Raila ropes in liberation architects to back his bid

By JUMA KWAYERA

Deserted by his allies, Prime Minister Raila Odinga is reaching out to the architects of the ‘Second Liberation’ to keep on course his bid to succeed President Kibaki.

A strategy mooted after the promulgation of the new Constitution is being worked out, with key players in Kenya’s two decades of struggle for a new order positioning themselves to play a critical role in the next elections and government.

Prime Minister Raila Odinga (left) meets his supporters in Meru accompanied by Imenti Central MP Gitobu Imanyara (behind). [PHOTO: FILE/STANDARD]

The idea to reclaim the reform agenda from the so-called Johnny-come-latelies is said to have been suggested at the burial in Githunguri, Kiambu, of one of the second liberation heroes, Peter Young Kihara.

Kihara teamed up with pro-democracy forces in 1970s through the 1980s to advocate for political pluralism, for which he was detained by the Kanu regime.

Ethnic hostility

While his opponents have ganged under the G7 Alliance banner and made ‘Raila must go’ the bumper sticker of their presidential bids, the Prime Minister is said to be concentrating on harnessing the intellectual resources of the Second Liberation days to fight off raw politics laced with ethnic hostility.

When Constitution implementation appeared to stumble as the Executive faced accusations of undermining the process – especially in the Judiciary – pro-democracy forces of yesteryear met in the PM’s office eight months ago to review the achievements of decades of struggle and work out a strategy to fight-back reactionary forces they fear would frustrate realisation of social and economic justice.

The need to rein in perceived reactionary forces became more urgent following the virtual break up of the Pentagon, the ODM ad hoc top decision-making body. The last to quit Pentagon, which was officially dissolved in 2008, with the Coalition Cabinet, was Deputy Prime Minister Musalia Mudavadi, who is expected to unveil his political party next week.

Reached to shed light on the re-convergence of pro-democracy advocates, former Nyeri Town MP Wanyiri Kihoro confirmed the group met the PM for consultations on recent political developments.

In the PM’s camp, it is agreed he faces a major challenge from his rivals. His director of communication Dennis Onyango, concedes that there have been consultations on the issue.