Raila ripe for top seat - Ida

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Ida Odinga during the launch of ‘Sibanduki - Raila 4 Rais’ at the Serena hotel. The motto for the campaign is '47 Counties, One Nation'. Photo\Emma Nzioka 

By AGGREY MUTAMBO amutambo@ke.nationmedia.com
Posted  Friday, July 6  2012 at  13:32

Prime Minister Raila Odinga’s wife, Ida, on Friday joined her husband's presidential campaign and endorsed him as being 'ripe' for the presidency.

Mrs Odinga told off her husband’s critics, saying she is better placed to ‘recommend’ him to be Kenya’s next President.

Speaking to a gathering of Raila Odinga’s supporters in Nairobi, she said she had spent four decades ‘grooming’ the PM to be president and that he was now ripe to be one.

“I have known Raila for over 40 years and there is nobody in a better position to tell you that they know him better than Ida Odinga. When Raila spent years in detention, I never left him because I was preparing him for Kenya,” she said.

She was speaking at the launch of another campaign project dubbed ‘Sibanduki - Raila 4 Rais’ at the Serena Hotel.

Mrs Odinga argued that some presidential aspirants want the top job just to block her husband from becoming one.

And she lavished her husband with praises of being a person who loves justice for all.

“Raila has consistently fought for reforms, some people are just joining now. We say ‘welcome on board’ but Raila has been at it since the 70s,” she said.

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Mrs Odinga dared her husband's opponents to come clean on their past record before gunning for the presidency.

“Everybody can shout, but very few can be leaders. You don’t have to do something bad then run to us to be our leader. Clear your name from the grassroots first, and then say ‘I am clean, I want to be your leader’,” she said.

Mrs Odinga did not mention names, but two of those seeking to compete with her husband for the presidency have cases pending at the International Criminal Court.

Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta and Eldoret North MP William Ruto face accusations of bearing the greatest responsibility in the 2007 post-election violence.

The ‘Sibanduki - Raila 4 Rais project comes two days after Mr Odinga launched his presidential campaign website is an initiative of a group calling itself Miale Matumaini.

According to the Sibanduki - Raila 4 Rais project Chairman Maitha wa Masha, the group would seek to “reactivate the existing nationwide pool of voters who actually voted for Raila in the 2007 presidential election.”

Although the group claims Mr Odinga’s vote basket already “has something,” Mr Masha admitted that they would have to re-market the PM so as not to lose them.

The group said it would keep in contact with those supporters and keep them engaged to know what Raila will do for them.

This is the third group to declare their campaign for the PM. Earlier, two other groupings, Friends of Raila (Fora) and Youth for Raila (Y-Fora) announced they would market Mr Odinga’s agenda.

Fora said it would campaign for the PM especially in places thought to have supporters of his opponents.

The group last month went to court seeking to have party hoppers declared to have left their parliamentary seats.