By Albert Nyakundi Amenya
To the great and sophisticated people of Kenya, August 27, 2010, will forever remain august. It will be remembered as the day they displayed their rich pedigree with royal courage by burying the shackles of perpetual slavery through the promulgation of the New Constitution, at the behest of their visionary leaders.
Thanks to the former Prime Minister Raila Odinga and his ‘YES’ team. At that time, the valiant sons and daughters of Kenya were too positive to be doubtful, too sure to be hoodwinked, and, too clever to be beguiled. They openly rejected and resisted the men and women from team ‘NO’, the men and women who sought to ensure they remained sluggish in political, economic and social captivity under the obsolete constitution. Led by the then Deputy Prime Minister Hon William Ruto and the members of the clergy, team ‘NO’ came like a tempest but the citizens raised a standard against them with their votes.
Kenyans broke the crab fingers of marginalization and oppressive central government policies that denied them access to the scheme of things which ensured even 50years later, section of this great nation wallowed in medieval state. They expelled oppression and domination. They defied the obsolete system of governance that was deployed to harass, dehumanize, intimidate, and steal their inalienable right to elect leaders of their choice under peaceful, free fair and credible election. Kenyans will hear much in the coming years about former Prime Minister Raila Odinga’s surplus of saintly qualities, indeed which are innumerable and none done in any half measure.
Raila is undeniably a political colossus and cognoscente whose dedication and struggle has paved way for his position in the annals of history. Odinga must be commended for his courage and selflessness to preserve and make democracy work in Kenya. Raila will forever be remembered for being a man of unique bravery having orchestrated the dismantling of a political system of unique evil deeds.
A political system characterized by the Lords of impunity who mistook the constitution for a collation of papers with dye on it. Without a shadow of doubt, it was due to his doggedness and ultra altruism – at great personal cost – that liberated our nation from the clutches of kakistocracy where candidates were bought out of the race to cheat democracy. Shockingly, we the Kenyan people seem to have failed to learn from our own history.
When Raila Odinga tells us to go for a referendum and send more resources to mashinani by having a permanent figure to be disbursed annually, we are vulgarizing his noble course by pretending that we don’t know what he is saying. When the same Raila tells us to go for a referendum and have 30 percent of jobs set aside for marginalized tribes, the poor innocents are hoodwinked by their oppressors to join them in opposing Raila’s noble course. Now that Raila is championing for equal distribution of jobs among Kenyans, I am appalled to see that the victims of such the same circumstance – for instance Kalenjins – are the ones in the forefront opposing the same. Honestly, when will Kenyans stop being poor candidates of their own history??