A fierce war of words erupts between Jakoyo Midiwo and Miguna Miguna immediately after the media ‘leaks’ that ODM has petitioned the United Nations Security Council against ‘deferral’ of the Kenyan Situation. It is March. It is 2011.
On the day of sending the letter, March 11, 2011, only Nyong’o, (Ambrose) Rachier, (Otiende) Amollo, Salim and Miguna Miguna knows of it. It is no wonder when the newspaper reveal that ODM has sent an ‘affidavit’ to the UNSC, Jakoyo is so offended.
Jakoyo: [Shouting] Miguna, why are you destroying for Jakom? What is wrong with you?
Miguna: Destroying what?
Jakoyo: Raila has told me you are the one who convinced Nyong’o to sign the letter to UNSC. You didn’t even consult him. The letter is your idea!
Miguna: Why are you shouting! Are you listening to your self?
Jakoyo: You think I’m joking Miguna; I’ll expose you in the media! I’m going to condemn you in the media!
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Nyong’o’s letter to UNSC, which Jubilee politicians are quoting today, emanated from this political and historical context. When Jubilee politicians mention the Nyong’o letter (copies which I saw Itumbi post online to support his so called ‘Raila betrayed Ruto’ balderdash), they do not reveal this background.
The letter had nothing to do with witness fixing, neither was it some cache of evidence to the ICC. However, in 2011, just as today, Jubilee have minted massively from the letter to prove that ‘Raila fixed Ruto’.This is despite the fact -grievous as it is – that even as they dragged Raila’s name in the mud, PNU had actually sent evidence to the ICC (not the UNSC) that implicated Ruto in the post-poll violence.
This PNU dossier (not a letter like what Nyong’o wrote) is less talked about today as it was in 2011. It has never been made public (Nyong’o’s letter was in public domain from the day it was sent, March 11, 2011).
Many people came to know about it this year, when Attorney General Prof. Githu Muigai admitted at the Hague that the government (read Kibaki’s 17 member cabinet government) had sent a dossier to the Hague implicating William Ruto.
This dossier was reported once by Daily Nation. Since then, it has faded from the media, as Nyong’o’s letter become daily fodder. Yet, you cannot compare Nyong’o’s letter which only stated ODM’s position that the party preferred a ‘referral’ over a ‘deferral’ to this implicating PNU dossier.
Deferral, in 2011, was the PNU side of the government’s official stance on the ICC cases. ODM, on the other hand, stood for ‘referral’. Essentially, PNU (then also composed of ‘ODM rebels’) had not changed their minds from having the cases heard at the ICC, a position they had taken before the confirmation of charges with their ‘don’t be Vague, let’s go the Hague’ choruses. What they now wanted was that the cases be heard but after the 2012 elections.
In 2011, PNU and ‘ODM rebels’ cross-crossed the country in ”prayer rallies” where the ICC, they told their people, was being used to rig them out of the 2012 elections by having a ‘western puppet’ elected unopposed.
ODM, the wing that stuck with Raila, though opposed to the Hague still (earlier when Jubilee preferred the Hague, ODM preferred a local tribunal) was however opposed to deferring the cases. It supported ‘referring’ the cases to be heard not either in Kenya or Tanzania but using the international standards that had been set in the trial of Rwanda genocidiers.
This, ODM believed, was to ensure justice was served to the victims.
There was no way Raila could have fixed, betrayed,or even abandoned Ruto in 2011. By 2011, Ruto had left ODM and was now deep in PNU political games. Ruto, as early as 2009, had stopped any formal engagements with ODM. He was not caucasing with ODM. He was not paying his subscriptions to ODM (like Gideon Mung’aro is doing now) and, perhaps, more importantly, he was no longer VOTING with ODM.
In his defiance, some 15 ODM MPs, including Chachu Ganya and Aden Duale, joined him. Rift Valley, save for Henry Kosgey, Sally Kosgei, Magerer Langat, Musa Sirma, Prof Sambili, and Prof Margaret Kamar had all joined him in his defiance.
Hon. Franklin Bett was always a flip-flopper. Today passionate about this, tomorrow brooding about that. He was, and still remains, a classical watermelon.
What is amazing about it all is that despite Ruto rebelling as early as 2009, Raila was magnanimous enough to let him be. Sometimes when the accusations on Odinga would be too much to bear, Odinga would snap, reacting furiously (like when he called the two to be jailed ASAP) but he never acted on the anger.
Ruto hasn’t defied President Uhuru as he used to defy Raila. It is such a miracle. But as I observed recently, the reason for this is ”shared greed”
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