The first signs of the effects of the mammoth crowd that stifled Uhuru Park last Saturday emerged yesterday when during a church service in Meru energy minister Kiraitu Murungi told the congregation that unless the Mount Kenya region voted as a block, they might as well forget about State House for another 5 years.
This coupled with the other accusations about ODM being heavily funded from abroad are sending a very clear message to all those who are observant. It is finally dawning on the President’s team and his allies that they are staring defeat straight in the face.
Personally I do not see how the president’s campaign can be saved. It is rare that I make sweeping statements here in Kumekucha but the truth is that Mwai Kibaki is finished. I say this is anger and sadness because the truth is that the president does not have a message to sell. His campaign team has no idea what they are doing. That is the truth. Even the team he sent to London basically repeated the same old mantra, that ODM will bring chaos to Kenya. And while it is normal and acceptable in politics to attack the other side and point out their weaknesses, you don’t do so before you have sold yourself first.
So what does second Kibaki term have to offer. Somebody please tell me, I may have missed the message. By the way the definition of selling a message to the people is not reading some carefully prepared boring speech. It is telling us in a language we understand and with examples exactly what you are planning to do.
The president’s team is telling Kenyans that this administration should continue. What exactly does that mean because we have seen many things in the Kibaki administration that we do NOT like. So should we vote in the president to continue with them? For example there has been a very focused and determined effort to gag the media. Of course the word being used is “control.” So the next question is who needs “control” more? The media that broke the Anglo Leasing scam to Kenyans when the opposition in parliament were fast asleep. Or is it parliamentary excesses that need control? Like that totally unacceptable remuneration they continue to draw at the expense of the tax payer and starving Kenyans?
So what are we saying when we shout; Kibaki abaki na aendelee (Kibaki should remain and continue). Continue with attempts at controlling the media, continue with ignoring the masses and showing no interest whatsoever with tackling graft? Continue with being hands off, see no evil, hear no evil president?
Countrywide Kenyans are not buying that one. So what we should now concentrate on is enhancing national unity and holding Raila Odinga and his ODM team accountable to the promises that they have made to the people because the guy is as good as elected. Not so much because of his ability as a politician but more so because he does not seem to have a serious opponent. Sad but true.
