WHO IS RAILA TO OFFER EXECUTIVE ORDERS? THE INTRIGUES OF KENYAN POLITICS

DOES RAILA ODINGA HAVE THE AUTHORITY TO ISSUE EXECUTIVE ORDERS? And find out what the future holds for him…

Raila Odinga ni RAIA…allow THAT to sink. Yes, raia.  

On Saturday 5th October 2019, the former Prime Minister directed that the dredging exercise being carried out in the Likoni area be halted after being informed that it was interfering with the efforts to recover the two bodies lost in the Likoni Ferry Tragedy.

These are delusions of grandeur. Article 130 of our supreme law says:

• The national executive of the Republic comprises the President, the Deputy President and the rest of the Cabinet.
• The composition of the national executive shall reflect the regional and ethnic diversity of the people of Kenya.

…where in the above does Raila Odinga fit? He’s neither the president, his deputy nor a member of the Cabinet!”

A handshake with the president does NOT translate to being presidential. It is just a handshake for God’s sake!

To be able to issue executive orders, Mr Odinga has either to be the president, part of the presidency as espoused in article 130 or president Uhuru Kenyatta delegates those powers to him…in writing as per article 135 of Kenya’s constitution 2010…anything else is noise.

…as for Mr Odinga’s political future, the man has 3 options:

One, Quit & Go Home. Couldn’t that be a spectacle? I mean c’mon…the man is what 74? For how long are you going to have run-ins with the state? Is it worth it? I understand it is business but just hang up your court man! It is about time. You’ve given the nation about 50 years of your life…how about you spend the remaining 20+ or as your maker may wish to give you in bonding with your grandchildren and enjoying life? Try it out! You’re not going to be president…it is NOT happening. 

Two, be a Kingmaker. Together with Uhuru Kenyatta and the Mt. Kenya oligarchs, make someone outside the Kalenjin/Kikuyu nexus a president. That will be an everlasting legacy. This country is deeply divided and part of that division is the perception, true or imagined…mostly true, that the national cake is shared in a skewed manner; favouring the Mt. Kenya and Kalenjin nations. Importantly, the two regions have held the presidency since independence! Go for Wycliffe Musalia Mudavadi, Stephen Kalonzo Musyoka or Fred Okeng’o Matiang’ i or even myself! Make any of the presidents. Campaign for them. Let the leadership of the nation reflect the diversity of ethnicity and espouse the preamble of our constitution especially this part: “PROUD of our ethnic, cultural and religious diversity, and determined to live in peace and unity as one indivisible sovereign nation.” It is a move that will cement your statesmanship. 

Three, run against William Samoei Ruto and LOSE. This is cast on stone. They say numbers don’t lie…between William Ruto and Raila Odinga, who will the Mt. Kenya folks be most comfortable within State House? This will be a case of two devils…the lesser devil carries the day. Truth is, 70%+ of the ordinary folks in the Mt. Kenya region (Central, Embu & Meru) have a soft spot for the Deputy President…Raila Odinga is a VERY hard sell in the region. In a contest between Raila and Ruto, this is a no-brainer. Ruto WILL win the region’s 5-6M votes. That plus the 3M South, North & Central Rift votes gives the man a massive head start…but make no mistake, minus the Kikuyu/Embu/Meru vote, Ruto is nothing. He knows it. I know it. You should too. But there’s the Mt. Kenya oligarchs – the wealthy old men from the region who call the shots in the country’s political sphere. Who are they for? All indications show an anti-Ruto mood in their camp…that’s how the handshake came about. That’s how BBI was born. But for these oligarchs’ plan to succeed, they need the masses to validate their political chess game? Will the masses do that? If Raila Odinga is their presidential flagbearer, history paints a very grim picture.