Guest post by Sam Okello
Fellow Kenyans,
In just three days, the journey the Hon. Raila Amollo Odinga started in the eighties will enter a new phase. With his election to the presidency, a matter approved from on high, the nation will embark on the final leg of a chapter that should have closed in the sixties, immediately after independence, but never did. I'm talking about national reconciliation and the creation of a nation that works for everyone.
What we've witnessed in the years since President Jomo Kenyatta took oath to lead the nation to prosperity has been the unequal distribution of national resources and the selective development of pockets of the nation. The result is that vast areas of Kenya remain sinfully underdeveloped, while others wallow in wealth and boast some of the richest Kenyans.
But what is more disturbing is the increasing tribalization of the nation. The shameless manner in which President Kibaki constituted his Cabinet and other key appointments is a case in point. He was obviously acting in the same way Presidents Kenyatta and Moi acted when it was their turn. The sad thing is, with President Kibaki, a man Kenyans voted for in droves, suffering wananchi finally decided that unrepresentative governments should not lead Kenya. He betrayed the trust, just like Moi and kenyatta before him. And so in three days Kenyans will vote to right the wrongs that have been allowed to go on for forty years.
When that happens, there's only one word that can and will describe the change that will have taken place. VINDICATION. It will be a vindication of the ideals our freedom fighters fought for. A vindication of the Kenya Waruru Kanja thought was possible when he called on us to end the politics of elimination. A vindication of the ideals Bishop Muge tirelessly advocated before his life was painfully snapped out. A vindication of the ideals Tom Mboya and Robert Ouko and JM and Masinde Muliro were killed trying to help take root in Kenya. Indeed, it will be a vindication of the one thing Kenyans have known all along...that when all is said and done, deep down we all long to live in peace and harmony one with another.
That's why about three weeks ago I dared to say that the Hon. Raila Odinga was God's choice to lead Kenya. Because at a time when the nation is standing on the threshold of taking its place among the the greatest and modern democracies of the world, when human rights and the celebration of humility are viewed by Kenyans as the next great thing, the Lord in His wisdom has seen it fit to call His servant, the Hon. Odinga, to lead His people to that place. And thankfully, the Hon. Odinga has said, "Here am I, Lord, send me."
The Lord sends the Hon. Odinga in three days. At that point we all start a journey to Kenyanize Kenya. A journey to true brotherhood. Let there be nobody in five years who'll say they feel left behind, unwanted. Because more than anything else, that is how we'll all know that for the first time since independence, the Lord has blest Kenya with a government for the people. And as I pen off, I hope that in five years, the Hon. odinga will still be able to go around the nation and meet millions of Kenyans who adoringly call him...Agwambo...Tinga...Nyundo!
I don't think he wants us to call him His Excellency, does he?
