River Jordan is now clear of crocodiles, says Raila

Kiambu Governor James Nyoro with ODM leader Raila Odinga during the burial of Kahawa Wendani MCA Cyrus Omondi in Ugenya , Siaya County, yesterday. [Collins Oduor, Standard]

Orange Democratic Movement leader Raila Odinga now says his proverbial Canaan has finally become a reality after President Uhuru Kenyatta removed hurdles that initially dogged the journey.

Raila said President Kenyatta removed the crocodiles that infested River Jordan and which for many years “blocked Kenyans from reaching the Biblical land of milk and honey.”

In the past, the former premier claimed the journey to Canaan had been rudely disrupted by hungry crocodiles.

Yesterday, Raila attributed the removal of the crocodile to his historic “handshake” and good working relationship with President Kenyatta.

“I want to reassure you and thank President Kenyatta for his intervention to clear the reptiles from the river to allow us reach the destination,” he said in Masat, Ugenya, during the burial of Kahawa Wendani (Kiambu County) MCA, Cyrus Omondi, who died in India.

Raila likened the unfolding Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) political discourse to the Ujamaa philosophy of former Tanzanian President Mwalimu Julius Nyerere. “Nyerere brought Ujamaa in Tanzania and championed unity regardless of the Tanzanians’ diverse ethnicity. This is the foundation we want to build in Kenya,” he added. Several Jubilee politicians from Kiambu, led by Governor James Nyoro and former governor William Kabogo, declared support for the BBI being driven by Raila and President Kenyatta.

The family of the late MCA demanded investigations into his death.

They had asked President Kenyatta and Raila to ensure the cause of death is established. Omondi’s mother Millicent Achieng said she had forgiven any person who might have killed her son, while his brother Felix Otieno described him as a respectful and caring man. “My brother was a devoted family man, a listener who was a good friend to many people,” he said.

Raila and Nyoro pledged to ensure the death was fully investigated.