than engage in a bruising losing battle". I concluded.
After a bruising contest that climaxed in Thika, Raila
formed NDP and begun his match to the top of Kenyan politics. Similarly,
Jaramogi also walked out of Jomo Kenyatta's KANU in 1966 and formed KPU.
Perhaps times have changed but what must be acknowledged is
that in RUTO, we have Moi multiplied by 4. RUTO buys support, builds churches
alone, ignores court orders and shoots the legs of people. I am worried that
the battle for ODM may give us corpses.
How about abandoning the ship like Raila did after all the
credibility of the unwanted is strong enough to be a basis for the formation of
another party. RUTO said he will build ODM. How? Why?.
Just concerned as a co-founder of ODM
By Wafula
Buke
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