BY JEFF OTIENO IN KISUMU.
A wave of despondency, resentment, murmurs, jostling for political supremacy has emerged in Orange Democratic Party (ODM) camp particularly in Luo Nyanza where long time associates of Prime Minister Raila Odinga feels abandoned and short changed.
According to our sources, after his elevation as the Country’s second Prime Minister since independence, the Prime Minister seems to have burnt bridges and structures which made him to be what he is today.
The enraged cronies and foot soldiers opine that Raila is of late playing an ivory tower kind of politics as opposed to his usual trade mark grass root approach. He is again allegedly under siege from busy bodies and new comers opportunists operatives whose political engagements or participation hardly stretches to two years to warrants the kind of attention and rewards they’ve bagged so far.
According to some keen political pundits, for Raila to maintain his unrivalled political grip in Kenya and particularly his native region, he should device mechanisms a kin to his father the late Jaramogi Odinga who despite his busy schedules could squeeze and share a word with his lieutenants and admirers even by the road side.
They gave living examples of the likes of Oyangi Mbaja, Luke Obok and the late Mbewa Ndede who were respected opinion shapers and were in the pay role of Jaramogi during their hey days.
In the prevailing situation they emphatically opine that the Prime Minister should have borrowed the same leaf from his father to recognize the consistent and relentless participation of the likes of his renown die hards like former Town Clerk Aduma Owuor who is now a notable desperate pedestrian shuttling in the streets of Kisumu and Nairobi.
During the recent home coming of the Prime Minister in Bondo, a drama ensued when Aduma who had been privy to the terrain, of Jaramogi met the wrath of newly recruited guards who arrogantly confined him to a yard which was housing ordinary people to his disbelief. The former powerful Twon Clerk who was apparently crest fallen was in the company of Odinga’s other die hards, Ishmael Noo the trade Unionist, controversial Kisumu business tycoon Gordon Kaoko and hotelier cum accountant Bob Madanji.
Investigations by his journalist further reveals that Adumas efforts to see the PM or the Local Government Minister Musalia Mudavadi hasn’t been successful.
A fort night ago the financially crippled Aduma is said to have managed to land an appointment with one of them but a public bus he boarded to Nairobi developed a serious mechanical glitch and ultimately he failed to have the audience.
Before the highly publicized fete could start, this journalist managed to talk to some three Luo MPs on strict condition of anonymity who equally confided that the heckling which was witnessed during the fete should serve as a wake up call to him.
“Raila has a bright political future and we revere him but he will only achieve much if he exhibits sensitivity and respect to other leaders,†quipped one of the MPs.
They further alleged that since his elevation into that position he has hardly bothered to even call or share with majority of the legislators from the region which is tantamount to insubordination and ridicule.
“We dearly miss the roles of the like of Hon Job Omino and Mzee Koyo Opien who could take Raila head on when things were destined wrongly,†thundered one of the newly elected legislators from the larger Southern Nyanza.
END.
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Date: Wed, 21 May 2008 00:17:16 -0700 (PDT)
From: JEFF
Subject: DISCONTENT RAGES IN RAILA ODINGA’S CAMP
In politics, cronism is a trait most people cannot dislodge in their dealings. That seems to be what is eating the so called Raila diehards. I have never respected favours as a means of reward. And this should be clear to those people who feel they have given service to Raila and now it is pay back time!!
Raila has his own weaknesses and this has been witnessed since the so called marriage with PNU. He is indeed a changed man but that is understandable. People should not expect much from the man. He has a lot of issues in his hands and cannot attend to everybody. However he should be humble enough to have at least some time to give audience tothe ordinary mwananchi. These are the people who have put him where he is!! It remind me of a say: Treat kindly the people you pass on your way up for they are the same people you will meet on your way down!!
Raila should learn from his father who maintained consistency throughout his life. In that way we can rightly say he is an enigma!! As fr now, time will tell.
This is discontendment is the result of some Visionless impatient people. Many of them believe that Raila being a Prime Minister, should just go ahead and shout theoir names, so that they can access unlimited wealth. After all Are they not BIG PEOPLE who supported Raila?
Well what I can tell these unscrupelous men is that Raila owes them nothing. If anything It is them who owes Raila what they got. They compaigned using his name, while some of them constantly kept invoking the name of Raila to make them appear to have more stake in politics than the rest of them. Yet what is now becoming clear is that these people never really supported Raila’s ideologies. All they wanted was to milk his name to elevate themselves to political wealth and positions. But since this is not happening now then Raila has turned out to be the worst man to them.
Now when the going got tough politically Raila got going on his own. Non of these Luo hecklers could even accompany him to go to compain in Kisii Nyanza to woe voters there to vote for Raila. Raila did it alone and everyone knows this. How about Western, Rift Valley, Coast North Esternand the rest of Kenya were these hecklers there to support him?
When Raila won the election and he wit was hijacked from him then they went ahead to plan the massacre of Luos in Nyanza and the rest of the country, where were these Hecklers. How come non of them came to the support of Raila, either to organise a counter to the political genocide that was being witnessed on the Luos. Where were these Hecklers? Where were they? Luos were killed like chicken, the small people had to regroup themselves and counter the massacre, and all along these hecklers were sitting pretty in their houses waiting for Raila to win the battle for them.
Now after Raila has suffered imencely by giving up all that he stood for in order for peace to be achieved in kenya, these stupid hecklers are coming out to demand from him to be the tribal Kingpins. What a sham. I say shame on them. Nyanza people shopuld be made aware of these hecklers. The people should weed them out cause they only represent their selfish interests. Nyanza does not need them.
There are thousands of other people who have supported Raila kwa hali na mali na bado wanaendelea kumuunga mkono, but we do not hear them Heckling on the press nor do we see their names being circulated on the press to show us how great they are! These people still believe in Raila and where he intends to take the Country. And just like the Voters they still have patience and faith in Raila. Therefore those who are full of wasi wasi like the former Town Clerk should just leave Raila alone.
Nyakwar Marenya
Nyakwar Marenya well put I don’t have to go all over what you wrote. I trully do share your sentiments, People like Aduma Owuor, think that, by invoking Raila’s name, the gravy train’s doors would automatically open. How many Luo’s and non-Luo supported Raila’s bid for presidency both materially, emotionally and personally? Why would Mr. Aduma, think that he deserved special treatment by Raila than any other Kenyan? Sorry but the like of Aduma are out of touch with reality and are living in cloud-cuckoo-land!
Aduma listen wuod luo, dust your coat and pull yourself by your bootstrapps. Go getters don’t sit on their backsides waiting for baba to bring home food. It’s the kind of dependency culture that has seen Nyanza remain if not move backward while the rest of the country is moving forward.
This should not be taken as an attack on a former Kisumu town clerk, who deperately feel hard-done-by, but a castigation on any Kenyan who might think, that if their own is in power, then by right, they’ll inherit the earth, this is one reason Kenyans rejected Kibaki because of croynism and tribalism.
Unfortunately the Luo’s can nolonger own Raila, even though he is their son. the politics of kenya has changed, If Raila were to stick to his fathers tactics, there is no way he would have come closest to wrestling power from the all powerful GEMA. New kenya, new generation, new politics.
I warned that our sons would shed their blood for no trophy at all. I disagree with readers who seem to offer unconditional suport and are quick to throw stones at whoever criticises Raila. He is no god and is indeed leading our community down a line we will regret come 2012. The discontent in ODM is bigger and deeper than mee heckling. It has everything to do with personal ambition at the expense of wide communal and party principles. I for one gave up on his “democracy” crusade immediately after the ODM nominations and selections. Watch out for Dalmas as it ma be time to support owetewa ma South.