In 2013, word has it that Raila Odinga promised to support Stephen Kalonzo Musyoka in 2017, regardless of the outcome of 2013 elections. In 2017 however, it turned out that Raila had one bullet remaining.
Teaming up with Kalonzo Musyoka (Wiper), Musalia Mudavadi (ANC), Moses Wetang’ula (Ford Kenya) and the then Bomet Governor Isaac Rutto (CCM), they formed a Super Alliance called NASA.
That meant that they never had no reason to keep any of the promises they made in 2013.
In 2013, the then dynamic duo, Uhuru Kenyatta and William Ruto signed a pact. The key point of the pact was that Kalenjin and GEMA will rule Kenya till 2027. In this arrangement, Ruto promised to balkanize the Kalenjin nation to back Uhuru.
Well, until his turn in 2022.
And so, we now know better.
Observers are wondering, for how long we shall do the same things expecting different results during each electioneering cycle.
Arnold Maliba, a political commentator, says that Kenya’s political system is not yet working. “That’s why all political agreements are usually overshadowed by the quest for self-aggrandizement and in the very least about vision for the country. Political dealings are more focused on power and goodies when in power more than service to the nation. That’s one reason why betrayals will keep happening, even in this year’s electoral cycle”.
In his opinion, after election deals would work better than it is the case currently because, then those signing deals would bring tangibles on the table rather than bringing wishes. “You see, there is no guarantee that those agreeing to form a coalition will win. The ground will keep shifting and the more you think of it, the more betrayals become more feasible,” he said on a phone interview.
That calls for an alternative impartial approach to check the fallout and therefore betrayals that will soon ensue. Prof. Bonventure Kere, the current chair of BUCOE Kimilili Sub-County says that as elders, they are exploring ways to offer interventions once “one party finds that they are being shortchanged. The only problem is that this is happening in the local scene rather than the national scene. It’s the national betrayals that are more pronounced.”
Prof. Kere said in an interview that they “are looking forward to a matured political era where the wishes of the voter will be the heart of all political negotiations. To achieve these, Kenya’s elders’ should take the center stage in negotiating for coalitions.”
He however, was quick to point out that the local political class has a different use for elders in the community. “They only want them to bring community votes regardless. The elders who appear critical to their political wishes are quickly pushed aside. In their place political convenience is employed to manage transitions. Trust me, after August; we are likely going to see the 2013 scenarios of betrayals. This time round with more consequences,” he concluded.
These sentiments were echoed by Mr. John Barasa Munyasia, a two term former Sirisia MP who agreed that betrayals are on the way. He said that political agreements employed in Kenya are always done in hurry without caring for the life of the same coalitions politicians make.
“In 2013, it looked like the agreement between Uhuru and Ruto had cured that bit of hushed political coalitions. The duo put up a very successful agreement. They agreed to share power 50 – 50 between them. That ended well. Trouble came in 2017 where we had ‘… yangu kumi, yako kumi’ agreement, an agreement Uhuru was not ready to keep because of legacy issues. Ruto went in blindly to his own peril,” he said in an interview.
By Caleb Kitui