The Man Who Would Be President

In a democracy a win with a by any no pfvotes is a win, in kenyas case kibaki won the elections, by whatever margin is irrelevant. I think the porridge and tea must have confused you to seeing any ray of hope in railas presidency or in his redeeming kenyans. In the few weeks that he has managed to dupe kenyans that he won, he has single handedly brought unbelievable poverty to his people. he has encouraged them to burn their rented houses, factories,shops, hospitals and loot everything in sight, do you see anybody opening a shop in kisumu soon? arent they the ones now going hungry? are jobless and their childrens are still at home with no fees and no schools?
The unfortunate thing is his people are impoverished and he is till and will not be president. Is he so selfish that he would rather have kenyans kill each other than not be president?
Well if you are wondering what kenya could have become under his presidency, just visit kisumu and extrapolate the destruction to the rest of kenya!!!!!!

To the article authors Andrew Ehrenranz and Silvia Spring: a piece of the other side of the story....

http://hrw.org/english/docs/2008/01/23/kenya17859.htm

Odinga shall never be president of Kenya because what you call popularity is based on inciting tribal sentiments againt the Kikuyu for imagined sins against other tribes. Kibaki won the election because many sober mided people did not heed the hate campaign propagated by Odinga. Poverty can not be blamed on Kibaki, after all Kenyas are better off than most East Africans and in only 5 years the growth rate is 7%. Odinga has confused his people to think that his goverment will give the free food, shelter , education etc - a thing that does not happen in any other country. His supporters have in some poor slum areas taken over other peoples (Kikuyus) tenements in an attempt to fulfill what their leader promised them - free housing.
Some of us are ready for war than undergo a Odinga dictatorship.

Indeed Raila is the only hope for change in Kenya.Kibaki has been in the government for 47 years,holding the position of the Finance Minister for over a decade.While other countries have developed to reach the level of East Asia tigers, Kenya has remained poor with the input of Kibaki as the chief architect of poverty.Kibaki is ethnocentric,myopics and radderless.Indeed I believe, he is the worst think that has happened to Kenya.You are not right.Raila's popularity has sky rocketed since his election as president was stollen.Last evening I talked to a member of Kibaki's inner circle who cofessed that Raila won by 50 percent of votes.Raila now has 80percent of Kenya behind him.Forget those ethnocetric who still follw an imbicile because he is from their tribe. Whether they like it or not Raila will be president in three months' time. Musungu-Nairobi

Your article made me puke. To use Kenyan lingo, you sound like a journalist who has been paid to preach lies. It is amazing just how the West is so easily hoodwinked by the machinations and publicity of his American spin doctor Dick Morris.
Corrections: One, Kibaki and Raila both engaged in underhand activities during voting. Raila would like the world to believe he is innocent, simply because he lost at his own game.

Two, while you painted a rosy picture of the Raila you conveniently failed to mention that this is a man whose father's, and hence his goal is what he thinks is acquisition of some God-given right to be President. Yet, he and his father have been rejected by the majority of Kenyans since independence, thus they have both resorted to coups of one type or the other, without success. The Orange Movement, modeled after Ukraine was his latest effort. Again, the people did not take his bait.

Granted, Raila is King of the Luos, who mindlessly and fanatically follow him as he prostitutes himself to one party after another, only lasting for as long as he thought he would be the nominated Presidential candidate, failure to which he leaves in a huff. To the majority of Kenyans he is too vengeful to be elected as President.

Three, while he has done incredibly well for himself-you mentioned his Jaguar and Hummer 3 rides- his development record is pathetic. True to his socialist training, and thus his preaching for Balkanization of the country, his people are waiting for the government to bring them development. Meanwhile people in the other parts of the Country are breaking their backs and reaping benefits. Otherwise how can he sit back as his own people force closure of schools in Nyanza, amid chants of ???No Raila No School???, while school is in session in the rest of the country?

Four, Kenyans know that Raila is foul-mouthed, violent, typical African-big man dictator in waiting. His concept of democracy is "my way or the highway". You failed to mention how he rigged out the people's choices for MP candidates in his own Nyanza stronghold and replaced them with his imposed choices, leading to at least two deaths long before the elections.

Finally, all the killings that have happened since the elections are directly attributable to Raila Odinga. The majority of the dead are Kikuyus killed in Nairobi by Luos for ???stealing Raila???s Presidency???, Kikuyus killed in the Rift Valley by Kalenjins in pursuit of the promise by Raila Odinga???s lieutenant William Ruto that come Raila???s Presidency, Kikuyus would be chased out of the land they had legally bought in Rift Valley. The Luo supporters that he is crying aloud being shot by police in Kisumu were actually looters of business properties and destroyers of government property.

I have read Newsweek for decades, and I sure you could have done a better job. Unless you have been paid of course.

David Nzioka, New York, USA

Many African countries cannot govern themselves under democracy in the modern world. African governments just cannot overcome corruption. After being poor and abused for centuries the Africans are just too susceptible to corruption. When people are poor and hungry it is easy to get them to join a gang. Young people in Africa have stopped asking and are just taking. Africans cannot govern themselves they cannot overcome government corruption and ruthlessness. No one respects or trust any government in Africa. Unfortunately many tribes and races will become extinct in Africa. What a disaster with no end in sight. It is fun for them to slaughter eachother, they seem to be enjoying it because they get on T.V. Those who decaPitate get the most attention. It is cool to join a gang a slaughter as much as you can around you what else there to do when you are starving and your government abuses you. Africa is not caPable of handling democracy. They need a different form of government until they are ready for democracy.

Raila is Kenyas savior...... A clear break from the elitist fold that has plundered the country since independence. This is not in a tribal way, because he currently enjoys massive support in the whole of kenya, except from Kikuyuland where the current illegal Government hails from. His firm belief in the Kenyan dream made me vote for him, and I will do so again anytime, since we all know how the Kibaki government is being manipulated by the corrupt networks established by first President Kenyatta, pampered by 2nd President Daniel Moi, and now wining and dining with Kibaki. We are devaststed that our chance to change Kenya were dashed by Kibaki's cronies and advisors through an Electoral body made up of Kibakis friends and tribesmen. To Kibaki, remember that the wheels of justice grind slow, but they grind exceedingly small. Kenyans are waiting!!! Geoffrey makeke

Politics in Kenya is complicated. I am glad to see that Odinga said to you that some people voted FOR HIM and some voted AGAINST KIBAKI. On the other side, many of the people who voted for Kibaki were actually voting AGAINST ODINGA! Many Kenyans rightly want a change, and the country needs new leadership. Unfortunately for western observers, it is not as simple as figuring out who is the underdog and then support that guy. Kibaki is wrong in his behavior and quite possibly he (or his people) did steal the election. But, Odinga is even worse. He is a excellent manipulative politician, and he has actually justified the killing of Kikuyus by his supporters. Even if he did win the election, it would not ultimately be just for the whole of Kenya for him to be in power. I would love to see a re-run of the election because I would hope that after the events of the last three weeks, Odinga would find that he has lost more than he has gained. Of course, my first choice would be a re-run with all new candidates. Kenya needs REAL leaders, and they do not have any currently.

reader should stop suckin up to newsweek ist juz a news paper like anyother like to tellthe truth or miss it .its not a high school principle that you wonna subcribe more coz it happen to tell what yu wonna hear. two the kenyans elections are not as important as the violence that effect the nation currently. the election intrest only the ten million that voted the remaining 24 million care less but still pay the price of violence thats what we need to heal and build our nation ,killing our nation and our economy ,means no democracy ,election least of all presidency which we seem to worship come tommorror. theres a rwanda and a somali in happening as we as we compete in this debate.

raila biggest mistake is to aligne him self with genocide orchestrator mr ruto. and kosgey. this people have called for the killing of kikuyu tribe in rift valley the tribe of president kibaki one incident wheretheir tribe supporters torched a church fullof women and kids worshipping on sunday with no part in politics.
his cchief advissor najib balala in his capain said he will remove all churches in coast of kenya and recallterrorist suspects deported by kibaki gorvament if they win election.
w .martin
kenya

Kenya now needs a Smith Hempstone or Bernd M??tzelburg for the third or is it the fourth liberation. Diplomats need to put pressure on Kibaki and stop listening to his excuses all day long. They will cry neo-colonialism and the like but pressure is urgently needed. Hempstone and M??tzelburg led by example in Kenya in the 90s when Moi proved difficult.

Kenya now needs a Smith Hempstone for the third or is it the fourth liberation!!! Diplomats need to put pressure on Kibaki and stop listening to his excuses all day long.

Enter Your Comment

Is it racism or just sheer stupidity that makes Western journalists take everything they come across in Africa at face value? Did you even google "Jesus is Alive Ministries" and its founder or even try to find out anything about this church whose bishop "draped Odinga in a white shawl"? You might have had a little bit more insight into who or what Odinga is. Did you even confront Odinga on the issue of the after-election pogrom against the Kikuyu? Well, you are only a newsweekly and an American one at that, so I guess I should not be too surprised at the total lack of intellectual analysis of what was right in front of your eyes.

.githogori.

For a retired academic, you havent entirely researched the spelling of the names properly. If u have been keeping such a close eye on the political scene you will realise that Kenyans are not looking for a politician and president that will change for democracy. They have long since realised that it will take too long for that change to take effect and in the mean time they will go on with their jobs and bring bread to the table. You know what more should be done to highlight the plight of the displaced kenyans. The violence is not at genocide stage as many people seem to be asking. The international portayal of the situation is appalling and maybe they should concentrate on not exaggerating the facts, as this is a serious matter and not made for sensational reading. Perhaps touch on the fact that the country has actually come together to help those affected by the violence. Lets get Kenya back!

This article twists around the personality of Raila Odinga, but for the ordinary Kenyan it is the depth of
political corruption that sets them off. And they had had enough since the legendary Jomo Kenyata,
the Mau Mau guerrilla warrior who forced the British to grant Kenya independence, died in 1978. His
successor, Daniel Arap Moy, became a brute and corrupt dictator for 24 years, and he finally gave up
with the country in shambles - but not before he secured immunity from prosecution from any future
government for all the crimes committed by his regime, as Augusto Pinochet did in Chile for himself.

Kibaki was elected after Moy, and he looked and sounded like a new spring in Kenya's future. But power corrupts, and in that part of the world, Somalia, Eritrea, Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia, Uganda, etc., politicians who grab power don't give it back to the people easily. Would Raila Odinga -if he were president- had given up the presidency easily in a tight election? History has it that he would have not. And even though
I have supported him in other comments I have written about the present Kenyan impasse, and I still
believe that he has won the elections, I have doubts that he is made from Jomo Kenyata fabric. . But he is correct that a lot of Kenyans voted for him because they want Kibaki out. And, personalities aside, he deserves the chance to prove that he is not Moy or Kibaki. And, on their part, the Kenyans deserve the change of regime until one of their politicians proves himself to be a true Democrat for the people. Nikos Retsos, retired academic.

There is no question that with his position and popularity, Odinga also has powerful interests that shudder at the thought of him ascending to the presidency. The article has done a great job of highlighting what is so shockingly seldom mentioned - the detention without trial for almost a decade of Odinga. To Jambazi below, your comments are without merit. Odinga has been tried in the Kenyan judicial system and acquited for lack of evidence for the issues you raise. Further his whole family including his wife and children have had to endure the wrath of the state. There is not a doubt in any kenyans mind, whether they are on the government or the opposition side about the fact that Mr. Odinga has furthered the cause of democracy, self determination and transparency in government more than any individual in the last two decades. He has shaped opinion and thinking top a level never before experienced in Kenya, helped drive a dictator out of power, sensitized and educated the common man on their democratic rights, preached peace and ethnic cohesion. Mr. Odinga's liberal and democratic credentials are impeccable as is his commitment to lifting Kenya up. I challenge Alice woods below to conduct her own research and find out why we have now come to refer to Hon. Odinga as the Mandela of Kenya. He has paid his dues for the rights of his fellow citizens and has never been snared in any corrupt deals. In the era of largese, wanton corruption, these are not qualities to be taken lightly. I will be renewing my subscripton to Newsweek. Thank you for continuing to highlight the issues that affect people everywhere there is injustice and suffering in the world.