By Our Reporter
A declaration by the US
ambassador M/S Meg
Whitman that the August 9,
2022 elections were the “freest and
fairest” Kenya has ever held has
kicked up a storm as the opposition
Azimio un-leashed pure venom on
the diplomat.
Speaking on occasion of the 10th
anniversary of devolution county
governments in Eldoret August 18
2023, the American envoy praised
Kenya for the peaceful transition
September 15 2022 and appeared to
pock deep holes in the opposition
leader Raila Odinga claims that the
final tally of the presidential election
results was doctored to award his
main rival President William Ruto
victory.
The statement from the US envoy
has put in doubt the current ongoing
talks between the government and
the main opposition as it now seems
clear the US backs President Ruto’s
one year administration.
In deed President Ruto immediately
sprung to milk it for whatever it was
worth stating the envoy had stated
“known facts” a matter that now
makes the agenda of opening IEBC
main server a moot point overtaken
by events.
The envoy who spoke widely
on investment and business
opportunities in Kenya and the entire
East African region has angered
Azimio which has been holding
street protests since March 2023
demanding for the IEBC main server
to be subjected to forensic audit to
determine who won the 2022 closely
contested August 9 presidential
election
Azimio has further been riding
on the popular question of bringing
down the cost of living but largely
as a tool for mobilizing wananchi to
disrupt normal business and force the
government into round table talks.
But now with the open support
from the US which normally voices
the wide ranging position of western
nations and multi-lateral donors,
President Ruto appears to have scored
big and any return to mass action by
the opposition will most likely draw
negative reaction.
But many political watchers see a
possible “cold war” rivalry between
USA and China as the past regime
of retired President Uhuru Kenyatta
backed by Odinga had leaned heavily
towards Beijing.
China forked out huge loans
that built modern super highways,
including a one step airport gateway
in Nairobi and a speed train.
Indeed at one time in 2019 Uhuru
and Odinga visited Beijing to discuss
further loans to expand the SGR train
to Malaba but Beijing this time refused
saying the first loan be cleared first.
The west led by Britain and the US
criticised the Nairobi railway deals
saying China had greatly overpriced
the cost.
In 2019 Odinga had hoped to
persuade China with his “handshake
partner” President Kenyatta to extend
the speed train to the Kisumu port
which is now fully operational, and
later to Kampala.
It is against this backdrop that
President Ruto appears to have made
a complete 360 degree turn-around
managing to visit several western
capitals, thrice in Washington to
negotiate business deals and multilateral funding, while ignoring
Beijing!
Despite Nairobi owing Beijing up
to Kshs 9 trillion, President Ruto, 57,
already in power for a year has met and addressed economic forums of the G7 delivering a powerful
speech that seemed to make drastic
suggestions especially over fighting
climate change and ravages of the
prolonged drought.
International watchers are quick to
point out Odinga’s “shut up” remark
at the devolution conference was a
major gaffe unbecoming of a man of
his stature having long cut out the
image of a statesman, radical reformer
with broad political insight.
Attacking the US envoy as Azimio
think tanks are doing is not only
a major plus for President Ruto
but effectively shuts the door for
opposition efforts to seek international
intervention in the political stalemate
that had persisted since the August 9
general elections.
For the first time a divided IEBC
declared Dr. Ruto “President Elect” at
the Bomas of Kenya as another faction
of 4 “disowned” the outcome.
An angry Odinga roundly dismissed
the results as a “circus” as he tabled a
petition at the supreme court!
The court unanimously trashed
Odinga’s petition as “hot air” full of
fabricated evidence some 2017 video
footage clearing the way for President
Ruto to be sworn in as Kenya’s 5th
president on September 15 2022, the
second Kalenjin after the late Moi.
Kenya has been ruled by only 2 tribes
out of 49 in more than 60 years of
independence from colonial Britain.
But after some time Odinga
claimed a ‘whistle blower” had come
up with damning evidence showing
“his victory was stolen”!
Odinga has since repeatedly referred
to “Mr. Ruto’ later “Hon. Ruto” when
he agreed to hold talks after days of
chaotic street protests that claimed
several lives and destroyed property.
Many have faulted Odinga for
telling the US envoy to “shut her
mouth” and stop meddling in affairs
of Kenya fuming that the country
is not a colony or state of America!
This has drawn a sharp reaction
considering it is US agencies (USAID)
that actually funded the devolution
conference!
It is not clear why Odinga who
was the other day an African Union
Envoy for Infrastructure would have
failed to appreciate the implications
of attacking the world’s super power
which is further involved in several
projects in the country including
maintaining a rapid deployment
naval base at Kenya’s coast.
During the cold war before the
worldwide collapse of communism,
Kenya was firmly in the western
block led by US, but Raila’s father and
founding vice president Jaramogi was
in the Russian block. Indeed it is the
Russians who later built a hospital
in Kisumu New Nyanza or Russia
hospital.
Until the emergence of President
Barrack Obama an American with
Kenyan Luo roots in 2008, there was
little love lost between the Odinga’s
and Americans. Indeed in early years
as the cold war raged in the mid
1980’s President Moi detained Odinga
accusing him of seeking to overthrow
his government and turn Kenya into a
communist state.
Although all this is now water
under the bridge, many say past
history in politics always comes back
to haunt actors depending on their
individual reactions.
Kenya’s coastal strip had been in the
cross hairs of Soviet Union nuclear
missiles both on land and on submarines that roamed world oceans
flexing muscles of their military
arsenal.
Infact as if underscoring the might of
the Americans while seeking Russian
support and sympathy, Uganda’s
dictator Idi Amin once claimed on
radio Uganda in 1977 that a huge
convoy of US submarines carrying
war planes had been spotted on the
way to attack land locked Uganda!
Amin, forever the cunning clown
playing east versus west during
the cold war argued that the war
ship would dock at Mombasa then
unleash warplanes in rapid attacks
on Kampala! The Russians appeased
Amin by sending him several military
tanks from the second world war! The
dictator however assured Ugandans
the Americans would be repulsed as
even “bees can kill an elephant!”
Back to Nairobi, and bipartisan
talks appear headed for collapse after
the US envoy strong remarks on the
election.
President appears to have received
a fresh stab of support and is angrily
telling off Raila and Azimio to wait for
the 2027 elections. His deputy Rigathi
Gachagau wants Odinga to pack up
and go back to his Bondo and retire!
It is a see-saw battle that has started
tilting to one side with many Kenyans
battling economic hardships losing
hope in anything tangible coming out
of street protests that have left more
than 30 dead and scores injured■
