RAILA ODINGA IS NO REFORMER, NEITHER IS KALONZO MUSYOKA

Of late I have been keenly watching the moves made by various presidential candidates and other political players as we near the next general elections. I can authoritatively state that I am among those Kenyans who are shopping for the best and most qualified of all the candidates to meet the aspirations of Kenyans to support for president. It will be in the best interest of Kenyans to rally behind an individual who will ensure that the ordinary Kenyans’ living standards are improved in a proportionate way of the taxes collected by the government. It’s obvious that the Kibaki government’s greatest achievement has been in collection of taxes.

Under Kibaki we have realised radical infrastructural development never experienced before under the previous regimes of the late founding father Jommo Kenyatta and our second President Daniel arap Moi. The saddest part is that during Kibaki’s reign the distribution of resources has had a mild if any positive impact among the people of the lower economic class. The peasants of this country have had little improvements in their lives during the Kibaki presidency. Lucrative government tenders and job opportunities have remained a preserve of those who already occupy big offices, their cronies and their relatives. Joblessness and underemployment has remained a major economic scourge amongst lower economic class of Kenyan citizens. Due to this skewed approach to development, Kenya remains one of the countries in the world with the highest economic inequality among the citizens. The gap between the rich and the poor remains extremely high in Kenya. Corruption in high offices has gone unabated in contradiction to president Kibaki’s promise of zero tolerance to corruption during his inauguration when he took oath of office after the December 2002 election.
The Kenyan youth in particular with humble backgrounds have remained victims of economic malpractices even when the country is said to have economically progressed under Kibaki. Majority of ordinary Kenyans are anxious and are expectant that the situation is going to improve to have everybody access equal opportunity once a new regime comes to power in 2013. As Kenyans prepare to vote in a new president and hence a new political regime, the only window of optimism remains in the personality of the individual who will be privileged to be our country’s chief executive in the subsequent five years. Kenyans’ hopes can only be brightened and be realized if we elect a genuine reformer as president.
Lately, of significant interest are the utterances made by various presidential aspirants while touring different parts of the country. The campaigns are gaining momentum on a daily basis and this is causing some candidates to appear too desperate to get votes, projecting themselves to be what they are not.

A lot of political excitement has been generated since the launch of Miguna Miguna’s book Peeling Back the Mask. The most annoying thing is the hypocrisy with which some incumbent politicians have taken over Miguna’s agenda as if they were discovering corrupt practices in government for the first time. There is no doubt that majority of government officials were aware or have always been aware of the issues raised by Miguna .For them, the issues raised by Miguna are normal government practices and some of them are culprits in the same measure only that they haven’t sacked someone to be bitter enough to ‘expose’ them Miguna style. Miguna’s book is only a case of sour grapes after being sacked and am sure we will hear more shocking stories if Miguna types were sacked in some other offices of those hypocritically claiming now to be holier than thou. The book has been used as an opportunity for some non progressive presidential candidates to claim ownership to the reform process when they have no idea what the word reform means. The Miguna Miguna book has become an agenda for agenda-less presidential candidates.

However, Miguna’s book is an eye opener to those who blindly believed that the Rt.Hon. Prime Minister Raila Odinga is a believer and torch bearer of the reform agenda in Kenya.
Responding to Miguna’s bitterness as documented in Peeling Back the Mask, Kalonzo Musyoka proclaimed himself a reformer while castigating the prime minister’s alleged corrupt practices as documented by Miguna. As always, the Vice President H.E Hon. Kalonzo Musyoka, who is well known for his opportunistic tendencies, wasted no opportunity to declare himself what he is not. This is laughable. Thesaurus English dictionary describes a reformer as a person who improves,develops, restructures or revolutionizes something. Kalonzo Musyoka’s bio is not in any way related to the above mentioned verbs and his claim to the reform agenda is nothing but a mockery to those who have sacrificed and dedicated their lives to improving the state of being of the Kenyan populace in the democratisation process, constitutional reforms and developmental agenda.

Under the Kenyan constitution, like many other Kenyans Kalonzo qualifies to run for president except that he is one person who will never win the presidential race if the reform credentials are used as the yardstick to determine who best qualifies to lead us.
After president Kibaki, Kalonzo is the longest serving politician seeking presidency, having joined the national assembly in 1985 and uninterrupted to date. The irony is that despite his long stay in government occupying senior positions, there is little in terms of development or reform associated with his long presence. Kalonzo is a stranger to the reform agenda for he stayed in Kanu and pledged loyalty to former president Moi while majority of Kenyans languished under bad governance; only joining the opposition in 2002 when he saw that his dreams of becoming president through Moi’s support became nought. Kalonzo’s credentials are very dismal compared to his long tenure .In his own backyard, people like Hon. John Harun Mwau who have served only one term in parliament have been able to formulate and achieve greater developmental goals than what Kalonzo has ever achieved in the last 28 years in power. In Ukambani, Mwau can be characterized as a reformer because of how he has worked to improve the lives of his constituents compared to Kalonzo who is yet to even have the road to his own village tarmacked.
AS we head to elections, Kenyans are supposed to analyse all candidates, give them opportunity to present their manifesto and vote a true reformer who will put in place economic reforms that will prioritise fairness and equity to all. The reformer is not one who proclaims himself, but one with a track record. Kalonzo has no track record of a reformer.

Electing a true reformer in the forth coming election will ensure that the constitution, economic and social reforms are implemented and the rule of law is completely adhered to. A reformer will ensure that there is equal opportunity for every Kenyan to create wealth and improve the livelihoods of the citizens. This is the opportunity to make Kenya a better governed country and it’s a patriotic duty for every Kenyan voter that we vote in individuals with the people’s agenda this time round and not pretenders to the reform agenda.

Fwamba NC Fwamba
The writer is the leader of Kenya Young Voters Alliance.
Box 41046, Nairobi
+254721779445