Raila, Ruto cut from the same cloth

Prime Minister Raila Odinga’s anticipated march to State House in 2012 will fail miserably unless he reconciles with Agriculture Minister William Ruto.

Both of these men must first agree to rein in their egos for the sake of ODM and the millions of Kenyans who want to see real change, for example, in the equitable distribution of resources.

Let me remind those saying that Ruto should leave the party that, in 2007 with the solid backing of the Luo, Luhya and Kalenjin communities and support from North Eastern and Coast provinces, we still couldn’t convincingly defeat PNU.

How then do they think Raila can win in 2012 without the Kalenjin vote? Those who have worked with Raila and Ruto will tell you that they both have the same personalities. They are very ambitious, focused and hardworking. But they also have a dictatorial streak and rarely accept any dissenting views.

In fact, their talk of internal democracy in ODM is merely a joke because none has ever shown any tolerance to internal dissent, and history can attest to that.

Look at how Raila pulls the strings of political parties he’s part of, and how no Luo Nyanza politician can stand up to him.

Dissenting views

Also look at how the Eldoret North Constituency Development Fund is managed. Regions that don’t support Ruto or offer dissenting views normally get minimal funding, albeit late, for their projects.

I think it is time Kenyans got the right leaders. We should awake from this hypnosis and stop supporting politicians blindly.

{Kipkenda, Kesumbei, Eldoret}

Even after demands from ODM party leaders that Raila kick out Ruto and Tourism Minister Najib Balala, the PM once again showed foresight when he publicly stated he would keep them in the party because they had merely tripped but not fallen.

Raila proved he was not willing to tear his party apart. Instead, he would strive to bring party members together because wananchi still have hope in their strong and focused team.

In his speech, Raila stated that his ODM team pledged to take Kenyans to the Promised Land, a mission which he believes they will fulfill. He went ahead to encourage his comrades not to leave anybody by the wayside because their work was largely incomplete.

Many might have disagreed with his decision to welcome back the rebels — Ruto and Balala — who have recently disrespected him especially over the Mau eviction saga.

However, the ball is now in their court and it is up to them to make a decision whether to dump their party, which they had promised not to ever leave, or join the rest of the team and proceed with the journey.

{Aoko George, Mombasa}

The ODM crisis shows that politics is a game.

Today you could be players in one team but come tomorrow, you could be rivals playing for different teams.

Kenyans should beware of politicians forming alliances in anticipation of the 2012 General Elections.

Instead, let’s focus on leaders intent on ending impunity, disease and other social ills.

{Jonathan Musembi, Nairobi}