NYAKWERY CAUCUS ENDORSES MR. RAHILA ODINGA FOR PRESIDENT:

The people of Nyakwery at home and abroad are fortunate and happy to be a part of the multi-party political election of the year 2007. This election has the potential to deliver a historical milestone in Kenyan politics. Should Mr. Kibaki lose, he will be the first Kenyan President to serve only one term. Should Mr. Odinga win, he will be the first Luo President of Kenya. Nyakwery village is located on Mfangano Island in Lake Victoria with a population 1,000+ people. Fifteen percent of the Nyakwery population is living overseas or in major cities in Kenya. For a long time, Nyakwery political forums have been held in the open air under "Po tree" at the beach in the village, but unfortunately this tree got old and died some years ago. Nowadays these debates are held at the fishing banda in the village. The caucus is an egalitarian forum where all village citizens are allowed to participate regardless of gender and age. The banda "parliament", as its referred to by the locals, is open 24/7 for politics. Many people talk politics all day long and attend their fishing boats at night in order make living for their family. During the debates, those with the loudest voices tend to dominate the debates. The topics are taken from political news radio and national newspapers from the mainland.

Nyakwery people take their politics and voting seriously when it comes to public elections in Kenya. In this election, the country has two serious Presidential candidates to consider for the next five-year term in the nation’s highest public office. Mr. Kibaki has done a good job for the country. Under his leadership multi-party politics have continued to grow, freedom of speech and the economy have improved, specifically at the national level, and free primary education is beginning to pay off. It is day and night difference when you compare the growth and freedom to join or form political parties to the unitary Moi and Kenyatta regimes of the past. Under those two regimes Kanu was the only party in Kenya politics. Under the Kibaki administration, there are no political prisoners or secret political tortures houses in the country. Freedom of speech is flourishing. The government does not control the news from radio and television. The slogans of Nyayo and Harambee in Kenya politics are the things of the past, and have been replaced with parties like ODM, PNU, DP Ford, and many others. The economy has continued to grow after 24 years of domination by the public ownership of primary economic sectors. Under Kibaki's watch, major public business entities have been privatized and this trend will keep moving forward. Employment and job creation are looking up, but there is still room for improvement in these areas.

One area that lacks tangible success is the eradication of public corruption. Here the Kibaki administration has fell short and let the country backslide into the bad habit of corrupt business practices. The Justice Department and the Commission On Anti- Corruption have not done a good job. Those who were accused in the Anglo Leasing and Goldberg affairs have NOT been brought to justice. There is enough blame to go around but the responsibilities of solving these cases rests with the administration in power. The Constitution Minister has excused this issue by saying that "even ODM and other parties members are tainted with both Anglo and Goldberg scandal", but this does not give the President any help in eradicating corruption. The point the Minister and others are missing is that the justice department has the power and the law on their side to bring those accused of corruption to trial, but they have not used them in the past five years. Unfortunately, Mr. Kibaki's justice department has not served him well in bringing resolution to major corruption cases in the country. Some cabinets ministers implicated in these corruption schemes are now back in government after winning their cases on legal technicalities. Whether Mr. Kibaki wants to admit it or not, perception sometimes becomes reality, so to see the people accused of corruption keep their positions in the government taints Mr. Kibaki's administration and their efforts.

For Mr. Odinga the caucus is grateful for his effort in fighting for democracy in Kenya, not only during this election, but also in prior years. His efforts to fight the unitary government during the Moi regime, and tireless work with various coalitions have been historical achievements in Kenyan politics. He has gone beyond tribal loyalty and regional solidarity in fighting for the democratic political process in Kenya. As Minister of Roads and Public Works he had good start towards building Kenya’s roads, but his efforts came to a halt when he left the ministry. The caucus believes if Mr. Odinga had been able to continue with his road-building plan at the ministry, there would have been significant accomplishments made already.

In this election the caucus is endorsing Mr. Odinga for Presidency in the next election. The caucus believes that Mr. Odinga is an agent for change in Kenya politics. He has spearheaded the birth of multi-party politics in Kenya. He has gone beyond tribal loyalty to form political partnerships amongst the different tribes in Kenya. The members in his ODM party come from a great number of Kenya’s tribes. Mr. Odinga is not just talking about tribal and regional diversity in Kenya. He is living it, evidenced by the composition of his inner circle. Another issue of interest to the caucus is the decentralization of both political and economic power from the system of government that this country has relied on since independence. The caucus is attracted to this the concept of empowering the public through decentralization and delivering public services to the grass root level. Decentralization may not be the cure to country's political and economic ills but the Kenyans may never know the benefits of another system until they have the opportunity to try new ideas. If elected Mr. Odinga may not deliver exactly the federal political and economic system he is promising now, but to the caucus he will have already succeeded just by thinking outside the box. To quote Charles Lindberg, " Success is not measured by what a man accomplishes, but by the opposition he has encountered, and the courage with which he has maintained the struggle against overwhelming odds". Mr Odinga fits this bill exactly. He has been jailed without trial, he has been accused of being a communist, a dictator, of not being a Christian, being too ambitious for power, and he has been told he cannot be President because he is not circumcised. In spite of this opposition and their outlandish accusations, Mr. Odinga has kept fighting for change and to bring democratic governance to all Kenyans despite their tribal loyalty, regional and political party affiliations.

Under the political leadership of Mr. Odinga, no one tribe can will win a democratic election in Kenya without forming some sort of coalition with other tribes or parties. It will be nearly impossible for tribal and regional candidates to be elected President in Kenya in the multi-party political system. Serious candidates for national office will have to go beyond their comfort zone, and we believe this approach will help the election of Mr. Odinga. The caucus is encouraging everyone to support candidates of their choice and vote this election. It is your civic duty. Kenya is our country and it belongs to all of us. If we don't vote, we will not get the government we deserve!

-- Dan Orao ----