The decision by Kenyan activists to storm Tanzania has complicated matters for the Tanzania opposition supporters who now have to watch the years of work they’ve put in trying to hold CCM accountable wasted by commercial activists from Kenya with scant knowledge of ‘public opinion’ in Tanzania.
The discussion in Tanzania’s union parliament, which the Kenyan press is now avoiding, points to a situation where the Kenyans who went to Dar, with truancy, chaos, matusi, anarchy and meddling has become a perfect fodder.
Reminds me of that time ex-US undersecretary Johnie Carson came here and made his infamous “choices have consequences” remarks.
Before he took his flight back to Washington DC, Kikuyu fear machine then being steamrolled by Nation Media Group turned Carson’s comments to mean he supported Raila Odinga, who was now being branded as a western puppet.
Never mind in 2007, the other reason Kibaki easily clung to power was western antipathy towards Odinga. We lost 2013 partly on account of those well-meaning but ‘thoughtless’ comments by Carson.
If elections were held today, CCM would have rolled to victory purely on account of this ‘interference’ by the Mwangi/Karua/Mutunga/Hanifa groupies.
Civil society groups need to be mindful of their actions lest they burden regional political parties with aspirational idealisms rather than ‘lived reality’ of a people.
CHADEMA is headed for a bloodbath.
