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Have you noticed this consistent trend in recent times? That Raila Odinga rarely responds to President William Ruto directly. He instead prefers to respond to Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua as it happened on two recent occasions, when they met at the burial of one of Mau Mau generals Brigadier Kiboko, and at the Africa Climate Summit.
Most Azimio adherents have chosen to aim their focus on the deputy president since they can clearly identify him as the threat to their threats against the Kenya Kwanza administration.
In fact, Riggy G, as he is widely called by many, especially the youth, has become the political Mr Fix it, who isn’t afraid to speak his mind as a truthful and honest man. During maandamano, this is the man that the protestors feared the most, as he never minced his words. He made it clear that the security of all the leaders would be withdrawn for three months till the Azimio side demonstrated commitment to obey law and order. It worked.
He is not shy to respond to any allegations levelled against the KK administration as he takes no prisoners. The mainstream media was quick to paint him in a certain way, yet he is currently and undeniably one of the most covered politician of our times almost on a daily basis. As they say in politics, any publicity is good publicity.
During the run up to the general elections, most people underestimated him during the deputy presidential debate, but he whitewashed Martha Karua who had been put on a pedestal. She fell.
He is a great mobiliser and he went out in person to very small market places to mobilise voters directly. I remember being in his entourage in Nyandarua, in places such as Wanjohi, Kipipiri, Rurii etc as it rained and him wearing gumboots. Such mobilisation and oratory skills are not to be found with the many. The fact that he stood firm in support of President William Ruto during very trying moments against his former boss Uhuru Kenyatta was quite commendable; a true son of Mau Mau.
He has taken head on the illicit brews menace in the Mt Kenya region to a successful start. He has also made strides in putting in motion the much needed reforms in the coffee and tea sectors of our economy as the main cash crops for many families in Kenya. Just the other day, he visited Colombia, to market Kenya’s coffee as a new frontier market.
His early morning walks, which gives him the opportunity to interact with the common mwananchi, has won him accolades as he is able to connect with the masses. His further forays in the Rift Valley yielded great results as the residents got to interact with him at a more personal level, including the wazees of the Talai clan of the Nandi community, the home of the legendary Koitalel Arap Samoei.
Raila Odinga has been thriving on the fact that he controls half of Kenya. In Kibaki times, he succeeded in trading in with this. In Uhuru times, he had a strategy to demonise then Deputy President William Ruto and he succeeded in driving a wedge between him and the President.
The ODM leader thus became the greatest beneficiary of the handshake to the detriment of many who had helped form the government, and especially Ruto. Undeniably, the Azimio leader is on a clear mission to attain the same outcome, if at all, through the so-called dialogue talks. Riggy G, being the smart politician that he is, isn’t taking things lying down and has openly stated that he will not allow him to wreck the boat, the same way he has done it in the past.
The KK administration relies on Riggy G to set the record straight. When certain officials have made controversial statements that don’t sink well with the masses, he is quick to set the record straight.
Raila, being the deceptive man he is, had duped Kalonzo that he would not be running for president again. He even sent his brother Oburu Odinga to declare Opiyo Wandayi as his successor in Nyanza.
However, this has since been retracted and as a way to mark the first anniversary of Ruto’s presidency, the mainstream media outlets that are pro-Azimio screamed headlines that the Raila franchise was contemplating a sixth stab at the presidency. Raila thus sees the DP as the potential threat to his schemes of things, and therefore a competitor in the monopoly of power in present terms.
It should not be lost to the fact that the people of Lower Eastern have been demanding that it is about time that Kalonzo got the backing of Raila, having supported him thrice since 2013. Now that Kalonzo has formally recognised Ruto as President, if Raila makes good his threat to run for the presidency again, Kalonzo will more than likely join the government of the day.
This way, the defeat of the former Prime Minister will be so great, that 30 per cent of his backyard will vote for President Ruto, led by the new liberators of the Nyanza people such as Tom Ojienda, Caroli Omondi, Evans Kidero, Eliud Owalo, Raymond Omollo, Jalang’o, Rose Nyamunga, Elizabeth Ongoro, Nicholas Gumbo, Jack Ranguma and many other emerging leaders.
All politics is local, and therefore vernacular, no matter how high up one goes. Riggy G thus remains the perfect checkmate. BY THE STAR