Re: [Jambo] It is payback time for Raila

Kiminza
That Raila has put only his henchmen in specific positions in ODMK may be troubling but again I doubt if Raila is the final authority in ODMK. There are officials that make these decisions. However, if the ODMK officils has given him that much authority, then it may be troubling and Raila is not the one to blame. You must blame all the officials, Kalonzo included.

That Raila is forging ahead with Ruto and Mudavadi alliances to get nomination is something that should not bother you or anybody. In a political equation that requires plugging in several regional unknowns, any political candidate who wants to win nomination or election for that matter must find something that works.

Raila initially desperately attempted to have Kalonzo alliance but Kalonzo turned it down. Infact, the alliance Raila is attempting now with Ruto had been attempted by Kalonzo himself not to cut Raila down but for him to win the nomination. Now in negotiations, the best negotiator wins. If Kalonzo offered a better deal, I doubt if Ruto or Mudavadi could have chosen Raila.

I think the problem with Kalonzo is that his compaign team is lukeworm. He is not aggressive in his compaign and hence even though he is a so called compromise candidate, he has not struck a note with the public or the regional leaders. Now the best thing Kalonzo should do is to work with the luminaries. If he is beaten in these nominations, he is simply beaten because of his compaign style.

The principle of let so and so rule has not worked very well.

Raila deserves the support he is getting because he has worked hard compaigning and raising money for ODM kenya. It is time Kalonzo settles for a compromise position. Why do I say so? If Kalonzo feels that Raila is winning unfairly and he quits the party, what is he going to do next?

He might decide to join the Kibaki camp. That camp is full. The vice presidency is taken by Awori, prime minister is taken by Nyachae and other senior ministerial positions are taken by Kiraitus and the rest who will be ruling and telling him what to do in his own ministry anyway. He will bring alot to this table, but will have minimal power like it happened in the last general election.

If he joins camp with Uhuru only, then he will be in alot of trouble. He will be commiting the worst political suicide because as long as Kibaki has a chance, the kikuyus will not support Uhuru. So Kalonzo's political light will start dimming.

But if he sticks with ODMK, he is one of the founders so everyone treats everyone as an equal. Besides ODMK values the Kamba votes like you said earlier and so he will have something to bring to the table and will also have a great stake in the government. In fact, Kalonzo will be in the inside cycle and allienating him after he supports ODMK will give him more popularity and clout and may affect the government of the day. If he leaves now this will not show up.

So Mr. Kiminza, right now it is totally upto Kalonzo to choose what is best for him and not what is worst for Raila.

Of course if he leaves it will be bad for Riala and co but will it be good for him? No. It will be very very bad for him and his people.

If he stays it will be good for him because he will have authority in the government and may have power to help his people in terms of distribution of resources. You know where we are in Kenya. You must have someone up there who can speak on your behalf.

Barack