Re: Nelson Mandela or Idi Amin?

From: Joab O.

C'mon, this is nonsensical to say the least. I lost respect for proffessor Mutua a long time ago but when he said that "luos have been turned into spineless sycophants" by Raila, I stopped reading. Anybody who can, with one sentence insult the intelligence of an entire people like that is not worth reading.

Right now Raila is launching his presidential candidacy at KICC with live coverage while Mutua is penning yet another political psychobable about Raila. A coincidence? hell no!. Mutua is working for anti-Raila forces and has been commissioned to pen a well timed "political analysis". We understand this to what it is, politics as usual and nothing else.

To characterize this insult on Raila and his supporters- who span the entire geographical sphere of Kenya- as the best analysis ever penned on Raila is a mere confirmation of your political agenda and not an objective critique of the the article as you would have us believe.

Raila is usually compared to Mandela because both of them were detained without trial and when they came out from jail they did not display the bitterness that people expect from a "wronged person". In fact both of them worked with those who jailed and tortured them for the betterment of their peoples. Specifically, what people admire the most about Mandela is the self-confidence he displayed when he agreed to sit down with the Kaburu's and negotiate the terms of his peoples political independence and freedoms after being jailed for over twenty years. Many, including his wife Winnie, told him that the Kaburu's would chew him alive and spit him but Mandela had the amazing self confidence of a "prince". He believed he had what it takes to negotiate on behalf of his people and he did. The rest is history.

Similarly, Raila, was warned not to talk to Moi and people like Shem Ochuodho claim that they rebeled against Raila because they believed that Raila should not talk to Moi-the enemy. Raila was warned that Moi would "chew him alive and spit" him. Raila again with the self-confidence of Mandela, walked up to Moi and made a deal with him. Moi true to character tried to chew Raila and spit him, but it did not work. Instead Moi's project was defeated and today Raila is launching his presidential candidacy with Moi firmly in retirement. Such comparisons makes sense.

Now, what I cannot understand is why anybody in their right minds would compare Raila to Idi Amin? What has Raila done in his life that is remotely comparable to what Idi Amin did with his life? Mutua does not even make an attempt to give us any facts to justify his comparison. Africa has had its share of dictators and in Kenya both Kenyattaa and Moi qualify for such designations, however none of them has ever been compared to Idi Amin. Raila has never been a president, so why then would anybody even mention Raila's name in the same sentence as Idi Amin unles the person is playing political mischief.

The desperation to scare Kenyans against Raila has reached an insane crescendo as every trick in the political book of "dirty games" has been tried and has failed. How can you take such people like professor Mutua seriously when they go around doing political hatchet jobs like this. They have sold their professional and educational credentials to politics and they do not deserve any respect as members of the intellectual community. At this lever, there is really no difference between "proffessor" Mutuas article to any paid political heckler at any political rally in the village.

I therefore conclude that Professor Mutua is not a political analyst but a political hatchet man for hire asked to do a job on Raila on this occasion when Raila is launching his presidential candidacy.