NASA choice was most pragmatic

NASA unveiled their presidential candidate on Thursday, putting an end to the long and sometimes acrimonious process that lasted over a year. The event was well attended, reminiscent of past mega rallies at Uhuru Park. The principals compared it to the 2002 unveiling of NARC, and drew parallels between the Pentagon of 2007 and the current Pentagon. As a lot of Kenyans expected, Raila Odinga will carry the NASA flag in the August election. This was a pragmatic decision, because Raila has fanatical following in the Nyanza counties, parts of the former Western Province and the coastal counties. Essentially, he has the numbers.

Jubilee immediately pounced on the announcement with claims of “we’ve beaten this team before, we can do it again”. And the bizarre argument that NASA is only interested in getting power. Bizarre because politics all over the world is about getting power first, and then implementing an agenda. Without power, even the best agenda is simply an opinion. For the former claim, the current NASA team has the same ticket as 2013 at the top, but there are differences in the context of the election. For one, the ICC is no longer an election issue. Secondly, Raila has single-handedly made this election about two issues – corruption and devolution. These issues are where Jubilee is weakest – a rebellion by governors early in their term and a devastating doctors strike were both the result of reluctance by the Jubilee government to devolve functions and funds. Scandals unearthed during Uhuru Kenyatta’s tenure have had the government constantly playing defense. We must also recognise that the Jubilee ticket is also the same as 2013, so their criticism of the NASA line-up is a case of the pot calling the kettle black.