By Otieno Sikuri
The argument they give is, you have to be in power to marginalize and you have to be out of power to be a victim of such a powerful practice.
They argue, these Odm social media scavengers, that within a span of two years Uhuru has successfully managed to marginalize Kisumu and stones will be thrown if he goes there.
They lie, and not only that, they have refused to accept the truth. They are, simply put, playing politics. Why don’t we go back to basics? Here is the truth…
Moi enjoyed 24 good years of presidency, a good number of which were tumultuous, he enjoyed it nonetheless.
Now, Moi comes from a small Kalenjin sub-tribe called Tugen,an entity that was hitherto unrecognized, and even after 24 years in power,Tugen cannot even hold candle to Nandi and Kipsigis,quite literally.
Ever heard of Baringo? Ever been there? Ooh! How can you? The roads to that place are impassable. That is Moi’s county. Of course Moi increased the stock of the kalenjin people both politically and economically. War heroes like Bargetuny were feted. That is what a true son of the soil does for his people.Baringo may have been underdeveloped, but in the final analysis, the Kalenjin nation was exalted. In the police service, military, civil service, they are everywhere.
Jomo Kenyatta was no different. A good number of kikuyus were glorified to a level initially deemed unreachable. They were also taught and indoctrinated on how to amass wealth and power, and how to safeguard their gains. They learnt that power is sweet and you only let go at your own peril, and they have mastered the art of preserving it either through expansionism or through hook and crook. Kibaki taught them the same and uhuru is simply perfecting a precedence so meticulously set.
Now, the Kisumu marginalization is not an isolated one, indeed such is the narrative in the whole of western Kenya, the northern frontier, the coast, some parts of eastern and several other places.
However,the Kisumu story and indeed the Luo story is bafflingly unique such that it has resulted in both internal power politics and the general separatist politics.
Otieno Kajwang was an immigration minister yet I remember making endless trips to the DC to plead for my National ID. Somewhere in central,12 years old children were being issued, free of charge.
In the Rift Valley, you were being forced to acquire one the moment you joined high school.
Raila Odinga was a Road’s minister in the first Kibaki government. Did he ever construct even a single road in Nyanza? The only thing he did was to demolish and the x signs are still there to date. He would later be a prime minister. What did this man do for our people? The only thing that comes to mind is imposition of leaders and thwarting of peoples’ choices.
How do you expect Kisumu to be developed when something as simple as a choice can not be entrusted unto them? Instead, people had to be airlifted from siaya to come and break our virgin county government, and they have really broken her. Yet you talk of marginalization. What a joke?
In Siaya, not a day passes before I nostalgically recall how democracy was raped to accommodate puppets. And who doesn’t remember how Nairobi Governor Evans Kidero was warned, chased and sidelined for bringing money to the people.
How can I even forget Raphael Tuju whose quest to modernize Rarieda was rudely shortened by purveyors of democracy. What democracy? I’m a resident of Kisumu and I tell you, I can never entrust even my Governor with even 1% of National budget yet he’s everywhere singing pesa mashinani.
Inspite of all these afflictions to my people, I still welcome Uhuru Kenyatta or any other person for that matter, to Kisumu. I have this message for Uhuru Kenyatta; two years down the line, don’t you feel ashamed? Doesn’t your conscience prick you when you decide to offer selective infrastructure, selective employment? If anything is to happen to you in Kisumu, understand that my people say no to selective service. What the heck sir? We were together in the referendum clamor and even earlier.
To the young men blogging or writing for ODM, do you not have someone to direct you? Surely, you cannot react on everything. You give us the impression of being hapless and ill equipped and poorly renumerated.One group sings Eliud Owalo,another sings Fidel Odinga. Why can’t you synergize and sing one common thing? Let’s say, party elections.
You cannot always feed the masses with disjointed and incoherent personal opinions and purport to be talking for the party. Put your ears on the ground and fight winnable battles.
Twelve  years ago if you said these things you would be jettisoned, anguished or dismissed as mad.It was done to a budding social democrat Anyang Nyongo in 1997, then James Orengo in 2002.
Over the years, reason has been replaced with hero worship. If you are lucky enough to see light, they ask, ‘why?’ but not before they label you a rebel, even a mole.
What greater mole can there be than these blind adherents to what they neither know nor understand? They call it democracy yet it enslaves and impoverishes them.
The opinions herein are those of the author and does not, in any way, Â represent Kenya Today, and, or its Editorial staff.