For far too many years, the Kamba nation’s political fortunes were seemingly bound to Kalonzo Musyoka’s Wiper party. What is fast becoming obvious to everyone is the Kambas have been unwittingly anchored for almost two decades to Raila Odinga and ODM. The anchor was Kalonzo’s exaggerated loyalty to a man who would betray him and his people time and again, leaving the Kamba vote in his back pocket in exchange for a trail of political crumbs to keep him in line.
However, in 2017, many astute Kambas are coming to their senses and saying enough is enough.
They are angry at the way they have been constantly betrayed by Raila and ODM, but they are even more livid at their ostensible leader, who naively fought to ensure this frenzied yet unreciprocated obedience.
Kalonzo’s main argument has perpetually been that his loyalty to Raila will ultimately pay off.
However, now more than ever the chances of ODM allowing the Wiper leader to assume the presidency, or even a chance to be flagbearer, is increasingly remote. This is becoming clear to everyone in Ukambani politics, except Kalonzo himself.
Kalonzo’s ostrich-like response after more examples of unrequited suffrage is leading to a haemorrhaging of support.
It might seem like ancient history to some, when Kalonzo was overlooked for his rightful place as NASA flagbearer in April, largely because of the abused Cord MoU of 2013, but it set off a chain of events that has not been stemmed by the Wiper leader or his ever decreasing group of loyalists.
Upon the unveiling of the NASA line-up, with Raila as flagbearer, National Assembly Minority Whip Francis Nyenze released an official Wiper statement saying they were shocked by the announcement of Raila as Nasa principal and not Kalonzo. The Kamba nation had yet again been betrayed.
Wiper chairman and Kitui Senator David Musila soon joined Nyenze on the benches of the Kamba opposition, followed by party strongman and main financier Machakos Senator Johnson Muthama, who quit Wiper completely.
These and many others are fed up with their people used as political fodder for Raila’s ambitions and the blind acquiescence of Kalonzo, who follows his owner like a blind puppy from Narc to LDP to ODM-K and then Cord and now NASA.
Despite the numerous times he has been promised a prize by Raila, only to be disappointed, Kalonzo truly believes, for some reason that escapes me and many Kambas, that this time will be different.
It is inconceivable that Raila’s unyielding 40-year twisted quest for political power, punctuated by detentions without trial for years in 1982, 1989 and 1991 during his prime, and four presidential bids against Moi in 1997, Kibaki in 2007 and Uhuru in 2013 and 2017, has just been to serve one solitary term in office and then surrender power to a person who for so long was part of the system he was at loggerheads with.
It is inconceivable that the Odinga family, which has used every conceivable tactic, from violence to luring foreign influence, to assume power, will give it up so easily after five years.
Even in the unlikely scenario that Raila, who would be 77 in 2022, decides to quit the political stage, no logical person with an understanding of Kenyan politics and intrigues would ever believe he will leave Kalonzo next in line.
Let’s not forget that the unnatural alliance between Raila and Kalonzo, behind the barely masked mutual contempt, is not based on a commonality of vision or experience. Raila is known to have scoffed at Kalonzo’s reform credentials and views him as incapable of driving the NASA agenda. He is viewed within Raila circles as having made no contribution to the fight for democracy in Kenya, but as having been an obstacle.
Raila'sconfidants have long been heard lamenting that Kalonzo was Kanu Organising Secretary during the height of the Kanu hegemony, oppression and dictatorship—the Kanu that detained and tortured Raila.
He was among the top party hawks who presided over the queue voting system and the notoriously violent and extortionist Kanu Youth Wing, which also operated as an anti-opposition militia.
He also opposed the introduction of multipartyism and castigated it as a recipe for chaos and violence during the Kanu delegates' conference in December 1991.
He went as far as sponsoring a motion in Parliament on June 30, 1995, to ban the Nation newspaper from covering parliamentary proceedings because it published an article supporting multipartyism.
They have also pointed out Kalonzo’s involvement in collapsing the ICC cases in 2012 through his high-profile shuttle diplomacy that cost the taxpayer Sh267 million at a time when Raila was seeking to have the cases go to full trial.
Kalonzo’s involvement was seen as acting in support of the budding UhuRuto alliance, which he now claims to fight. It was felt that he only agreed to rejoin forces with Raila when he realised he was out of the Kibaki succession plan.
Many wonder why Raila has stuck with Kalonzo. His Lower Eastern backyard is inferior in terms of numerical strength compared to Western. However, it is clear that Kalonzo is far easier to control than Mudavadi, who has shown an independent streak in the past to be completely relied on.
If Raila were to exit politics, he would be less concerned about the obedience of a running mate and more amenable to the hard facts of cold numbers.
It is almost impossible to see a scenario where Kalonzo becomes a future flagbearer for the same reasons that he has been overlooked in the past. In fact, the scenario becomes less likely with every passing day, especially as he can no longer ensure a united Kamba.
So, while Railacontinues to use him for an unreliable source of votes, Kalonzo’s mismanaged ambition has ensured that for the first time since Independence, the Kamba nation is not only outside of the government but also sidelined in the opposition.
This can be reversed in an instant if we were to unshackle ourselves from Raila and ODM and support Uhuru, who has a strong development record, especially in Ukambani, as Nyenze recently stated. Our continued subservience to Raila means that many Kenyans don’t just see Kalonzo as a ‘watermelon’, but all the Kamba nation.
This could be our last chance to change the moniker, our pride and reputation in Ukambani. If not, we could be pushed into complete political irrelevancy and exile.
This article was written by john munuve a member of parliament and shared by the star Kenya
