Who is really popular
Kenyan newspapers have of late dedicated hectares of space to ODM-K wrangling. The fight has been over the torch bearer. That is the person to tackle Kibaki in December 2007 elections. As I write, Kibaki and his pips have only three strategies for winning. The first is a 24 hours 7 days a week prayer that ODM breaks up, if that fails then it will be bribery (remember referendum) and last but not least, I suspect, outright rigging.
There is a warped argument that KM and his entourage are advancing within ODM that scares me to death. But if you are a tribalist then you will not find a problem with it. Neither will you find a problem with the argument if yours is only to remove Kibaki from power.
The argument is that if KM is the presidential candidate he will receive 100 percent of the votes in Eastern while also bagging the same in Nyanza. If the torch bearer is R then ODM will only get 30 percent of the votes in Eastern and 100 percent in Nyanza. In other words, everything equal, KM will have 70 percent more votes than R. This in turn means he will not struggle beating Kibaki.
Why this warped argument? Does it reflect something about the people of Nyanza and Eastern province in general or does it only say one of two things about KM and R’s leadership styles and their positions in the heart of the people?
If R is able to convince the people of Nyanza to vote for KM to the man just as they voted for Kibaki, why can’t KM do the same in Eastern province? While R can openly and without fear ask Nyanza people to vote for whomever ODM fairly and freely elects, the same cannot be said of KM. I believe he sings another song all together i.e. if it is not “me” then make sure that whoever wins (read R) fails in the presidential race. It’s sick.
What I’m trying to say is that if KM is popular as he claims, then he should be able to sway opinion in his own backyard. That’s why he is part of a team because he is expected to bring something to the table. The question of sitting back and announcing to the world that most of his people will not vote for R is to put it mildly stupid and mind boggling. Why did “his” people vote overwhelmingly for the National Rainbow Coalition (Narc) even though KM was not the torch bearer? Well, perhaps it was because of Charity Ngilu. It is upon KM to make sure that 100 percent of Easterners vote for ODM even if R is its torch bearer just as much it’s for MM to convince westerners and Balala people at the coast.
If 70 percent of the voters of Eastern province were to vote for another person other than R (if KM remained in the same party as R), then I would not blame them (people of Eastern province). My blame would be directed towards KM his leadership style and his rebellious attitude towards people from other provinces, specifically Nyanza. KM can fight R but insulting a whole community with reckless utterances, especially if he is looking forward to becoming president some day, serves no purpose. It was the same KM who asked Jakoyo Midiwo to go and tell R the he does not want anything to do with Balala or Mudavadi joining the race?
Lets for a moment assume that only 30 percent of Easterners vote for R but he wins all the same, even though by a small margin. How would KM face R again? Could they ever work together at all? This is why I believe that R/KM partnership must come to an end. They must call it a day and look for other options.
If we assume that all the aspirants’ have bought shares in ODM then I also suppose that dividends must be in direct proportion to ones investment. You don’t expect more by putting in less. But again, tribal politics is not that logical.
What happened to the “free and fair elections” KM used to talk of day in day out? He now wants to be “toshwad”, his only qualification being the length of his foreskin. How free and fair.
There is a warped argument that KM and his entourage are advancing within ODM that scares me to death. But if you are a tribalist then you will not find a problem with it. Neither will you find a problem with the argument if yours is only to remove Kibaki from power.
The argument is that if KM is the presidential candidate he will receive 100 percent of the votes in Eastern while also bagging the same in Nyanza. If the torch bearer is R then ODM will only get 30 percent of the votes in Eastern and 100 percent in Nyanza. In other words, everything equal, KM will have 70 percent more votes than R. This in turn means he will not struggle beating Kibaki.
Why this warped argument? Does it reflect something about the people of Nyanza and Eastern province in general or does it only say one of two things about KM and R’s leadership styles and their positions in the heart of the people?
If R is able to convince the people of Nyanza to vote for KM to the man just as they voted for Kibaki, why can’t KM do the same in Eastern province? While R can openly and without fear ask Nyanza people to vote for whomever ODM fairly and freely elects, the same cannot be said of KM. I believe he sings another song all together i.e. if it is not “me” then make sure that whoever wins (read R) fails in the presidential race. It’s sick.
What I’m trying to say is that if KM is popular as he claims, then he should be able to sway opinion in his own backyard. That’s why he is part of a team because he is expected to bring something to the table. The question of sitting back and announcing to the world that most of his people will not vote for R is to put it mildly stupid and mind boggling. Why did “his” people vote overwhelmingly for the National Rainbow Coalition (Narc) even though KM was not the torch bearer? Well, perhaps it was because of Charity Ngilu. It is upon KM to make sure that 100 percent of Easterners vote for ODM even if R is its torch bearer just as much it’s for MM to convince westerners and Balala people at the coast.
If 70 percent of the voters of Eastern province were to vote for another person other than R (if KM remained in the same party as R), then I would not blame them (people of Eastern province). My blame would be directed towards KM his leadership style and his rebellious attitude towards people from other provinces, specifically Nyanza. KM can fight R but insulting a whole community with reckless utterances, especially if he is looking forward to becoming president some day, serves no purpose. It was the same KM who asked Jakoyo Midiwo to go and tell R the he does not want anything to do with Balala or Mudavadi joining the race?
Lets for a moment assume that only 30 percent of Easterners vote for R but he wins all the same, even though by a small margin. How would KM face R again? Could they ever work together at all? This is why I believe that R/KM partnership must come to an end. They must call it a day and look for other options.
If we assume that all the aspirants’ have bought shares in ODM then I also suppose that dividends must be in direct proportion to ones investment. You don’t expect more by putting in less. But again, tribal politics is not that logical.
What happened to the “free and fair elections” KM used to talk of day in day out? He now wants to be “toshwad”, his only qualification being the length of his foreskin. How free and fair.
posted by mcGregory Gripen @ 2:57 PM
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