CORD plots to stop Jubilee’s new momentum after collapse of cases

VICTIM’S CARD

ODM’s director of elections Junet Mohamed agrees that tomorrow’s events are definitive of 2017 election. He believes Jubilee cannot successfully play the victim’s card twice.

“Our hypothesis is that the sort of deceit we witnessed in 2013 will not work again for a number of reasons. One, nobody is in court and therefore CORD is not gagged. Two, Jubilee must defend itself on performance grounds. They cannot say they spent the entire five years in The Hague. Three, we are talking about addressing the cause of post-election violence, not effects of it,” he said.

To fears that Jubilee might ride on the ICC message to further consolidate their voting base, Mr Mohamed says it’s a fair game. Besides, CORD side is not expecting the “miracle of support” from Jubilee strongholds.

“We are also consolidating our voting base too. Despite our people suffering the most in post-election violence, we were unable to strongly and openly pursue justice in the past because it would have appeared we were pushing for the jailing of the pair.” “Ruto’s support base is behaving like a typical bitter ex-girlfriend while Kenyatta’s, in their relation with Raila, are behaving like two African clans who do not marry from each other,” Mohamed said.

Some CORD MPs, leaders and independent analysts are however urging caution in the framing of the ICC agenda in 2017 election. To some, it is an outright hot potato for the opposition while to others it’s a hot potato for the country.

Makueni Senator Mutula Kilonzo Jnr says Jubilee and CORD need to be careful not to ignite ethnic divisions in guise of the parallel prayer rallies. He will not attend the Kibera rally because he had prior engagements in Makueni.

The senator says the choice of Kibera and Nakuru for the rallies was ill-informed as the two were the epicentres of the post-election violence in 2008. “The two rallies will end up whipping tribal emotions. A true national prayer would be at Uhuru Park. This country is far much greater than any individual,” he told The Standard on Saturday.

Dr Francis Owaka of the University of Nairobi says the Kibera and Nakura rallies are equally disappointing. “For Jubilee it’s a big mistake. By hosting the celebrations in the hot-spot of the violence, they are essentially telling the country, mta do? As they head there let them check on the left and right at Mau Summit, they will see wretched of the earth staring at them, their miserly brought by the mere fact of their tribe.”

RAILA BLUNDER

“On the CORD side, I am disappointed as I am of Jubilee. Raila does not seem to have advisors. He had Jubilee in a corner. Instead of continuing the corruption narrative which had caught Kenyan eyes, he has now elected to follow Jubilee. This one won’t give them any political score,” he says.

Owaka, who teaches philosophy, says the ICC agenda has been hijacked by Jubilee and that the “misinterpretation” of Raila’s interview is intentional. He says Kenyatta and Ruto had no viable platform for 2017 until Raila blundered.

Senator Wetang’ula’s ally and Kakamega Senator Bonny Khalwale, however, say it is Jubilee which has fallen into CORD’s booby trap on the ICC card. He says in the end, the excitement Jubilee is showing on taking up the ICC card will boomerang on it. “In 2013, they succeeded because of sympathy for their victimhood in the sense of being suspects in far-away land. Now that they are free, that sort of sympathy is gone. In actual fact, the sympathy is likely to come to our side because our message resonates with the feelings of the people,” Dr Khalwale said.