You Misread the Luo Psyche

Prof. Mutua, A lot of this you say about Hon. Odinga may be true. But you are in grave error to insinuate that Hon. Odinga is some kind of dictator. Militant?

Yes he is; every freedom fighter is. All Luo Warriors are. We do not kiss a king's feet. Neither do we believe in a kingship. We never did. And Hon. Odinga is not one. Have some Luo politicians abused their access to Hon. Odinga? Most Likely. But you don’t expect Hon. Odinga to be supervising all his friend all the time. You appear to have a lot of statistics in your head. Do your math and you will find out that even under the one-party state, the Luo had the highest turnovers in every election. The Luo hate "kingship" attitudes of all incumbencies because they hate kings, not because any Odinga instructed them to do so. We say "JaLuo Olwuoro Loch" (a Luo hates being dominated). Prof. you do not understand the Luo psyche. We respect proven elders. We love heroic warriors: Hon. Odinga is one; the Freedom fighters were such warriors. That is why the late Ajuma passed on the seat to Kenyatta. Hon. Odinga is also a practical politician. He blessed Kibaki's candidacy; and fought to protect the same candidacy when his friend was hurting. He went to KANU as a practical political matter. You may not understand this, but whenever Hon. Odinga made his nomadic political moves, the Luo Leadership had blessed it. The nature or composition of the so-called Luo Leadership is itself a mystery and may not be obvious to outsiders. So, you may write your long essays about Hon. Odinga, but you will not understand the psyche of the Luo State (Your Word) until you understand that in any generation, the Luo will always have "Wise men; Warriors; and Elders (moderators)." Hon. Odinga is the Ultimate Warrior, but he is not acting alone!Lastly: Luo Unity. The Luo Nation (your own words) is a political unit. Every Luo leader worth his stool understands the need for this unity. That is why some may "go astray" but they soon realize the futility of their protests. Is it undemocratic for the Luo to be in one pary? No. It is OK in a country of 70 National States (your words). The Luo will disband their nomadic party when these Nation States in Kenya become irrelevant; perhaps not in our lifetime. My friend, only a Luo understands what it feels like for all its Leaders to be kicked out of the Cabinet and the Civil Service; and to be left with a Soccer Club to worship all day and night. Finally, the Luo love the truth, and hate any form of stealing; but abhor the taking of human life. Hon. Odinga can not be Idi Amin. He will fight corruption; but he is not going to shoot at some hungry herdsboy who has stolen a banana while on duty. So do not fear him. Is he not part of one of the most successful businesses in Kenya? So what is this socialist/communist psychosis about?

Joseph R. Alila

(Author, Thirteen Curses on Mother Africa (ISBN: 9781430315926); Sunset on Polygamy (ISBN: 1424166845) http:/jaramogialila.blogspot.com _jramogi at hotmail dot com;) _ )