Why Kenya Needs President Raila, not Uhuru

Why Kenyans Need President Raila, not Uhuru

1.       Raila was not born with a silver plate

Unlike Uhuru Kenyatta who was born and raised using wealth that was wrongfully acquired through land grabbing and wanton looting of state coffers, Raila Odinga led a life of an average Kenyan struggling against a corrupt system. Though being a son of the Vice President, his father quit the government when it became apparent that the Kenyatta Government was hell-bent on grabbing any single piece of land that was left behind by the Colonial Masters. In order to silence dissent led by Jaramogi Oginga, Kenyatta confined him to several years of house arrest such that he could not get out and make his own money. It is true that Jaramogi was only big in the political sense, but remained a peasant for the better part of his life. If not for his Russian friends who also helped him build Kisumu’s Russia Hospital, Jaramogi would not have been able to educate his kids. As a young man interested in politics, I had the privilege of seeing Jaramogi in 1992. The Man was only Big in the Political Sense! In essence, the Odinga family grew up lacking most of the luxuries that most of us only wish to give our children.

2.       Raila knows Kenyan’s matter too

It is safe to bet that Raila is not an angel and has made his share of mistakes, like all of us have. However, all these mistakes point to a man who is struggling to better the nature of humanity. Remember the Mau Saga, a mistake was made in leaving displaced persons to sleep in the rain. This was in pursuit of a greener environment and sustainable climate for the Kenyan people. Looking at their manifestos, Uhuru promises to give every kid a laptop while Raila promises to empower parents to take their kids to school and reform the education sector to be responsive of academic needs. The question is, is Uhuru going to use his huge resources to buy the laptops? If that is the case, why is he reluctant to give land to squatters in Mombasa? Methinks Raila is genuine. On the other side, Uhuru is not only out of touch with the reality, but is also taking Kenyans for a ride. For instance, nursery kids in Turkana lack school facilities and food to keep them comfortable while at school. And there comes a presidential candidate with a promise to give them laptops. What went wrong with priorities in political leadership? Is someone saying it just because it sounds sweet to see kids with laptops? Raila is right, Uhuru is Vague!

Kenn Odida, UoN