Why
are Kenyan politicians trying to evoke the spirit of Barack Obama's
insurgent political career and why are the members of the news media
encouraging this hubris? Barack Obama, the President of the United
States of America, the son of a Kenyan father and an American mother,
has had what can only be described as an extraordinary political career.
His presidential success is a testament to the spirit of opportunity
that infuses the American Dream. There is no equivalent in all of the
world, certainly not in Kenya. While Kenyans are proud of the fact that
Barack Obama's heritage can be traced to Kenya, they must certainly
realise that his political career cannot be replicated in a country
where there is no equivalent of the American Dream.
Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta, the Deputy Prime Minister ad Mwai Kibaki's apparently preferred successor attempted to channel the spirit of Barack Obama's political trajectory during the national launch of The National Alliance Party on Sunday at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre lawn. From the use of the TelePrompter to the use of lights and music, the launch of the TNA attempted to copy what is the staple of US political theatre today. His speech was redolent with the spirit of Barack Obama's speeches over the years. He attempted to portray the same image Barack Obama evoked when he chose to stand against Hillary Clinton in the Democratic Party presidential nomination race.What Mr Kenyatta attempted to gloss over was the fact that the life that Barack Obama led to his nomination victory, and to the US presidency, is not the life that Mr Kenyatta has led. While President Obama is the son of a single parent, his father having abandoned him at an early age to return to his career on Kenya, Mr Kenyatta is the son of great privilege, born in the State House and raised in great wealth.
President Obama's political awakening must be seen in the context of the racial politics of the US as with the traditions of the Democratic Party that go back to the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s. His has not been a charmed life; it has entailed sacrifice and hard work. His successes are a testimony to his strength of character and the choices he has made ever since he decided to become a community adviser in the 1980s and he joined local politics in Illinois. Mr Kenyatta, on the other hand, does not have a similar story to tell. If it was not for President Moi attempting to foist him on the people Gatundu in 1997, Mr Kenyatta would not have a political career to speak of. The decisions he has made over the past 15 years have not entirely been with the people of Kenya in mind, but with his advancement up the political greasy pole. Indeed, in contrast to the career of Raila Odinga, Mr Kenyatta has been a study in the contradictions inherent in the ambitions of the rich and powerful at the expense of the weak and poor. His charmed life is not one that is shared by the majority of Kenyans, but by the elite few that managed to use the State for their benefit, frequently at the expense of millions of Kenyans.
This is not to say that Raila Odinga can claim to have experienced what many Kenyans have, but in his frequent challenges against the system, he has articulated what many Kenyans have been unable to do without great personal harm or sacrifice. Mr Odinga's detentions at the hands of the State have allowed him to see the State for what it is and his attempts since the 1980s to bring a change in their circumstances have prepared him more than any other presidential candidate to date. It is Mr Odinga who should be evoking the spirit of Barack Obama and not Mr Kenyatta and the fact that the Prime Minister refuses to do so is testimony to his insight and intellect. Even he recognises that there can only be one Barack Obama.
Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta, the Deputy Prime Minister ad Mwai Kibaki's apparently preferred successor attempted to channel the spirit of Barack Obama's political trajectory during the national launch of The National Alliance Party on Sunday at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre lawn. From the use of the TelePrompter to the use of lights and music, the launch of the TNA attempted to copy what is the staple of US political theatre today. His speech was redolent with the spirit of Barack Obama's speeches over the years. He attempted to portray the same image Barack Obama evoked when he chose to stand against Hillary Clinton in the Democratic Party presidential nomination race.What Mr Kenyatta attempted to gloss over was the fact that the life that Barack Obama led to his nomination victory, and to the US presidency, is not the life that Mr Kenyatta has led. While President Obama is the son of a single parent, his father having abandoned him at an early age to return to his career on Kenya, Mr Kenyatta is the son of great privilege, born in the State House and raised in great wealth.
President Obama's political awakening must be seen in the context of the racial politics of the US as with the traditions of the Democratic Party that go back to the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s. His has not been a charmed life; it has entailed sacrifice and hard work. His successes are a testimony to his strength of character and the choices he has made ever since he decided to become a community adviser in the 1980s and he joined local politics in Illinois. Mr Kenyatta, on the other hand, does not have a similar story to tell. If it was not for President Moi attempting to foist him on the people Gatundu in 1997, Mr Kenyatta would not have a political career to speak of. The decisions he has made over the past 15 years have not entirely been with the people of Kenya in mind, but with his advancement up the political greasy pole. Indeed, in contrast to the career of Raila Odinga, Mr Kenyatta has been a study in the contradictions inherent in the ambitions of the rich and powerful at the expense of the weak and poor. His charmed life is not one that is shared by the majority of Kenyans, but by the elite few that managed to use the State for their benefit, frequently at the expense of millions of Kenyans.
This is not to say that Raila Odinga can claim to have experienced what many Kenyans have, but in his frequent challenges against the system, he has articulated what many Kenyans have been unable to do without great personal harm or sacrifice. Mr Odinga's detentions at the hands of the State have allowed him to see the State for what it is and his attempts since the 1980s to bring a change in their circumstances have prepared him more than any other presidential candidate to date. It is Mr Odinga who should be evoking the spirit of Barack Obama and not Mr Kenyatta and the fact that the Prime Minister refuses to do so is testimony to his insight and intellect. Even he recognises that there can only be one Barack Obama.
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