Why Mudavadi rivals should be afraid

By Mundia Muchiri 

We in the Musalia Mudavadi campaign find ourselves in the unenviable position of being the target of cheap shots from every political rival in the race for president.

Whether it is invective-filled tirades carried in newspaper columns under the guise of political commentary or innuendo clothed as campaign politics, bashing the United Democratic Forum presidential aspirant has become a sport.
Yet it is easy to understand why our campaign is constantly coming under attack: We sit in the comfortable position as the most viable choice for Kenya’s leadership when elections are held next year.

And many in this country and beyond know this. In Mudavadi, Kenyans have a presidential aspirant with the greatest potential to unite the country and heal wounds that threaten our grand march to national greatness.
It is beyond dispute that Mudavadi is widely seen as the candidate least likely to break our delicate national fabric, which is in desperate need of restoration.

As we woke up to discover when the result of the last presidential election was contested at great human and economic cost, Kenya’s progress as a country rests not just on the giant economic steps but also on the social and political cohesion of the population.

Indeed, the ability of the new Constitution to deliver on its full promise is foreshadowed by the need to foster inclusion and fairness. This, dear readers, as you will soon see when our campaign is fully unveiled, is what will differentiate us from a crowd that is balking under the weight of unrelenting promises: From “reformers” to saviors and others.

The barrage of insults and idle point-scoring directed at our campaign, such as what we read in this columns three days ago from one Jared Okello, can only detract from the really important work that awaits the winning candidate.
To be sure, Kenya’s next president will ride into office on the economic momentum created in the past 10 years. The country’s flagship development plan, Vision 2030, is looking ever more within grasp.

The economic pace is only likely to quicken with the recent discoveries of natural resource – the finding of commercial quantities of coal, iron ore, rare earths, along with the much-anticipated finds of commercial volumes of oil and natural gas.
Yet the excitement that greets every discovery is often tempered by fears that new resource finds are as much a source of new wealth as they are a flashpoint of new conflict between communities or between community and Government.
In a practical sense, the campaign for the presidency is about sustaining the economic promise for the Kenyan population while ensuring that the benefits of new jobs and wealth reach every county, every corner of the country.

With so much going for Kenya, it’s a mystery to our campaign that some politicians and commentators continue to focus on the non-issue of whether or not Mudavadi is President Kibaki’s “project”, or preferred candidate, or whatever that might be designed to connote.

The election debate now and at election in March 2013 will not be about projects but about perpetuating good leadership of the kind that gives real hope for a better future for all Kenyans.

It will be about whether we want calm, non-confrontational leadership that puts national cohesion, good economic management and proper utilisation of national resources ahead of vain political maneuvering and populist antics.
It will certainly also be about who is best placed to steer our great country towards a healthier national competition for resources and away from the bare-knuckle political infighting that serves the ends of a few politicians at the expense of national harmony.

For the avoidance of doubt, we in the Mudavadi campaign are fully committed to a clean, violence-free and issue-based contest for the highest office. While others see their greatest hope of victory being linked to how much they bring down the Mudavadi phenomenon, we see our chances of victory being linked to how well we explain to wananchi our promise of national cohesion, growth and prosperity. And no amount of taunting and insolence will detract us.