Raila changes tack as ICC heat increases

By Oscar Obonyo

Prime Minister Raila Odinga lately seems to have dropped his combative style of playing politics by striking a reconciliatory tone - thanks to the slippery developments at The Hague that have made him a target of vicious political attack.

Since the rather ugly public altercation with Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta and Eldoret North MP William Ruto last month, the PM has gone quiet in the face of heightened personalised attacks.

"To begin with, this is not an enviable position for one to politically find himself in where you are the ‘common enemy’ and perpetual target of attack. But in politics there are moments when one has to fight back and make a technical retreat and this is one of those moments," explains Amukoa Anangwe, political science lecturer at University of Dodoma, Tanzania.

With cameras shifting to the International Criminal Court, where Uhuru and Ruto, as well as four other suspects, appeared for mention of the cases, the PM has pre-occupied himself with development initiatives, and business appointments.

On Friday, the PM instead graced an exhibition by post-election victims. Earlier, he even suggested that he was ready to back somebody else for president next year.

Better agenda

"But the PM has not said he is not in the race. He wants to see change in Kenya and would be ready to back a better agenda for change and commitment to end tribalism. According to him riding on divisive tribal vote would not change Kenya and he will not be party to it," explains Director of Communications in the PM’s office, Dennis Onyango. The official says the PM has decided to take up the mission of national reconciliation: "It looks like the depth of growing divide in Kenya has shocked him lately. He feels the country has taken a dangerous turn." The ceasefire gesture notwithstanding, the war on Raila still rages. Last Friday, for instance, Uhuru unleashed a veiled attack at the PM, whom he considers to have illegally forced himself in Government.

While introducing himself to the court, he pointed out to the Pre-Trial judges that a "duly elected" President (Kibaki) of the Republic of Kenya appointed him as Finance minister.

Director of Communications in Uhuru’s office, Munyori Buku, explains the DPM’s source of disapproval of the PM "is purely personal and about the way he operates politically".

"The DPM has been very clear on this – that the PM is divisive. He will tell one politician one thing and twist it completely while relaying the same to another politician," Buku claimed via telephone from The Hague.

While Ruto’s displeasure with Raila can be understood because they were a team in 2007, and Raila ‘deserted’ him over the ICC case, Uhuru’s tirade is unclear and off target.

Some pundits have linked it to political revenge following Raila’s move to scuttle Uhuru’s presidential bid, when he led a walkout from Kanu at the eleventh hour before the 2002 General Election to support Kibaki.

"Uhuru and Ruto are simply employing what we refer to in political science as the ‘Freudian complex’. This is a ploy politicians use by identifying a strong enemy — in this case the PM — through whom to mobilise and consolidate political support," explains Anangwe.

In the current Kenyan instance, Anangwe explains that Raila is the best bet for that strong political enemy: "Forget about the open falsehoods about the PM drafting a list of suspects for The Hague. It is not practical and these politicians know as much, but the lies are meant to achieve a different goal – support mobilisation." "But, like any in war situation, you keep on adjusting strategy as per the existing parameters and the strength of your opponents and Raila will have to do a lot of this to stay afloat," he said.