Sun, 10 Feb 2008 23:02:04



As I ponder the recent presidential elections in Kenya, I lament that Kenyans have been cheated of all of their God-given rights. I feel deeply troubled by the Kofi Annan-brokered peace deal. I feel that, once more, Kenyans are being asked to bury their heads in the sand and let everything that is wrong remain wrong.

A few years ago, Kenyans braved a lot of hardship to bring in a multiparty democracy. Some people like Timothy Njoya bore the brunt of it as he was mercilessly whipped by the infamous “Jeshi la Mzee." Raila, Rubia and Matiba were summarily detained for holding a press conference on multipartyism. I shudder when I hear phrases like "Government of National Unity" and "Power-Sharing." This entire process is only to keep Kibaki on a seat that he overwhelmingly lost!!! When will Kenyans wake up to the reality of their unique problems? The problem is that our democracy was already showing very great maturity and it was evident that we were soon going to shortchange the west by putting in power those that may not well agree with them in all issues of imperialism. Now they want Kenya to be mediocre like any other African Nation. Can’t Kenyans wake up?

When Raila Odinga supported Kibaki for the post of presidency, Kibaki took the seat and ruled for five years without paying attention to any agreement they had made earlier. Now that Raila has won the election, why does it become necessary to make concessions? No it cannot work this way. We are being taken back some one and a half decades. There will be no Raila in the near future to go to detention for us any more.

Kenyans should refuse and ask for a re-run of the presidential elections. That will be the only solution to this crisis. Kofi Annan’s solution is not tenable and Kenyans should stop nodding in agreement with him.

        - Sillah Oriato