Commentary By Leo Odera Omolo In Kisumu City.

Politics in Kenya has of late taken a new dimension near provocation and insult to other members of the society by those who have massed a lot of financial muscle through the ill-gotten wealth.

The last week’s luncheon at the posh Serena Hotel in Nairobi by a group of close to 100 so-called Luo professionals and businessmen speaks volumes, particularly the remarks attributed to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance in reference to the scourge of abject poverty in Luo-Nyanza.

Uhuru knew pretty well the source and how of tribulation and woes as well as economic and political marginalization of the Luo community had come about. And that his late father Jomo Kenyatta was the architect of all the problems that had reduced this proud community to a bunch of beggars. And as such he has nothing tangible to offer to this particular community to regain its lost glory and he should shut up.

He is just shedding crocodile tears when he says that the myriad of economic and political problems facing the people of Nyanza region has come about as result of bad political leadership.

And he shamelessly did this when he addressed a forum of street vendor’s masquerading as Luo leadr in Nairobi instead of coming to Nyanza and engaged the genuine comunity in a dialogue aimed at rescuing the community from further sinking and wallowing in abject poverty.

Apart from Hon Raphael Tuju, the former Foreign Affairs Minister, who is now a civil servant in the coalition government serving as the advicer to the president on media and cohesion matters, the rest of the so-called professionals caucus and businessmen in attendance at the luncheon were a bunch of political rejects and renegades. It was full of political hirelings and belly-begging lots with no support and backing back home in Luo-Nyanza.

This was a pure case of gross miscalculation and an underestimation of the intelligentsia of the Luos by the son of Jomo Kenyatta. And the outcome of such mischievous political engagement that should only be consigned to the political dustbins and treated with contempt it deserves.

In any case Mr Kenyatta, like anyone else, is free and most welcome in his desire to reach the Nyanza people for the purpose of canvassing and soliciting for support in his presidential ambition. He has a right to tour the region and talks to the electorate in the open air. But he seemed to have launched his campaign to win the Luos backing through the wrong footing by using political demagogues, some of them who could not even win a seat in a local primary school committee in their own villages.

Mr Kenyatta should realize that it pays to work with the community’s elected and recognized leader. He should not insult the Luo community by offering luncheon to a group of brief-case politicians and street dwellers of Nairobi. His mentor, the retired President Daniel Arap Moi, had squandered millions of shillings through using wrong strategies buying the support of Luo political rejects and miserably failed inn his concerted effort to reach the community by using unwanted political surrogates. And Kenyatta who worked closely with Moi ought to have known that this is an iron willed community, which is not an easy prey or political sellout.

The Luos, however, are peaceful and democratic minded people. They cherish the spirit love and co-existence of all Kenyans. It is a community which is not thriving vengeance and blood thirsty, but a democratic community that believes in justice for all.

Kenyatta’s new found political partner and presidential running-mate was the other day in Kisumu, though he arrived rather late in the evening, he was given an arousing welcome by a huge enthusiastic crowd which gathered at Kondele ground and also outside Moi’s Stadium in the heart of Kisumu City. Ruto can testify to this, though he has always persistently lost no chance without releasing his vitriol’s and polemics against the Luo political kingpin Raila Amolo Odinga.

The Luos did welcome Ruto in reciprocation of the tumultuous welcome that is always accorded to Raila by Ruto’s own Kalenjin people whenever “Agwambo” is tour of the Rift Valley. And this is the kind of new Kenya that we want.

I was glad that prior to Ruto;s much vaunted plan to visit the Lakeside City, Raila had made stopovers at the various spots in the City and told his fanatic and overzealous supporter to welcome and this was openly demonstrated that they were peaceful to all the prospective presidential candidates whenever they are on a tour of the region. This was pure act of political maturity and magnanimity, and the Kisumu youths followed his instructions to the letter and happily received Ruto and Eugine Wamalwa, though they were only in town briefly.

Kenyatta who holds a key ministerial docket, that of Finance in the coalition government, should have told his Luo friends what plans are a foot for the revival of the stalled government projects, the plans for the resuscitation of the all the closed won, but economically important manufacturing industries in Kisumu City and its environs.

The important large and medium sized industries in Kisumu, such as the multimillion Kicomi, Kenya Breweries, Kibos Industries and many others, closed down under the Moi regime. This spilled many youths to the streets as they become redundant and jobless, and since became the major source of insecurity in the whole of Nyanza region instead of veiled attack on Nyanza political leadership.

The Luo woes and tribulation started all the way back in 1962, immediately soon after the end of the second and the last Lancaster House Round Table constitutional conference in London that paved the way for the formation of the responsible government after the overwhelming KANU victory over KADU, in the pre-independence general election the following year in June 1963.

A cabal of Kiambu confidants and Kenyatta’s advisers moved in with snake’s speed and worked overnight burning their midnight oil to ensure that the hitherto neat close Luo-Kikuyu political alliance and working relations did not materialized anymore. It was purely for economic purpose, because a year later something unique emerged which was known as “Koinange Blueporint”.

The damning secret plan was not hatched by the late Mbiyu Koinange, then a key minister in the Kenyatta cabinet, but it was the covert work of the late Bruce Mackenzie and White Hall.They wanted to retain the British economic dominance of Kenya and came out with the “Koiange Blueprint, which was meant to ensure that all the major important means of production in this country remained in tight control of the Kikuyu elites in collaboration with British investors under the close watch of the White Hall. This is how the plan to frustrate and sideline the late Jaramnogi Oginga Odinga an his fellow Luo arch-rival the late Tom Mboya had come about.

The late Kenyatta held secret night meetings at his Gatundu home with Kukuyu elite during which plans were hatched how to make easy loans through banks controlled by Kikuyu to avail finances for Kikuyu businessmen and traders for funding their purchase of shares in most major productions. Means and this is how the Kukuyu accessed shareholding in big multinational companies such as BAT, Brooke Bond, and many others reducing the highly Luos and members of other Kenyan communities to mere workers while the Kukuyu partly with foreigners owned the industries including commercial banks.

Nearly all the Kikuyu merchants were accorded bank and ICDC loans. They included the charcoal sellers and kiosk traders who got unsecured loans which enabled them to purchase shares in big companies and acquire wealth for just this simple reason. Meaning the beginning of the economic strangulation and marginalization of the Luos and other non-Kikuyus.

Did all these secret schemes come about due to bad political leadership in Nyanza? Kenyatta sould have learned the political history of this country before he opened up his big mouth and threw the blames to innocent people. The same policy was later pursued to the letter by his father’s successor Daniel Moi. All these are in the history note books of Kenyan scholars and it won’t take long before this kind of information are blown off for the public consumption. Let Uhuru campaign in a clean note and tell the public what he intend to do for Kenyans and stop touching the old wounds.

Personally I have no grudge against the Kenyatta family as a whole and Uhuru in person, but my passionate advice to the Gatundu South MP is that h should not open the can of warm. He should be made to be aware that he is under scrutiny and close watchful eyes.

Uhuru should first of all, before he opens up against Luo leadership, think seriously about the reparation and compensation to the families of close to 40 Luos who was massacred by the trigger happy boys from Gatundu in Kisumu City in October 1969 and other hidden crimes against the community

We can all contribute immensely towards the preservation of unity of purpose and move our country forward if we all could be pursuing the constructive political engagement and not destructive politics of hatred and deceit.

Ends