Thursday, April 20, 2023

Raila Odinga better heed Jaramogi Odinga’s words

 

Kenya's opposition leader Raila Odinga leads a demonstraiton. PHOTO | COURTESY

Summary

·         It is something extraordinary how the man has battled four heads of state, beginning with Daniel Toroitich arap Moi right up to William Samoi Ruto

Raila Amolo Odinga is doing what he does best - that is leading mass action against the

government. It is something extraordinary how the man has battled four heads of state, beginning with Daniel Toroitich arap Moi right up to William Samoi Ruto. That is a very high number of leaders. 

At his age that is approaching 80, I wish I could see Odinga performing a different type of political role to the one that he is currently playing. I find it striking that his late father, Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, the so-called doyen of Kenyan opposition politics, was not far off Raila's current age when he embarked on a fresh course of action at the fiftieth minute of the eleventh hour of his life. 

Quoting from Raila's autobiography, TheFlameofFreedom, "Towards the end of his life, Jaramogi had opted to embrace a policy of limited co-operation with the ruling KANU government...many of Jaramogi's followers were shocked, doubtful and worried, with the less thoughtful and perceptive among them automatically considering him a sell-out.

"But Jaramogi was a consummate politician, and he knew that the role of a loyal opposition was not to engage in daily confrontation with the government but to work with the government to implement good policies, and to oppose the government only where it was obvious that danger lay ahead or where dishonesty and corruption played roles. He told me that it was not possible to keep the public in a state of permanent agitation for five years. He knew fatigue would set in, hence his view that cooperation was necessary to ensure and facilitate development in opposition areas. He knew there was no point at that stage in opposing the rigged 1992 elections. He had decided on a different strategy. 

"Jaramogi's ideas were sound and well-intentioned, although I still did not fully approve of them at the time. And I am not sure KANU responded in kind. Moi welcomed the overture but no doubt in his own self-interest. He thought the move would reduce Jaramogi's standing with the rest of the opposition, thereby fragmenting it further.”

It is vitally important to point out that a point of departure between the era of Jaramogi and Raila is the coming into being of the 2010 Constitution. It was even described back then as the Second Republic - a major constitutional leap forward. 

With the existence of the old older, areas that were considered opposition strongholds would easily suffer all manner of skewed allocation of resources. Some politicians could find themselves caving into a repressive system so as to enjoy a few development goodies. Kenyan politics inexorably came of age and Raila Odinga's contribution to the birth of the new constitution is firmly engraved. 

The troubling aspect now is that some of his ways are not consistent with those political triumphs. 

Odinga has no doubt tested to the limit the 2010 Constitution by seeking electoral justice three times at the Supreme Court. It adjudicated in his favour in 2017 - a historic ruling on the continent -though he boycotted the repeat election. 

In 2022, the Supreme Court dismissed with some contempt Odinga's petition. What would follow was Odinga hurling a stream of invective against the apex court of the land. To me, this was a very low moment in Odinga's public life. However one is aggrieved against a ruling, the respect of the judiciary must be protected at all costs. Which is the other means of legal recourse? 

The behaviour of Odinga has gotten me thinking about what to expect in Tanzania when the opposition political players will be able to file presidential petitions. Will they resort to the undignified language after a ruling goes against them? 

Some readers will recall the fiercely contested poll between George Bush and Al Gore in the United States. Gore was highly injured in the process but never rubbished the judges.

 

A flaw that pronounces itself is how Odinga is made up of double standards. This was exhibited by how he related to John Magufuli. It is absolutely mind-boggling how Raila as a liberation fighter could be a bosom buddy with a sworn enemy of liberty. They say politics makes for strange bedfellows but surely not of this kind!

It is my opinion that where Raila is today, he better heed his father's words. How do you keep the public in a state of permanent agitation without more economic pain for the ‘hoi polloi’? It is a joke to hear that the high cost of living also forms part of the mass action. The Ruto government has not even been in power for a year such that to project a situation of “danger lying ahead” to borrow from Jaramogi is not playing the role of a “loyal opposition”. 

The nation must trump egotism. 

The Second Republic demands much more responsible politics from across the entire gamut.

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