Raila Odinga is in danger of losing his voice just when he needs it most.
Prime Minister Raila Odinga is in danger of losing his voice just when he needs it most. With an election in less than a year, and with hordes of radicalised tribal voters being marshalled against him, it will take the votes of the better-educated middle-class Kenyans to see him into office.
The property-owning, economically ambitious middle-class, which is spread throughout the country is concerned about political stability.
It also does not wish to be associated with a corrupt, unstable banana republic characterised by flare-ups of bloodletting.
I respect myself as a citizen and I take very seriously my patriotic duty to this country, which my father and his age-mates shed their blood for. We honour those who died for our freedom by being free, by being independent.
I am, therefore, not going to vote according to the wishes of some tribal chief, nor am I going to be manipulated by some simple-minded political operative. It is people like me who, if they try a little hard, can evaluate candidates with some measure of objectivity.
The middle classes are as tribalistic as anyone else but they have a better chance of identifying their interests and voting accordingly.
Why am I shooting my mouth off? As a country with a history of assassinations, it takes a very insensitive person to dismiss out of hand a leader who says his, or someone else’s life, is in danger.
But it takes a particularly reckless and desperate politician to make such a claim as part of some cheap propaganda. The only way Mr Jakoyo Midiwo can avoid this characterisation is if he has good evidence.
When the life of your leader and the stability of your country are in danger, you don’t go to a funeral/rally. You go and see the Speaker of the National Assembly, the Chief Justice, the Commissioner of Police, the chief of intelligence, the head of public service, the President — you go to the people who can protect him.
It is only after you have seen these offices that you can tell Kenyans: Yesterday I went to see the Speaker about this plot, which I have uncovered to assassinate my leader.
Surely, if this is some clever drama dreamt up by Mr Midiwo, I am sure Mr Odinga does not need it to get elected.
I remember there was a case about a grenade found outside the PM’s office some months ago. What became of that? I also remember the case of the Armenian mercenaries who were allegedly here as part of a plot against Mr Odinga. And what became of that?
Great leaders are not made or sustained by clever theatrics but by the demonstrable force of their convictions. Look at Aung San Suu Kyi; her voice, even when she is quietly in detention, is strong.
Mr Odinga will find his when he silences those smart alecs — or plotters — who would play with things which can plunge the country into bloodshed. Shame on them!
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