Ruto daring Raila with referendum is an act of a good schemer
By Nicholas Olambo
Since weakening president Kibaki by rejecting the 2005 draft constitution my orange brothers have always believed that that’s the only strategy they can employ before any general elections. I call that redundancy and the fact that it failed when jubilee administration crashed OKOA KENYA push in 2010 should have been a lesson to them. But they never learn, they made referendum calls their chorus. They sing it after every general election that keep them in the opposition slot.
They have been insisting on the need to have a referendum before 2022. In their minds, Raila and his supporters think they will weaken DP William Ruto and beat him in 2022. I told a few of them who can’t listen as always, ‘you can’t expose your card this early and expect to beat Bill (Ruto) like that. He will definitely prepare to tackle that and he will do it well’. Here he is now, daring the proponents of a referendum to decide the date, before or after the election.
That confidence means a lot. ‘Punguza Mzigo’ is a good document compared to what Raila, Orengo and the likes are talking about. Team Raila is talking about an expanded executive to accommodate people who don’t want to retire. Wanjiku can’t afford that, in fact she needs some baggage off her back and that’s what ‘punguza mzigo’ is seeking to achieve. Raila had the opportunity to create that bloated executive before the current laws were passed but his members were paid and they betrayed the party.
Dr. Ekuro Aukot is a bright fellow and I like how he is stunning legal giants like Orengo. First he legitimized the 2017 fresh polls when Raila Odinga pulled out. They thought Odinga’s absence in the race would stop things. That’s sycophancy and wishful thinking. That is not the law. Now he is about to be beaten in an event he always called for. I know he will organize a team to reject this punguza mzigo bill but things are bad in his team.
His Minority Leader John Mbadi has been ‘deputizing’ Majority leader Adan Duale since the handshake. Duale is a proud Ruto sycophant. Ruto/Team Tanga Tanga doesn’t care about the handshake, in fact it’s the worst thing in Kenyan politics for them. Again it makes more sense having the maker of the constitution point out areas that need improvements. Aukot is the maker of the current constitution, and even from the bill he is making more sense than a guy calling on people to create offices for top political families.
The scenario is interesting, it will either be a referendum on ‘Punguza Mzigo’ or not or the one in the minds of ODM will come after 2022 to boost Baba’s chances in 2027. He is always a candidate with a known position. Every serious politician has studied Baba. A schemer like Ruto will always beat him in an election or a referendum with Punguza Mzigo as the document. Ruto was in the same team that crashed Okoa Kenya in 2010 and their justification was crazy. ODM supporters drew cats and rats instead of putting their signatures.
since then or after the 2017 polls what are they doing in terms of strategies? ODM has spent that past one year and five months praising the handshake and day dreaming. They have not laid any strategy since they ‘killed’ NASA. This game requires strategy, other than just calling for referendum to create more positions and massage Baba’s ego ODM has no plan. That’s how they are going to be beaten in their own game.
