There are some writers and opinion leaders whose views I value. This is because of their consistency over the years on key issues affecting our country. But since Musalia Mudavadi declared his interest in the ODM presidential ticket, some have written contrary to this consistency. It seems their views on Kenya’s democratisation process remain consistent to the extent that Raila Odinga is unchallenged. Once competition against the PM is in the equation, all manner of excuses are canvassed to assert loyalty to him. This is a very worrying signal that prompts the question: is this intolerance to competition indicative of how affairs will be handled under an Odinga Presidency?
Since Mudavadi declared his interest in the ODM presidential ticket, opinion has been divided in roughly two ways. Some, especially those who historically have never supported Odinga, see in his candidacy the solution to a perceived Raila-problem. They see in an Odinga -Mudavadi presidential ticket an unbeatable combination and their only hope is to break the alliance. They are counting on Mudavadi to quit ODM.
There are those who interpret Mudavadi’s challenge as disloyalty and disrespect to the party leader. While the PM has consistently defended Mudavadi’s right, supporters equate Odinga to the pope and urge us to pray and wait for the day he quits to take our stab at the presidency. I believe that Mudavadi has a right to run for the ODM presidential ticket, a right that we must protect as long as he complies with the ODM constitution and the Political Parties Act. He should go for it until he loses at a legally constituted ODM primary.
The reason I found Jerry Okungu’s piece in the Star of 9th March 2012 troubling is that, though disguised under the smokescreen of Mudavadi as the gentleman in Kenyan politics, he basically contended that Mudavadi is dishonest, not loyal to the PM and a mole in ODM. Wondering where Mudavadi got ‘the guts to ruffle feathers in his own ODM party’ Okungu found it odd that Mudavadi was causing rumbles in a political party when he never had ‘any dissenting opinion all the years he served under Moi.’ He further found it intolerable that Mudavadi is ‘disparaging his party leader’ when Odinga has never made ‘negative remarks against his deputy.’
It is true that Mudavadi’s guts are unusually elevated and the offensive in his campaigning is uncharacteristic. But to jump from this observation to the assumption that Mudavadi can only act uncharacteristically if prompted by non-ODM forces is to be extremely paranoid. Mudavadi, like all of us, does not operate within a predetermined script that is cast in stone and to which all observers expect him to conform and be judged. Those who insinuate that he is being pushed by outside forces must provide the evidence. If they cannot, this line of attack is reckless and unhelpful and must be dropped.
Secondly, the days when a party leader went unchallenged and unquestioned are gone and will never come back. Okungu claims that Kenya’s political culture does not support a challenge against the incumbent, but forgets that that is why Kenyans, including Odinga, found the KANU era obnoxious. Any attempt to sneak back those days must be resisted. Odinga is a party leader, not the Pope. If the ODM party constitution has a provision that gives the incumbent automatic ticket for the presidential race, the party erred in allowing Mudavadi to begin his campaign and must deal with the consequences of their ineptitude. And quite frankly, if the ticket for ODM is reserved for an incumbent, the practice must be properly justified so that it is not an ethnic caucus of Nyanza politicians uttering their preference for Odinga for no better reason than their imagined affinity to his presidency.
The most surprising thing about those who have questioned Mudavadi’s motive is that most of them are so consumed by their loyalties that none of them has asked the basic and most important question: what is Mudavadi offering as his agenda for Kenyans that is superior to Odinga? A review of reports about Mudavadi’s bid does not return anything about his policies and vision for Kenya. Is this not the first question that we should have asked him? All Mudavadi has done is to agitate for a review of procedures for primary elections. Okungu thinks this is not important and has questioned Mudavadi’s reasons. But he conveniently ignores that Madavadi prefaced these request with a commitment to abide by the Party mechanisms for reviewing the constitution. Certainly, canvassing for change in ODM electoral rules is still acceptable party practice.
The way Odinga supporters have handled Mudavadi is akin to pouring gasoline on fire with the hope of putting the fire out. The one option that would best work is to engage Mudavadi. We need him to tell us what he will do for Kenyans if elected and how that is superior to Odinga’s. Ultimately, the party delegates will decide.
Mudavadi and Odinga must submit to the will of the delegates. If the delegates change the rules of the game, all ODM members must submit. There must be no room for bullying anyone in ODM for exercising their right. Kenyan democracy is so advanced that it encompasses but overrides the interests and sense of entitlement of Odinga’s loyalists.
Godwin R. Murunga is a lecturer at Kenyatta University.
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