Why Raila has to lose Kibera to win Kenya

By OTIENO OTIENO
Posted Saturday, August 7 2010 at 08:01

For a man who personifies change in this country, Prime Minister Raila Odinga must have found the moment to lead Kenyans in welcoming the birth of the Second Republic quite fulfilling.

The natural question now is: can he ride the wave of change to State House in 2012? Well, it will be smooth or rough depending on who you ask.

But one has to be a pathological Railaphobic to bet against it. Unlike the political wimps who have crowded the field of presidential aspirants including those who owe it all to their fathers’ surnames or Moi-era kleptocracy — Mr Odinga does it the hard way.

The Nigerian Babafemi Badejo struggles to tell the rather obvious story of Mr Odinga having been Kenya’s longest-serving political detainee, his being linked to the abortive 1982 coup and other misadventures to justify the title of his biography, Raila Odinga: An Enigma in Kenyan Politics.

But, for me, this is not what makes Mr Odinga enigmatic.

The toughest battle the PM ever fought and won was the cultural one against politics of the foreskin.

This is how he managed to woo Kenyans from different ethnic communities to vote him a heartbeat away from the presidency in 2007.

Also crucial for Mr Odinga is his ideological coup against the conservative elite. From the image of a rebel Moi painted for years or the socialist Kibaki allies tried too hard to create in 2007, Mr Odinga looks relatively comfortable in the company of captains of industry and western diplomats.

To complete his makeover and become authentically presidential though, the PM has to show his more passionate fans — loosely said to be from Nairobi’s Kibera slums — some tough love.

Their habit of coming out to public meetings to heckle other leaders, like they did to Kalonzo Musyoka on Thursday, doesn’t add any value to the PM’s love. It reinforces stereotypes and turns off many right-thinking Kenyans who are open to being persuaded.

This crowd has to be told to face the truth: Mr Musyoka is the Vice-President of the Republic of Kenya and deserves their respect. Anyone who still has a problem with this can go hang instead of embarrassing themselves and everybody else by screaming in public.

If in doubt, Mr Odinga only needs to give Barack Obama a call and ask how he dumped his racist pastor and gave African American fathers an unflattering lecture on parenting and responsibility — and still won the US presidency.

jkotieno@ke.nationmedia.com