We will give this our best shot. We make no promises, though.
It is official. Kalonzo Musyoka and Raila Odinga have buried the hatchet and made up with each other. Together with Ford-Kenya's Moses Wetangula, an alliance has been crafted to see the trio through the search for a single presidential candidate and his running mate to take on the TNA/URP alliance. What was surprising was the presence of a beaming Charity Ngilu, who'd recently been entertaining overtures from the Uhuru camp going so far as to accompany Mr Kenyatta to Burundi on one of his get-to-know-your-presidential-neighbours jaunts. It was surprising not because Charity Ngilu had already shown more than a passing interest in the Uhuru candidacy, nor because she herself is a presidential candidate, but because she cannot stand the presence of Kalonzo Musyoka. The feeling is mutual on both sides. But if Kalonzo and Raila have managed a rapprochement, the romantic in me sees no reason why there cannot be one between Kalonzo and Mama rainbow.
Peter Kenneth and his Starehe Boys' Centre fellow alumnus Raphael Tuju are in talks with Musalia Mudavadi to strike an alliance, forming the so-called third way. This is a promising development. The trio have been treated with contempt by those jostling to fulfill Raila Odinga's prediction that the 2013 general election will be a two-horse race. Of the three, Mr Kenneth offers the nearest to a clean break with the past that Kenyans have been demanding. Even his brief jaunts in various government-affiliated institutions have not tainted his rather sunny character or optimism. While his colleagues have had to contend with unflattering reviews of the CDF kitties, Mr Kenneth has received only glowing ones. On that score, no one doubts that Mr Kenneth has kept his fingers as far away from the cookie jar as he could get without being accused of being aloof. His picture-perfect scions are a credit to the man too; if there is an alternative to the Raila/Kalonzo or Uhuru/Ruto tickets, it would be one headlined by Mr Kenneth. Mr Tuju could have done more a Foreign Affairs Minister in Kibaki's first government and Mr Mudavadi should have demonstrated more spine when it became apparent that he was always going to be the bride to Raila Odinga's groom. In the triumvirate, their best chance of success, much as it will pain many anti-Mt Kenya loudmouths to hear, would be if the top of the ticket were Mr Kenneth and they played second and third fiddles.
It is a bit sad to see the decline of Martha Karua's rebellion but no amount of sugar-coating is going to ease the bitterness of it. The Flower Party wave has run its course and in due course Martha Karua will become another foot note a la Charity Ngilu and the late Wangarai Maathai. Ms Karua's campaign, however, has had a salutary effect on the quality of debate around certain issues, whether she intended it or not, most notably the Two-thirds Gender Rule. If it was not for her and, to some extent Kingwa Kamencu, the campaign trail would only feature old men with old ideas. Martha Karua has forced even the bigger campaigns to elevate their level of thinking with a view to meeting the needs of all Kenyans and not just a favoured few.We should all hold out hope that when the Raila/Kalonzo ticket needs it, Martha Karua will step in to be the power in the National Assembly that they will need to get things done.
For the first time in five years, we will not have a fraught Christmas. With elections pushed back into the first quarter of the New Year, this Christmas should be spent ensuring that we keep our sanity while on the roads, caring for our nearest and dearest, rekindling alliances with family and friends, and stuffing ourselves silly in the full knowledge that the 2013 campaign will slim us down quick. We the opportunity to reflect on what we want for ourselves and our communities. We have the chance to make the right choice. This all that a man can ask: to have a choice.
It is official. Kalonzo Musyoka and Raila Odinga have buried the hatchet and made up with each other. Together with Ford-Kenya's Moses Wetangula, an alliance has been crafted to see the trio through the search for a single presidential candidate and his running mate to take on the TNA/URP alliance. What was surprising was the presence of a beaming Charity Ngilu, who'd recently been entertaining overtures from the Uhuru camp going so far as to accompany Mr Kenyatta to Burundi on one of his get-to-know-your-presidential-neighbours jaunts. It was surprising not because Charity Ngilu had already shown more than a passing interest in the Uhuru candidacy, nor because she herself is a presidential candidate, but because she cannot stand the presence of Kalonzo Musyoka. The feeling is mutual on both sides. But if Kalonzo and Raila have managed a rapprochement, the romantic in me sees no reason why there cannot be one between Kalonzo and Mama rainbow.
Peter Kenneth and his Starehe Boys' Centre fellow alumnus Raphael Tuju are in talks with Musalia Mudavadi to strike an alliance, forming the so-called third way. This is a promising development. The trio have been treated with contempt by those jostling to fulfill Raila Odinga's prediction that the 2013 general election will be a two-horse race. Of the three, Mr Kenneth offers the nearest to a clean break with the past that Kenyans have been demanding. Even his brief jaunts in various government-affiliated institutions have not tainted his rather sunny character or optimism. While his colleagues have had to contend with unflattering reviews of the CDF kitties, Mr Kenneth has received only glowing ones. On that score, no one doubts that Mr Kenneth has kept his fingers as far away from the cookie jar as he could get without being accused of being aloof. His picture-perfect scions are a credit to the man too; if there is an alternative to the Raila/Kalonzo or Uhuru/Ruto tickets, it would be one headlined by Mr Kenneth. Mr Tuju could have done more a Foreign Affairs Minister in Kibaki's first government and Mr Mudavadi should have demonstrated more spine when it became apparent that he was always going to be the bride to Raila Odinga's groom. In the triumvirate, their best chance of success, much as it will pain many anti-Mt Kenya loudmouths to hear, would be if the top of the ticket were Mr Kenneth and they played second and third fiddles.
It is a bit sad to see the decline of Martha Karua's rebellion but no amount of sugar-coating is going to ease the bitterness of it. The Flower Party wave has run its course and in due course Martha Karua will become another foot note a la Charity Ngilu and the late Wangarai Maathai. Ms Karua's campaign, however, has had a salutary effect on the quality of debate around certain issues, whether she intended it or not, most notably the Two-thirds Gender Rule. If it was not for her and, to some extent Kingwa Kamencu, the campaign trail would only feature old men with old ideas. Martha Karua has forced even the bigger campaigns to elevate their level of thinking with a view to meeting the needs of all Kenyans and not just a favoured few.We should all hold out hope that when the Raila/Kalonzo ticket needs it, Martha Karua will step in to be the power in the National Assembly that they will need to get things done.
For the first time in five years, we will not have a fraught Christmas. With elections pushed back into the first quarter of the New Year, this Christmas should be spent ensuring that we keep our sanity while on the roads, caring for our nearest and dearest, rekindling alliances with family and friends, and stuffing ourselves silly in the full knowledge that the 2013 campaign will slim us down quick. We the opportunity to reflect on what we want for ourselves and our communities. We have the chance to make the right choice. This all that a man can ask: to have a choice.
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