Prime Minister Raila Amolo Odinga is a marked man as the Kibaki succession takes shape.
Raila is not only being isolated by MPs and politicians allied to Party of National Unity but also by those in his own Orange Democratic Movement. To join the two major parties are also legislators in the so-called fridge parties.
And believing that the PM is now at his most vulnerable in years, those out to see him down and out have been holding secret meetings in Nairobi with a view to, as it were, twisting the knife.
The schemes hatched seem to be working well going by the current opinion Kenyans have on the Prime Minister. Keen observers will have noticed that of late Raila speeches in his Lang'ata Constituency and in his political stronghold of Luo Nyanza have at times been marred by heckling, booing and loud mumbling.
In parliament, the PM has at times felt the heat with his cabinet colleagues openly stating that he is not sincere. During debate on the controversial Communication Bill for instance, the Deputy Prime Minister and the man now in charge of Finance docket, Uhuru Kenyatta, with eyes red in rage demanded to know from the Speaker whether it was in order for Raila to stand in front of the camera and portray other members as working against the interests of the public. Assistant Minister Danston Mungatana pulled no punches on his attacks on Raila either.
It is emerging, the move to tame Raila and make him just another politician come 2012 was initiated when word leaked that the PM was going to lead his ODM brigade out of the coalition government at a convenient time once a new constitution in force.
According to sources, Kibaki advisers and those opposed to Raila had to move fast and the theory of "wacha nguruwe ijikaange na mafuta yoke" (let a pig fry in its own fat) adopted and is now being implemented.
Weekly Citizen has also established that the anti-Raila forces have secretly been meeting directors of the Standard Group who own KTN and Standard newspaper for reasons believed to be aimed at meeting the above objective.
It is imperative to note that during the last general election, the Standard Group was openly pro-Raila's ODM while the Nation Group was openly in favour of President Mwai Kibaki PNU.
Unconfirmed reports have it that Raila is aware that Gideon Moi, one of the principal shareholders at Standard Group has given instructions to have Raila coverage downplayed and if possible given negative publicity.
Aware of the executive order now dictating policy at SG, Raila while addressing a pubic rally in Kibera slum's Gatwikira village in his constituency attacked the press and kept on pointing at the KTN microphone, "to media inachafua mimijina (A media house is —painting me negatively), the PM-said. Pundits have since interpreted that gesture to have been a thinly-veiled incitement to violence against Standard and KTN reporters. It came as a surprise to many when no one in the audience seemed to care.
Those in the know however say that the slum dwellers are now fed up with wealthy politicians who visit the slum to feed the poor with empty rhetoric only to leave them with stomachs rumbling with hunger as the politicians return to their palatial homes for five course meals.
What politicians might not have realised is that the media, and not parliamentarians or councillors, has become the people's representatives. It is not uncommon for life to come to a standstill in Kibera and other residential areas of Nairobi during TV news time as people glue themselves to the screens.
Back to the issue of Raila digging his own political grave we have information, his style of leadership and his business deals together with his associates and family members is being put in the limelight and used by his foes to his disadvantage.
Already his association with controversial businessmen among them those who funded his presidential campaigns running into millions of shillings is being exposed with every passing day. A number of the associates are corrupt and are known to evade taxes.
The trouble with Raila and his handlers is that they are doing business deals in the open to the extent that State intelligence services are able to track, file at time even take photographs and documents which later are made public.
Weekly Citizen has in its possession an intended question to be asked in parliament this week aimed at fixing the PM.
The question reads. "The Prime Minister has publicly claimed he is fighting corruption and that despite being adversely mentioned in the media, that he is corrupt free.
As you are aware, Mr. Speaker Sir, that one of the largest corruption scandals involving more than Sh 10 billion is the Triton Petroleum scandal. The owner of Triton Petroleum Company is one Mr. Yagnesh Devani.
Can the Prime Minister, Raila Odinga explain to the house and the country why on November 22nd 2008, just two months ago, when the corruption was at its peak, his office ..through his principal Administrative Secretary and right hand man, Caroli Omondi hired an aircraft which flew the Prime Minister accompanied by Mr. Devani to Kabarnet on a private visit.
The passenger manifest of the flight, a copy of which is attached, clearly shows that Hon. Raila Odinga and Mr. Devani were also accompanied by his close political associates Deputy Prime Minister Hon. Musalia Mudavadi, Hon. Henry Kosgey, Hon Najib Balala, Hon Fred Gumo, Hon Rachael Shebesh, Hon Alfred Khangati, A.A.O. Mondoh, Dennis Onyango, a Mr Oduor, Devani and Caroli Omondi.
The manifest shows that an aircraft registration number 5 Y-BTG belonging to Executive Turbine (K) Ltd and piloted by Capt S Riungu and Co-pilot K. Muriuki took off from Wilson Airport on November 22, 2008 at 8.30 hrs and arrived at Kabarnet at 09.00 hrs.
After Kabarnet the Prime Minister traveled to Mombasa where he spent a night in Mr. Devani's home with others.
1. Why is Prime Minister Raila Odinga colluding with people suspected of grand corruption?
2. What was the Prime Minister planning with Mr. Devani?
3. Is the Prime Minister a beneficiary of the corruption?
4. Why hasn't the Prime Minister come clean about his association widi Mr. Devani?
5. Is the Prime Minister also aware that Mr. Caroli Omondi is also suspected of initiating the maize scandal? Is Mr. Omondi working on the Prime Minister's instructions?"
The question is addressed to the speaker by an MP from Mt. Kenya region.
Is Raila a Tribalist?
The first real sign that all is not well in the ODM high command was Tourism Minister Najib Balala's threat to quit Prime Minister Raila Odinga's party if he finds out that it has become tribal.
Before Balala, a key Raila ally spoke, a handful of Rift Valley and Western MPs and other politicians had been grumbling about developments in ODM. The RV politicians were grousing about the Mau Forest evictions saga and Kipsigis appointments to the cabinet.
The Western MPs were warning that the position of deputy party leader held by Deputy Prime Minister Wycliffe Musdalia Mudavadi must remain in the hands of a Westerner or the populous Luhya vote bloc would exercise its political options away from the ODM orbit.
Balala's words were particularly telling. Analysts immediately observed that Balala's words were very carefully chosen, weighed and considered. Basically, Balala said ODM must preserve its national face and stature and the greatest care must be taken while addressing the issues being raised by disaffected regions like Rift Valley, otherwise the party would not remain intact.
Balala said ODM was a national movement and no one region has a greater stake in it than the other.
The minister was, of course, politicking, for ODM, like any other political formation in Kenya, has its owners, perhaps even more than any other political party.
Observers in the media, the diplomatic missions and intelligence circles quickly came to the conclusion that for Balala to go public with his utterances, certain privileged and hot¬line channels of communications behind closed doors inside ODM must have become blocked in recent weeks.
Balala has never gone public before with a thinly veiled criticism of Raila. But on Thursday, the most telling part of his threatening statement was that a generational change in the country's leadership was necessary and widespread nepotism and patronage must come to an immediate full stop.
These are clearly references to Raila's recent activities, including the short-listing of his sisters for ambassadorial positions and the patronage games he is playing with Kibaki when it comes to appointing the CEOs of state corporations, senior military, prisons and other officers.
A dreadful text message accusing Prime Minister Raila Odinga of practising nepotism in the grand coalition government by appointing only his kin to the lucrative diplomatic postings, parastatals and quasi-government boards.
The text message authored by unknown persons was posted last week to mostly Luos late one night. The text message was circulating in both Nairobi and Kisumu, and nobody seemed to know its origin.
It has listed those who are alleged to be the relatives of the Odingas. The Prime Minister and his elder brother Dr Oburu Oginga, the Assistant Minister for Finance are from Sakwa Bondo. So are JoeAger, deputy managing director^ Kenya Power and Lighting Company"
Limited Paul Gondi; chairman of the Geothermal Board and Rose Buyu, a director. Elkana Odembo, the newly appointed Kenya's Ambassador to France, is married toa sister of the ODM Chief Whip and MP for Gem Jakoyo Midiwo. Midiwo's mother and Raila's mother are sisters.
The text message also listed Mrs Berily Achieng' Oginga, Raila's sister who has been appointed to the Pension Scheme Board as a director. Another sister Akinyi has been appointed and send to Austria, Prof. Kacquiline Oduol the Permanent Secretary for Genda, is married to Raila's uncle in Alego Kakan in the family where Raila's mother the late Mary Juma Odinga hails from.
Both Prof. Oduol and Mrs Rose Buyu contested the elections in two different parliamentary seats in the last general elections and lost during the ODM preliminaries. Oduol contested in Alego Usonga constituency while Buyu contested in the Kisumu Town West.
The hostility against the Odingas was sparked off by a lethal speech delivered at the funeral of Mrs Olage Awiti, the elderly mother of the Marie Slopes Clinics country and regional director Cyprian Otieno Awiti at Mawego village in East Karachuonyo Location, Rachuonyo district a week ago.
A Nairobi-based lawyer Onyango Oloo faulted Raila Odinga for having openly discriminated the residents of the greater old Southern Nyanza region by not appointing any of their sons and daughters to senior government positions, though, he had a half loaf in the coalition.
The text message asked, "What have we got out of this coalition as the Luos, anyway?"
Out of four Luo permanent Secretaries in the coalition government, only one David Nalo who is the East African Community ministry PS hails from Nyando. Nalo whose godfather is George Saitoti has no time for Raila.The rest are from Siaya and Bondo districts, and only Dr. Nyikal a former director of medical Services hails from Kisumu Rural.
The attack on Raila at the funeral before thousands of mourner prompted the Prime Minister to react angrily at a humble request by the area MP James Rege, who had pleaded with the Prime Minister to come to his rescue of his constituents who were dying of hunger and famine
Raila is not only being isolated by MPs and politicians allied to Party of National Unity but also by those in his own Orange Democratic Movement. To join the two major parties are also legislators in the so-called fridge parties.
And believing that the PM is now at his most vulnerable in years, those out to see him down and out have been holding secret meetings in Nairobi with a view to, as it were, twisting the knife.
The schemes hatched seem to be working well going by the current opinion Kenyans have on the Prime Minister. Keen observers will have noticed that of late Raila speeches in his Lang'ata Constituency and in his political stronghold of Luo Nyanza have at times been marred by heckling, booing and loud mumbling.
In parliament, the PM has at times felt the heat with his cabinet colleagues openly stating that he is not sincere. During debate on the controversial Communication Bill for instance, the Deputy Prime Minister and the man now in charge of Finance docket, Uhuru Kenyatta, with eyes red in rage demanded to know from the Speaker whether it was in order for Raila to stand in front of the camera and portray other members as working against the interests of the public. Assistant Minister Danston Mungatana pulled no punches on his attacks on Raila either.
It is emerging, the move to tame Raila and make him just another politician come 2012 was initiated when word leaked that the PM was going to lead his ODM brigade out of the coalition government at a convenient time once a new constitution in force.
According to sources, Kibaki advisers and those opposed to Raila had to move fast and the theory of "wacha nguruwe ijikaange na mafuta yoke" (let a pig fry in its own fat) adopted and is now being implemented.
Weekly Citizen has also established that the anti-Raila forces have secretly been meeting directors of the Standard Group who own KTN and Standard newspaper for reasons believed to be aimed at meeting the above objective.
It is imperative to note that during the last general election, the Standard Group was openly pro-Raila's ODM while the Nation Group was openly in favour of President Mwai Kibaki PNU.
Unconfirmed reports have it that Raila is aware that Gideon Moi, one of the principal shareholders at Standard Group has given instructions to have Raila coverage downplayed and if possible given negative publicity.
Aware of the executive order now dictating policy at SG, Raila while addressing a pubic rally in Kibera slum's Gatwikira village in his constituency attacked the press and kept on pointing at the KTN microphone, "to media inachafua mimijina (A media house is —painting me negatively), the PM-said. Pundits have since interpreted that gesture to have been a thinly-veiled incitement to violence against Standard and KTN reporters. It came as a surprise to many when no one in the audience seemed to care.
Those in the know however say that the slum dwellers are now fed up with wealthy politicians who visit the slum to feed the poor with empty rhetoric only to leave them with stomachs rumbling with hunger as the politicians return to their palatial homes for five course meals.
What politicians might not have realised is that the media, and not parliamentarians or councillors, has become the people's representatives. It is not uncommon for life to come to a standstill in Kibera and other residential areas of Nairobi during TV news time as people glue themselves to the screens.
Back to the issue of Raila digging his own political grave we have information, his style of leadership and his business deals together with his associates and family members is being put in the limelight and used by his foes to his disadvantage.
Already his association with controversial businessmen among them those who funded his presidential campaigns running into millions of shillings is being exposed with every passing day. A number of the associates are corrupt and are known to evade taxes.
The trouble with Raila and his handlers is that they are doing business deals in the open to the extent that State intelligence services are able to track, file at time even take photographs and documents which later are made public.
Weekly Citizen has in its possession an intended question to be asked in parliament this week aimed at fixing the PM.
The question reads. "The Prime Minister has publicly claimed he is fighting corruption and that despite being adversely mentioned in the media, that he is corrupt free.
As you are aware, Mr. Speaker Sir, that one of the largest corruption scandals involving more than Sh 10 billion is the Triton Petroleum scandal. The owner of Triton Petroleum Company is one Mr. Yagnesh Devani.
Can the Prime Minister, Raila Odinga explain to the house and the country why on November 22nd 2008, just two months ago, when the corruption was at its peak, his office ..through his principal Administrative Secretary and right hand man, Caroli Omondi hired an aircraft which flew the Prime Minister accompanied by Mr. Devani to Kabarnet on a private visit.
The passenger manifest of the flight, a copy of which is attached, clearly shows that Hon. Raila Odinga and Mr. Devani were also accompanied by his close political associates Deputy Prime Minister Hon. Musalia Mudavadi, Hon. Henry Kosgey, Hon Najib Balala, Hon Fred Gumo, Hon Rachael Shebesh, Hon Alfred Khangati, A.A.O. Mondoh, Dennis Onyango, a Mr Oduor, Devani and Caroli Omondi.
The manifest shows that an aircraft registration number 5 Y-BTG belonging to Executive Turbine (K) Ltd and piloted by Capt S Riungu and Co-pilot K. Muriuki took off from Wilson Airport on November 22, 2008 at 8.30 hrs and arrived at Kabarnet at 09.00 hrs.
After Kabarnet the Prime Minister traveled to Mombasa where he spent a night in Mr. Devani's home with others.
1. Why is Prime Minister Raila Odinga colluding with people suspected of grand corruption?
2. What was the Prime Minister planning with Mr. Devani?
3. Is the Prime Minister a beneficiary of the corruption?
4. Why hasn't the Prime Minister come clean about his association widi Mr. Devani?
5. Is the Prime Minister also aware that Mr. Caroli Omondi is also suspected of initiating the maize scandal? Is Mr. Omondi working on the Prime Minister's instructions?"
The question is addressed to the speaker by an MP from Mt. Kenya region.
Is Raila a Tribalist?
The first real sign that all is not well in the ODM high command was Tourism Minister Najib Balala's threat to quit Prime Minister Raila Odinga's party if he finds out that it has become tribal.
Before Balala, a key Raila ally spoke, a handful of Rift Valley and Western MPs and other politicians had been grumbling about developments in ODM. The RV politicians were grousing about the Mau Forest evictions saga and Kipsigis appointments to the cabinet.
The Western MPs were warning that the position of deputy party leader held by Deputy Prime Minister Wycliffe Musdalia Mudavadi must remain in the hands of a Westerner or the populous Luhya vote bloc would exercise its political options away from the ODM orbit.
Balala's words were particularly telling. Analysts immediately observed that Balala's words were very carefully chosen, weighed and considered. Basically, Balala said ODM must preserve its national face and stature and the greatest care must be taken while addressing the issues being raised by disaffected regions like Rift Valley, otherwise the party would not remain intact.
Balala said ODM was a national movement and no one region has a greater stake in it than the other.
The minister was, of course, politicking, for ODM, like any other political formation in Kenya, has its owners, perhaps even more than any other political party.
Observers in the media, the diplomatic missions and intelligence circles quickly came to the conclusion that for Balala to go public with his utterances, certain privileged and hot¬line channels of communications behind closed doors inside ODM must have become blocked in recent weeks.
Balala has never gone public before with a thinly veiled criticism of Raila. But on Thursday, the most telling part of his threatening statement was that a generational change in the country's leadership was necessary and widespread nepotism and patronage must come to an immediate full stop.
These are clearly references to Raila's recent activities, including the short-listing of his sisters for ambassadorial positions and the patronage games he is playing with Kibaki when it comes to appointing the CEOs of state corporations, senior military, prisons and other officers.
A dreadful text message accusing Prime Minister Raila Odinga of practising nepotism in the grand coalition government by appointing only his kin to the lucrative diplomatic postings, parastatals and quasi-government boards.
The text message authored by unknown persons was posted last week to mostly Luos late one night. The text message was circulating in both Nairobi and Kisumu, and nobody seemed to know its origin.
It has listed those who are alleged to be the relatives of the Odingas. The Prime Minister and his elder brother Dr Oburu Oginga, the Assistant Minister for Finance are from Sakwa Bondo. So are JoeAger, deputy managing director^ Kenya Power and Lighting Company"
Limited Paul Gondi; chairman of the Geothermal Board and Rose Buyu, a director. Elkana Odembo, the newly appointed Kenya's Ambassador to France, is married toa sister of the ODM Chief Whip and MP for Gem Jakoyo Midiwo. Midiwo's mother and Raila's mother are sisters.
The text message also listed Mrs Berily Achieng' Oginga, Raila's sister who has been appointed to the Pension Scheme Board as a director. Another sister Akinyi has been appointed and send to Austria, Prof. Kacquiline Oduol the Permanent Secretary for Genda, is married to Raila's uncle in Alego Kakan in the family where Raila's mother the late Mary Juma Odinga hails from.
Both Prof. Oduol and Mrs Rose Buyu contested the elections in two different parliamentary seats in the last general elections and lost during the ODM preliminaries. Oduol contested in Alego Usonga constituency while Buyu contested in the Kisumu Town West.
The hostility against the Odingas was sparked off by a lethal speech delivered at the funeral of Mrs Olage Awiti, the elderly mother of the Marie Slopes Clinics country and regional director Cyprian Otieno Awiti at Mawego village in East Karachuonyo Location, Rachuonyo district a week ago.
A Nairobi-based lawyer Onyango Oloo faulted Raila Odinga for having openly discriminated the residents of the greater old Southern Nyanza region by not appointing any of their sons and daughters to senior government positions, though, he had a half loaf in the coalition.
The text message asked, "What have we got out of this coalition as the Luos, anyway?"
Out of four Luo permanent Secretaries in the coalition government, only one David Nalo who is the East African Community ministry PS hails from Nyando. Nalo whose godfather is George Saitoti has no time for Raila.The rest are from Siaya and Bondo districts, and only Dr. Nyikal a former director of medical Services hails from Kisumu Rural.
The attack on Raila at the funeral before thousands of mourner prompted the Prime Minister to react angrily at a humble request by the area MP James Rege, who had pleaded with the Prime Minister to come to his rescue of his constituents who were dying of hunger and famine
One Response to Raila Odinga Trapped as Kibaki Succession Rages On
They may scheme or taint him but the man is always charismatic.They fear him.The more thye meet behind him and discampaign him the more the public have more sympathy on him.He may not be the 2012 presidential candidate but he will be one of the precious thread to put together to win the 2012.
there is this personality with raila,the charisma plus the sympathetic soft spot the public have on him,plus he is too dynamic.The only thing that is a miss on him is getting organised,he misses the organisation tactics although he pulls many.He can only look for an organised element to put up with and it will be wonderous.Just like the 2007 organised ruto,who even won censuring motion out of his organisation tactics.
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