Why Raila queries on Eurobond cannot be taken seriously

A few days after Kenyans ushered in the New Year, CORD leader Raila Odinga was quoted as saying that the National Treasury had paid Sh9.1 billion to clear third installment of the interests accrued from the Eurobond loan.

He further claimed that the loan was a huge burden placed on the shoulders of the Kenyan people. There were more installments that were to be cleared as the total amount of the interests stood at Sh110 billion. He expressed dismay that this was happening at a time when the Government had allegedly failed to explain how the proceeds of bonds totalling Sh140 billion was used.

Notably, Mr Raila would spend the better part of last year focusing on this issue and using it to ostensibly demonstrate that the Jubilee government was corrupt. However, he would neither listen to explanation by the National Treasury on how the funds were allocated nor honour the invitation to appear before the Ethics and Anti Corruption Commission officials to shed light on the alleged misappropriation.

Instead, he dared President Uhuru Kenyatta to live up to his ‘threats’ to have him arrested. Notably, this would be translated as direct provocation to the Head of State because at no time did President Kenyatta ever call for his arrest. The President answered Raila by saying that leaders are required by the law to substantiate and prove the allegations they make.

If you are a leader worth his salt and you believe that what you are preaching to Kenyans is the gospel truth, I don’t see why you should fail to appear before the institutions created by the law.

According to a comprehensive report the Treasury had released earlier, the Eurobond money had been allocated to various ministries to fund mega infrastructural projects the Jubilee coalition had unveiled during the campaign.

The political war pitting President Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto on one side and the CORD leader on the other started soon after the latter lost the 2013 presidential election. Raila believed that he had won the poll but he was rigged out by the key allies of the then President Mwai Kibaki who allegedly worked closely with Jubilee duo.

At the time, Raila was the Prime Minister. It therefore means Uhuru and Ruto were his juniors. So, if the poll was stolen, who could have been in a better position to do that?

Raila filed a petition before the Supreme Court to challenge the election of Uhuru and subsequently lost after failing to submit credible and reliable evidence that the poll had been rigged.

Raila and his brigade vowed to fight to the bitter end to ensure that they have won the battle. It is not therefore in doubt that they will never accept that the Jubilee government had achieved anything or was making any progress in addressing the challenges facing the country.

Back to Raila’s claims of Sh9.1 billion payout to clear part of the interest for the Eurobond loan, my first observation would be there are State officers who are leaking some information to him. Do these officials tell him the truth and could it turn out that they release doctored and exaggerated figures to suit Raila’s political agenda? It is hard to trust such information bearing in mind that they have not been relayed through the right channel.

I hope Raila will change tack this year. He stands to gain more political mileage if he presents his allegations relating to corruption in government to the EACC.