Leaders of the outlawed Mungiki sect are pushing for a meeting with Prime Minister Raila Odinga. apparently to give him a ‘damning’ information on some Cabinet ministers in ODM and PNU”. I believe Mungiki leaders have observed a different leadership strategy of Raila Odinga when instead of choosing to wage battles with Mungiki, he extended a peaceful gesture. Everyone wants peace and no one can throw himself into a war for no apparent reason. While we want to believe that this is true in the case of Mungiki, their genuineness to this cause may never come to light and may never be realized if they still stick to their signatures.

Mungiki has been associated with extreme terror including beheading, skinning of people’s heads, killing innocent children, intimidation of the general public and the list is endless. In other words Mungiki has chosen a path of fighting the public and not the injustices committed against them by the government. Just the other day Mungiki burned people alive who had nothing to do with land crisis and social injustices. All over suddenly Mungiki want to blame this on some ministers. Yes this may be true but is not a good reason enough to meet the prime minister who is still learning his way around Mungiki that has visited state house many times.

For Mungiki to succeed in their new transformation and even for the meeting to achieve the goal of peaceful coexistance and equitable distribution of resources, Mungiki has to transform itself to a pressure group or into a political party. Their leaders must change tactics and attempt to market popularity rather fear. At such a point, the PM could meet them on their capacity as a political front with whom forstering an agreement and relationship may advance the agenda of ODM. The meeting should be a political matter rather than a government matter.

At such a level, Mungiki leadership should meet with ODM leadership first just like Mungiki has done this before with PNU. They cannot seek a meeting with the PM as this may paint him in a different light to the coalition partners. This talk must be at a party level and not individual.

However, if Mungiki want to meet the PM at government PR level, the protocol would require the presence of government officials including the ministries concerned. Mungiki must therefore present their demand to the government and the government must be willing to negotiate with Mungiki or selectively yield to Mungiki demands.

This is tricky for one Mungiki’s demands is lack of land and jobs. Mungiki’s demands are the same things that all Kenyans are asking for. However, Mungiki is backing this demand with force.The other day Mungiki stated that they have the guns. This is a very dangerous group to meet. Before Raila meet Mungiki in his capacity as the PM, Mungiki must vow to down their force tools. Meeting Mungiki as it is now will require that other armed groups be met and their demands honored. This may cause mushrooming of many of such groupings.

However, if Mungiki can tone down its violence, transform to a political party with political strategy, it would all the political sense in the world for ODM and not Raila to meet them. Indeed this will be one of the accessibility pathway to central province that ODM has been craving for.A coalition with Mungiki as a political party would be extremely beneficial to ODM that the one they are in with PNU. PNU is a patched coat while Mungiki is an brand new suit that everyone may be interested buying but cannot afford.

Dr. Barack Abonyo

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Date: Sun, 20 Apr 2008 01:39:13 +0000
From: barack abonyo
Subject: RE: WHY IS MUNGIKI FOCUSED ON MEETING RAILA