Why Governor Hassan Joho should take ODM’s leadership

The National Alliance Party and the United Republican Party were throttled in their infancy in a ritual that paved way for the birth of a miracle baby, the Jubilee Party.

Those who cared to listen were regaled with colourful promises, chief among them being that the miracle baby is the magical wand to our perennial socio-political problems. Those, like me, who are enamoured of Nigerian movies, will have noticed a miracle baby has a way of coming back at its benefactors.

Jubilee’s congregation of the good, the bad, and the ugly is likely to implode at the nomination stage, largely because the law stopping party hopping, unless successfully challenged in court, is a guillotine around the necks of many.

Take Nairobi’s gubernatorial seat, for instance. On the Jubilee ticket alone, we are likely to have Eugene Wamalwa, Margaret Wanjiru, Dennis Waweru, Mike Sonko, Ferdinand Waititu and Johnstone Sakaja; five, or all of whom are starring at political oblivion for a long time to come.

However, should Jubilee win in 2017, its cronies and loyalists will find recourse in Parastatal and Cabinet appointments; the one-stop-shop for political rejects. But with only a limited number of Cabinet slots available, will the Uhuruto duo override the constitution to create more ministries to massage egos?

The Orange Democratic Movement was celebrating its tenth year at the Tononoka grounds in Mombasa on the same day that Jubilee was being delivered at Kasarani.

This occurrence raised hackles and took the steam and compass out of some Jubilee mandarins, one of whom, Senator Kipchumba Murkomen forgot he was awaiting the birth of an infant and chose to make fun of a healthy ten-year-old. The absurdity of his jibe left me in stitches.

The twin pomp and celebrations aside, Mombasa Governor Ali Hassan Joho was the man of the moment for me.

A unique aspect of party politics in Kenya is that the man at the top becomes the party, seldom bothered by who inherits the mantle after him. There is little, if any, attempt to create structures and systems that identify the heir apparent to the big man. The Kenya African National Union went into a coma without Daniel Arap Moi.

The Democratic Party, ODM, Safina, Narc and Tip-Tip assumed the identities of Mwai Kibaki, Raila Odinga, Paul Muite, Charity Ngilu and Kalembe Ndile respectively. Deputy President William Ruto acknowledged last Saturday that the Jubilee Party wouldn’t be a reality without President Uhuru Kenyatta. If you take these individuals away, the parties wither.

The dynamics within ODM as Raila enters the home stretch on his political career appear to have subtly changed. Governor Hassan Joho has adroitly laid stake to the leadership mantle, and it was not done out of impetuosity. It is now evident he has been carefully laying his plans and the gamble might pay off.

From the time he joined politics in 2004 and became Kisauni constituency LDP chairman, through to 2007 when he was elected Kisauni MP on an ODM ticket and went on to serve as an assistant minister and later Mombasa Governor in 2013, Joho has been observed to be consistent, steady, focussed, deliberate and fearless.

He is a self-made politician who has not ridden on the crest of anybody’s wave to fame. Among many things, there have been perfunctory attempts to besmirch his academic credentials. He refused to kowtow to the-powers-that-be and ended up temporarily losing his business licences early this year.

His security detail as a Governor and gun licences were withdrawn under suspicious circumstance by the state. He did not get wobbly knees as a result. Instead, he stood his ground and stared down his detractors. He has not exhibited hubris and an attitude like the other young Turks who have fallen by the wayside as a consequence of unbridled ambition.

Mr Joho must have learnet early that patience is a virtue, for he has not been rash. To cap this, he has financial might, hence doesn’t need anyone’s largesse to survive.

These are the attributes of a strong willed and focussed leader. A calm sea, as the saying goes, does not make one a skilled sailor. For a long time, Jubilee acolytes have attempted to portray ODM as a tribal outfit, an outrageous negation of the reality. Were Mr Joho to take over ODM’s leadership after Mr Odinga relinquishes his hold, that perception will have been taken care of.

I am convinced there is nobody young, committed, daring and strong enough in Mr Odinga’s backyard or Western to lead ODM, and that leaves Mr Joho in a vantage position. He has made the first serious move and should go flat out even though it won’t be smooth sailing. Remember, 2022 is an open season, forget Jubilee’s taunts.