PERHAPS OKOA ODM FIRST? I was recently assisting a prominent Political Scientist in some research on ‘The Youth in Political Parties Participation in Kenya.’ I visited the offices of ODM, TNA, UDF, SAFINA, AGANO, NARC KENYA, KANU, LABOR, and also talked to a URP official. I must admit that I experienced different accounts of reception from these officials, but the extreme ends I can’t forget were the selfless humility of UDF’s executive director, Mrs Petronila Were, contrasted to the abysmal arrogance of a URP official whose name I’ll withhold, but quite unexpected of a young lady. But I was equally touched by the humility, frankness, boldness and the accessibility of ODM’s Executive Director, Hon. Magerer Lang’at. To avoid digressing, let me hit the nail on the head! What’s the problem within ODM, its leadership, body and structures? What is ailing the ‘most democratic party’, in Kenya, and perhaps East Africa? Is there democracy in ODM, by the mere virtue of having the term ‘democratic’, a derivative of the term ‘democracy’, as one of its name components? Is there democracy in ODM but stifled by mediocrity, or the democracy in ODM is the one fighting mediocrity within? Are the likes of Namwamba, Mung’aro, and Mwashetani the democrats fighting impunity in the party’s ranks, or it’s the democracy in ODM that’s slaying their impunity? On which scale shall we measure the relative justice here? The court of public opinion, informed or not? Frankly, it’s worth admitting that ODM, more than any party in Kenya, has more jokers, but whove been allowed by the party leadership to establish their respective bases of mediocrity to a point where they are too big to slay. The likes of Bishop Wanjiru and her son are the most glaring recent cases. But again, ODM seems to be leading in the act of frustrating its members, devoid of consciousness on the political implications of these acts. Every political action has political consequences, at least to the actor. Rationalism in behavior thus remains supreme. But is ODM aware of this? Lang’at told me that he’s experiencing wars so vicious, volatile, and belligerent and that these wars are ‘provoked’ by his ‘objectivity’, read as ‘mole symptoms’ by a clique. This may be obvious to you, but have you meditated on the real reasons behind it? ODM has the second largest allocation from the Political Parties Fund, about Ksh. 87 million, and the interests of the ‘owners of the party’ are at stake because the fund’s management is reposed in the hands of a ‘not-so-trusted’ person or community. You are free to dispute this, but look at the belligerence of the ‘foreigner-native’ Junet Mohamed, who does he speak for? For the Nairobi MCAs to frog-match Hon. Lang’at from the ODM PG meeting is regrettable, and more so unfortunate when all Raila can say about it is that ‘…the matter be investigated’. How long shall it take ODM to learn that the opinions of the ‘pedestrians’ are more vital than that of the ‘informed’? There could be factors that led to Hon. Langat’s intimidation, like his alleged ill talk about ‘baba’, but the common man in Rift Valley shall not access that information, for all they know as of now is that ‘Uhuru left us the presidency for two days and can thus hand over to Ruto in 2022, but Raila’s guys are mistreating us, now theyve evicted the only senior official we had left in that party. Surely, we don’t belong there in as much as Isaac Ruto wants us to join hands with them.’ I know Kenya needs a structural and constitutional rescue from the forces of status quo, the system, but I also know that ODM needs, more than Kenya, ‘kuokolewa.’ As the political institution spearheading the proposals to amend the Constitution of Kenya, 2010, ODM must accept too, the proposals to amend its management structure, general conduct and painstakingly, its leadership. If these are the matters that Hon. Magerer, just as Ababu before him, was decrying, then I can only regret it that he aired his views ‘as a goat speaking annoyingly about the hyena in the latter’s house’, and that obviously relegates you from being a friend or partner to a sumptuous meal. The writer studies Political Science at the University of Nairobi
Posted on: Fri, 31 Oct 2014 06:39:26 +0000
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