Fredrick Onyango | Nation From left, Margaret Wanjiru, Anyang’ Nyong’o, Ababu Namwamba along with other ODM party members at a past news conference. Members allied to Prime Minister Raila Odinga held a retreat to craft new strategies to deal with their opponents and decided to respond to issues raised by the people rather than engage in a war of words.
By JULIUS SIGEI uliussigei@gmail.com
Posted Saturday, April 30 2011 at 22:00
Posted Saturday, April 30 2011 at 22:00
In Summary
- As Uhuru and Ruto led a spirited campaign against Raila, ODM opted not to pay attention and instead focus on issues of national interest that would endear them to the electorate ahead of next polls
At the height of the sustained onslaught from a combined force of Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta and Eldoret North MP William Ruto, the top brass of Prime Minister Raila Odinga’s ODM party met at a remote location to craft new strategies of engaging their opponents.
Sources the Sunday Nation spoke to said the retreat attended by the PM and his deputy Musalia Mudavadi toyed with the idea of crafting a blow-by-blow response to the propaganda used against the party leader.
They eventually decided not to return fire with fire but instead participate actively in responding to issues raised by the people.
Others who attended the highly secretive conclave included ministers and MPs Otieno Kajwang’, James Orengo, Magerer Lang’at, Musa Sirma, Mohammed Elmi, Chris Obure and Maragret Wanjiru.
The PM’s office and those who attended were tight lipped about the meeting early this month at which the strategy for countering the political wave created Mr Kenyatta and Mr Ruto was hatched.
“We had finalised the document, which we shall even use when it comes to campaigns proper, but we decided it was not in the interest of the country to put it in a campaign mode even before the implementation of the new Constitution took off,” said a source who requested not to be named.
Nominated MP Rachel Shebesh said ODM had realised that what the people needed was different from the Raila-bashing their opponents were engaging in or counterattacks ODM could make against them.
“When the people say they are hungry, we have to listen to them and respond fast. That is why you saw Budalang’i MP Ababu Namwamba bring that Motion on food and fuel prices to Parliament. You will see us responding to the needs of wananchi more and more,” she said.
Campaign idea
Her sentiments were echoed by Gwassi MP John Mbadi, who said it is difficult to sustain a campaign idea or euphoria for more than six months.
“We have decided to let the noise die down as elections are at least 17 months away. Things cannot get worse than they have been. We cannot use valuable time crafting propaganda to respond to our opponents, we shall have lost it,” he said.
Another Raila ally claimed their opponents were resorting to blackmail to try and win over some members of the party using state machinery, but they were calling the targeted leaders and explaining the situation.
“They did that with Agriculture Minister Sally Kosgei and she was overwhelmed. They are trying the same tactic with Deputy Prime Minister Musalia Mudavadi, but we have informed him and he is aware and unshaken,” claimed the source.
Energy Assistant Minister Magerer Lang’at said ODM would strike at the opportune time, but they had agreed as a party to deliver on the promises made during the last campaigns.
“By keeping quiet we have managed to show that our opponents have no agenda except to respond to Raila. This way Kenyans can know them for what they are,” he said.
Mr Langat said they had evidence that the current fuel prices were as a result of a cartel that had the blessings of highly placed people in government.
“As an insider in the ministry of Energy I can tell you this: that when we release the evidence on the ongoing scandal, which is impoverishing Kenyans, things will not be the same even in the Rift Valley where the perception is we are under siege,” he said without elaborating.
The Director of Communications in the Prime Minister’s office, Mr Dennis Onyango, said in an interview that the silence or change of focus was deliberate.
“The PM feels strongly that some people want to derail not only him but the entire government from pursuing programmes that can be later put out to wananchi as tangible success stories. So he decided that if his opponents are going to deliberately go for him, he will keep sane, for the sake of having programmes pushed through,” said MrOnyango.
He added that the PM believes that the window of opportunity for implementing government programmes is closing rapidly, and will be as good as completely closed by around September when he expects real electioneering mood to set in.
He said before then, the PM wants to push government programmes and that he has zeroed in on energy, economy and the Constitution.
“On the Constitution in particular, the PM feels there is a clique of opponents which does not mind the new laws not being implemented. He feels that group wants to derail him and the government from the implementation work because the status quo serves them well. This is the group of politicians who opposed the new laws or supported it out of fear of losing or because President Kibaki asked them to,” he said.
Mr Onyango said that the PM feels the noise is aimed at achieving this goal of derailing the Constitution and joining the fray makes the opponents of the constitution achieve their goal.
“He has raised the party’s attention to this and given appropriate instructions,” he said.
Mr Onyango said the PM does not believe he is under siege, saying Mr Odinga knows the strength of a leader and a party is in the links with the voters through programmes the politician or the party has been able to push.
“The game is still wide open, and any politician retiring to bed at night with a feeling that Raila Odinga is finished or is under siege is making a mistake of a lifetime, a career-ending kind of mistake. They may not hear from Raila today or tomorrow. But they will certainly hear from him,” he said.
Prof Macharia Munene of the United States International University said the approach had paid off and added the PM might have borrowed a leaf from President Kibaki who rarely responds to attacks.
“Of course the two politicians have their different strengths, but the problem with Raila is that he talks too much. The more one talks the more mistakes he is likely to make,” he said.
University of Nairobi political scientist Dr Adams Oloo agrees.
“He must have realised that the moment he talked about drug abusers and land grabbers at Machakos Country Bus Station last month, he gave his opponents so much ammunition he could not handle,” he said.
Dr Oloo said the PM reckoned that as a statesman who shares incumbency with the president, engaging in a war of words when the elections were still far would not have augured well for him.
Dr Oloo said by keeping quiet amid the criticism, he has managed to paint his critics as the aggressors and could alienate the undecided voters from them.
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