Jackson Mandago, the governor of Uasin Gishu, was so offended with the Coalition for Reforms and Democracy's leaders when they refused to listen to the "intelligence" reports of potential violence by his government if CORD went ahead with its rally at the 64 Stadium in Eldoret, that he threatened Raila Odinga and his fellow leaders. His threats remained unspecific. He purported to cancel the rally; then he purported to reverse himself on the cancellation.
Mr Mandago is living in 1992, when Kenya was partitioned into "zones" dominated by one party and everyone was "advised" not to peddle their political wares outside their "zones." Mr Mandago attempted - crudely so - to remind Raila Odinga that Uasin Gishu County, Eldoret and the 64 Stadium are URP political zones and that CORD was not welcome. Mr Mandago projected his hostility for the former Prime Minister as the hostility of the entire population of Uasin Gishu County.
In any event, the rally went off without a hitch; if there was violence, the Standard Group, the Nation Media Group, Royal Media Service, MediaMax and the Kenya Broadcasting Service, not to mention the scores of FM radio stations have conspired with the CORD to blackout any negative news about the dangers of Mr Odinga's rallies. Mr Mandago's fears were not realised.
His approach to political discourse, however, is almost proof that Baba Moi's declaration of a 100-year KANU reign is coming to pass. After all, it is not enough to have your political descendants in power; you also need your political philosophies and ideas to remain the foundations of political organisation. Political zoning was a tried-and-battle-tested philosophy; in 1992 there were KANU zones and only a fool ventured there with a DP or FORD-K message. KANU zones witnessed what we euphemistically referred to as ethnic cleansing; the United Nations and the International Criminal Court would use the word genocide or her phrase mass murder. The legacies of the ethnic clashes and land clashes of multipartyism are still with us today.
In any disagreement one person must keep the big picture in mind and be the bigger person. Usually it is the person with the upper hand. CORD has waged a single-agenda political campaign for "dialogue", whatever that means. It has so unsettled the Jubilee government that its leaders, at national and county level, have become quite unhinged though it is Jubilee that has the opportunity to rise above the fray and demonstrate the vacuity of the CORD agenda for all to see. One of the consequences of Jubilee's unhingedness, intended or not, has been to revive rhetoric and tactics that made 1992 one of the bloodiest general elections in Kenyan history.
Few will recall the thousands who were burned out of their homes in Molo, Elburgon and Burnt Forest. But the most disappointing consequences has been the enlisting of key Cabinet Secretaries in the war of the parties; the desire to depoliticise the Cabinet is well and truly dead. It is Jubilee that is creating the right environment for the fire that will consume this country should Mr Odinga or President Kenyatta miscalculate. Saba Saba is coming; will we sigh in relief or will we look for cheap flights to South Africa, the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom?
Few will recall the thousands who were burned out of their homes in Molo, Elburgon and Burnt Forest. But the most disappointing consequences has been the enlisting of key Cabinet Secretaries in the war of the parties; the desire to depoliticise the Cabinet is well and truly dead. It is Jubilee that is creating the right environment for the fire that will consume this country should Mr Odinga or President Kenyatta miscalculate. Saba Saba is coming; will we sigh in relief or will we look for cheap flights to South Africa, the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom?
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