Azimio has done Kenyans proud.
They have the very indomitable Martha Karua as a running mate to Raila Amolo Odinga for the presidency. It can hardly get better than that. These are two outstanding Kenyan politicians and activists who played key roles in helping our country get out of the Moi dictatorship in 2002. Now they can take our country a step further and they will with the help of Kenyans. It is about time.
It was powerful watching Kenyans in Kamukunji a day earlier and one had a sense Azimio was ready for the country which really loves the movement.
Now it is game on. All said and done I think Azimio has been fair to all the principals. They have the Kalonzo issue but he has been promised Chief Secretary of the cabinet job and he should take it or he will run and lose and be unemployed for the next ten years. If he doesn’t want it there are good candidates like Peter Kenneth, Charity Ngilu or Prof. Kivutha Kibwana. I am sure Alfred Mutua wants to run back to Azimio now.
Kalonzo could actually disappoint a lot of people, particularly those begging him to run and create the possibility of a run-off.
He may just decide that he needs a job rather than some useless run. But it looks like the Azimio principals knew all along that Kalonzo was running his own election and treated him as such. Maybe finally he will get to practice law and work in the courts like other lawyers.
What I find very strange is that Ruto’s whiners were really desperate to have Raila pick Kalonzo as his running mate. They were screaming at Raila to pick Kalonzo so he can win the election. I thought they want Ruto to win. They are terrified of Martha Karua because they wanted Ruto to have a field day with Mt. Kenya votes. That is not going to happen. Sorry.
Without Kalonzo, Azimio can now resume its campaigns in Ukambani. They were doing great there until the Wiper leader joined them in March and shut down everything there trying to marginalize all the leaders in the community. Kivutha Kibwana publicly denounced his tactics.
Now Azimio can go back there full force without that headache. Kalonzo only agenda was to be a presidential candidate in 2027 and play games till them. He is about to blow that up too. You fight Azimio to get 2% of the vote now and you think they will vote for you in 2027. That is the definition of insanity.
After the elections, Kalonzo is running to State House for a handshake with Raila and to get a job. Ruto will be flying his helicopters to beat Kalonzo in the race for that handshake. I wonder where Mudavadi will be.
At some point, Kalonzo will realize that he cannot be a permanent hostage to desperate MPs and think for himself. That time is coming very fast. His fiasco with this Daniel Maanzo guy goes back to 2002 when Maanzo stole the Narc party registration ticket for him and then they did their kati kati moves in 2008 as Kenyans were facing the worst political crisis in our generation and Kalonzo just wanted to be the VP and fought so hard to block the Koffi Annan peace talks that brought our country back to life. Not this time.
Right now I suspect Kalonzo is talking to Uhuru Kenyatta and telling him OK I will support you guys if you make a deal that Raila will be a one-term president and Kalonzo takes the ticket after him.
That is not going to work because it brings more problems by telling Martha Karua that she is just there for show business. Nope. She is going to be there for real and will have her chance to run for the president of the country when it comes. This is a huge game-changer for the country and it is good.
Now that Azimio is going with Raila and Martha Karua the same noisemakers are telling us Ruto will win by 70%. They don’t even bother to explain how that works which is fine because it is hard to explain wishful thinking.
The UDA crew is now busy talking about Martha Karua. Even Mudavadi who should be struggling to get 70% of Luhya votes to hope for a job with Ruto is talking to Kenyans about Karua. Tell us about your Gachagua or maybe you are scared of talking about him. Raila and his team are in very good shape.
Azimio already has Nairobi’s 2 million votes and pretty much the whole of Mombasa and Kisumu. The good thing about the urban vote is that you can actually get people to go vote because all voters are concentrated in the cities. Azimio gets that urban vote and then fights for 30%-50% in Mt. Kenya and the election is over. It is not rocket science. It is common sense.
The UDA thieves are in for a real fight because the difference couldn’t be any clearer. You choose the criminals fighting for their lives or you choose the patriots who have stood for the country all their lives.
Read: A government of thieves, for thieves, and by thieves. Dead on arrival.
Corruption is going to be in real trouble in Kenya and that is really what makes some people very nervous. One thing Azimio and this Raila Martha Karua have to do is to not go there thinking oh we are great we are just going to win. No. You have to work every step of the way for that victory. Kenya needs it and they will win it if you work with them. There are no freebies in elections.
And Martha Karua made a very powerful statement to put everything in perspective.
“This nomination is truly a collective honour that cannot be left for me alone to savour, a personal as well as national journey,” said the NARC-Kenya party leader.
“This is a moment for the women of Kenya, a moment that my late grandmother, one of the most instrumental women in my life, would have been proud of, but she would not have been surprised because generations of women have fought for space in the decision-making table.”
While listing notable female figures who she said paved the way for women to fight for a place in leadership, Karua said her nomination was a chance for more women to be included in positions of power across the country.
“From Biblical Esther to Field Marshall Muthoni wa Kirima, Mekalitili wa Menza, Moraa Ngiti, Priscilla Abwao, Grace Onyango, Chelagat Mutai, and our very Nobel Laureate Prof. Wangari Mathaai, just to name a few, women have been instrumental in pursuing change and this is our moment as women and men of Kenya to usher more of us into the national and county level,” said Karua.
She stated that Odinga had already outlined her roles as deputy president if the duo gets into State House, further vowing to support the Azimio leader in weeding out corruption, poverty, disease, and ignorance.
“Baba has allocated me duties in advance and I want to confirm that I am ready, able, and willing for those duties, I will not let you down. I will be steadfast, diligent in pursuit of our shared dreams and pursuits,” she said.
“I believe in my heart of hearts that if we can erode the power of corruption in our midst we can finally cross the Rubicon to the promised land,” added Karua.
Karua who is a renowned Kenyan human rights defender and reform champion with a deep commitment to social justice at the same time assured that their government shall be keen to fight for social justice.
“I recommit myself to fully support Hon. Raila Odinga in his eternal pursuit of social justice and justice for all…we have history to judge us,” said Karua.
Adongo Ogony is a Human Rights Activist and a Writer who lives in Toronto, Canada
