{"id":21518,"date":"2021-01-26T20:38:10","date_gmt":"2021-01-26T20:38:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/?p=21518"},"modified":"2021-01-26T20:38:10","modified_gmt":"2021-01-26T20:38:10","slug":"raila-to-central-you-owe-me","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/policy\/raila-to-central-you-owe-me","title":{"rendered":"Raila to Central: You owe me"},"content":{"rendered":"

AfricaPress-Kenya:<\/strong> ODM leader Raila Odinga has launched a fresh charm offensive targeting Mt Kenya vote bloc.<\/p>\n

In his newest overture, Raila yesterday rekindled the rich history binding his family and the Luo community to Central residents and the country\u2019s three presidents.<\/p>\n

He took time to narrate his father\u2019s association with Jomo Kenyatta, Mwai Kibaki and Uhuru Kenyatta in a 58-year-old affair characterised with love, hate and betrayal iced with a mountain of political debt.<\/p>\n

In his pitch, broadcast by Kameme TV, Raila said Mt Kenya region owes him a political debt, recalling how he stood with Kibaki in the poll that ended Kanu\u2019s rule even after he (Kibaki) was involved in a serious road accident.<\/p>\n

His father, Jaramogi Oginga Odinga had also forfeited the chance to form the first African government demanding that Jomo Kenyatta be released first as a condition for Kenya\u2019s freedom.<\/p>\n

Pre-election MoU<\/strong><\/p>\n

The former premier claimed betrayal by Kibaki men who trashed their pre-election Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that had provided for the creation of a powerful prime minister\u2019s slot, which he was to occupy.<\/p>\n

His remarks are likely to trigger a fresh debate on politics of debt at a time Deputy President William Ruto was also hoping for the region\u2019s support for backing Uhuru in 2013 and 2017 polls.<\/p>\n

There has been talk that Ruto, too, was owed a debt by the region for supporting Uhuru and ensuring that Rift Valley voted solidly for the president in the last two polls.<\/p>\n

Raila recalled how when on a victory tour with then newly elected President Kibaki, he was hailed by residents as mutongoria njamba (brave leader) in stopovers on the way to Nyeri.<\/p>\n

\u201cProblem started when those who served under Kibaki reneged on the MoU. We had an MoU to change the Constitution, but they reneged on it. I was the one who was betrayed, not any other person,\u201d said Raila.<\/p>\n

He went on: \u201cThey are the ones with my debt; I don\u2019t have anyone\u2019s debt. We went to Bomas of Kenya, I was betrayed a second time because they said no to the proposed constitutional changes. It is me they owe, but what we are doing now is to make sure we forget the past and unite the country.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said when he declared Kibaki Tosha, Kanu leaders said Luos would not vote for a Kikuyu because of what the community did to Tom Mboya and Jaramogi.<\/p>\n

He also disclosed his father treated Kibaki as a son, saying how the first vice-president took Kibaki from Makerere University and made him an executive officer of Kanu and even paid his salary for two years.<\/p>\n

\u201cI went and told Luos that there has never been a fight between Luos and Kikuyus. What was there was ideological differences. Luos voted Kibaki 98.5 per cent. Even Orengo (Senator James) was a candidate, but Kibaki beat him in the election,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He sought to end the political hatred between the two communities by explaining how his father and the first president only had ideological differences.<\/p>\n

He said how he has worked with the region\u2019s political leaders in the fight for second liberation and multiparty democracy.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy father refused to be made the prime minister and instead pushed to have Jomo Kenyatta released from prison. They worked together only to differ over land issues. That was ideological differences and not a tribal war. I supported Kibaki by saying Kibaki Tosha and worked with regional leaders like Charles Rubia, Kenneth Matiba and Bildad Kaggia for liberation. The region should remain steadfast and support our quest for a better Kenya, join us in building the bridges,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Senate Majority Whip Irungu Kang\u2019ata and Nyeri Town MP Ngunjiri Wambugu, however, dismissed Raila\u2019s debt narrative to the community.<\/p>\n

Kang\u2019ata said agreements entered in a boardroom cannot be used to rally a community to back an individual\u2019s presidential quest.<\/p>\n

He said only agreements publicised by engaging the voters can be honoured.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe needs to examine if indeed those instances fit criterion for binding political agreements… For a political agreement to hold, political offer and acceptance need to be politicised by way of public disclosure and endorsement of its terms,\u201d said the Murang\u2019a senator.<\/p>\n

Wambugu said the region will not vote for anybody on the basis of political debt, but on what they seek to offer to the region.<\/p>\n

He said those claiming political debt benefited in the arrangements they entered by holding certain positions and cannot thus turn around and claim being owed.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t subscribe to debt politics. We cannot have debt politics about Ruto or Raila. We are not going to vote for anybody based on debt, but what deal they seek to offer us for future engagement,\u201d said Wambugu.<\/p>\n

The MP said if people were to start honouring previous pacts, even Amani National Congress (ANC) leader Musalia Mudavadi will come and say that he lost his seat for supporting Uhuru in 2002.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can\u2019t discuss debt politics because politics is about the future,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

But Uhuru\u2019s close ally and Jubilee Vice Chairperson David Murathe last year suggested that it was time to reward Raila for his struggle to liberate the country.<\/p>\n

His remarks suggested there is a push to have the region, which has traditionally opposed Raila, to back him in the next poll.<\/p>\n

Raila used the interview to appeal to the region to back the proposed constitutional changes by looking at the benefits they stand to gain if it is passed at the referendum.<\/p>\n

He said the region should delink his name from the project birthed by the March 9, 2018, handshake.<\/p>\n

\u201cOpportunities have wings if they are not taken they fly away. I appeal to the region to remove Raila in BBI and see the gains it seeks to introduce in that region,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Raila said he was concentrating in popularising the BBI agenda and not his quest to seek the presidency, noting it will be the best legacy that will devolve more monies to the counties.<\/p>\n

He denied claims that BBI was his secret card to succeed President Kenyatta, noting since the inception of the handshake, he has always avoided the campaign talk to give the Jubilee government time to deliver its promises to the electorate.<\/p>\n

While defending his handshake with Uhuru, Raila said the deal had brought stability and reconciliation and should not be associated with Jubilee\u2019s failures.<\/p>\n

The DP has blamed the government\u2019s inability to implement its Big Four agenda on the handshake.<\/p>\n

\u201cThose claiming that the handshake stopped Jubilee government from performing its mandate are dreaming. The country was in chaos following the aftermath of 2017 General Election. The country experienced tension and economic sabotage when our supporters resisted some products from some companies, but things resumed when we greeted each other,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

On Ruto\u2019s failing relationship with the president, Raila exonerated himself saying the matter was an internal problem of Jubilee\u2019s and none of his business.<\/p>\n

Raila at the same time took a swipe at Ruto over his hustler narrative, calling on him to sell his manifesto to the electorate without clustering people as the haves and have nots, a narrative he warned could be a recipe for anarchy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

AfricaPress-Kenya: ODM leader Raila Odinga has launched a fresh charm offensive targeting Mt Kenya vote bloc. In his newest overture, Raila yesterday rekindled the rich history binding his family and the Luo community to Central residents and the country\u2019s three presidents. He took time to narrate his father\u2019s association with Jomo Kenyatta, Mwai Kibaki and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":21501,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,8,12],"tags":[7223,7224,254],"class_list":["post-21518","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-homepage-english","category-policy","tag-luo-community","tag-mt-kenya-vote-bloc","tag-odm-leader-raila-odinga"],"yoast_head":"\nRaila to Central: You owe me - kenya<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"ODM leader Raila Odinga has launched a fresh charm offensive targeting Mt Kenya vote bloc.In his newest overture, Raila\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/policy\/raila-to-central-you-owe-me\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Raila to Central: You owe me\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"ODM leader Raila Odinga has launched a fresh charm offensive targeting Mt Kenya vote bloc.In his newest overture, Raila\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/policy\/raila-to-central-you-owe-me\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"kenya\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-01-26T20:38:10+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/kenya\/sites\/28\/2021\/01\/raila_in_charm_offen600f0a367224b-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"500\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/policy\/raila-to-central-you-owe-me#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/policy\/raila-to-central-you-owe-me\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Raila to Central: You owe me\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-01-26T20:38:10+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/policy\/raila-to-central-you-owe-me\"},\"wordCount\":1218,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/policy\/raila-to-central-you-owe-me#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/kenya\/sites\/28\/2021\/01\/raila_in_charm_offen600f0a367224b-1.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Luo community\",\"Mt Kenya vote bloc\",\"ODM leader Raila Odinga\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"homepage-english\",\"policy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/policy\/raila-to-central-you-owe-me#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/policy\/raila-to-central-you-owe-me\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/policy\/raila-to-central-you-owe-me\",\"name\":\"Raila to Central: You owe me - 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