Miguna Miguna: The Julius Malema Of Kenya

Thirty-seven (37) years ago a boy was born in South Africa. The boy grew up to be a youth leader in the ruling party, ANC. He would later fall out with the party's leadership owing to his abrasive and bold nature. He was expelled from the party in the year 2012. He established a political movement known as Economic Freedom Fighters. The party objective is to liberate South Africans from social, economic and political "slavery." The party members/"generals" wear a signature unmistakable red beret.

He's the "Commander-in-chief of the party. That boy is Julius Malema. Here in Kenya, fifty-five (55) years ago a boy was born in the rural village of Magina. He was bright. He attended the University Of Nairobi for his undergraduate program but his program was cut short by political events- he was a student leader and vehemently opposed the government of the day due to what was termed as bad governance bordering on dictatorial tendencies. He fled the country, to Tanzania, to Swaziland then to Canada where he completed his studies, got employed, set up a law firm and among other achievements, became a Canadian citizen! 

During the coalition government stint, he was premier's lead advisor on coalition matters. He would, later on, vie for the Nairobi County gubernatorial seat unsuccessfully. After he lost, he focused all his energies on a movement formed by NASA coalition, National Resistance Movement- a civil disobedience plan to express dissatisfaction and disapproval of the government of the day.

He referred to himself as the "general" of the movement. This boy is Miguna Miguna. These two leaders have similar traits. 

Eloquent

Miguna Miguna is a brilliant debater. He knows how to express himself and communicates his ideas perfectly. His oratorical prowess has won him admiration amongst Kenyans. However, his plain way of expressing his opinions has won him disaffection among his critics- they dislike the truth! Critics refer to him as reckless. His South African "counterpart," Julius Malema is also very fluent in English and candidly expresses his mind. He was expelled from the ANC for being a "reckless populist."

Courageous

Miguna Miguna is a fearless man. In live TV shows and meetings, he says what very few Kenyans wouldn't dare say against the ruling class. He tells it as he sees it. At some point in time, he even wrote a book about his former boss, now his leader, Raila Odinga, telling the world how Odinga isn't fit to lead and how stinky corruption in the former premier's office was. This makes him controversial. He led the NRM wing in swearing in of Raila Odinga as the people's president. This trait has fallen him in trouble with the government. They arrested him in Nairobi, locked him up somewhere, took him to a Kajiado court then deported him to Canada!Malema on the other side calls out the South African government and the president whenever he feels that government has failed or the president has overstepped his mandate. This throws him into trouble with the government most of the times. 

Visionary

When Miguna Miguna ran for the Nairobi County gubernatorial position, he outlined a very impressive blueprint for Nairobi County. Critics argued that the manifesto was impractical and that that can only happen many years to come. In his defense, Miguna argued, "It has been done in other countries, why not here?" He lost to Mike Mbuvi Sonko. Julius Malema is a crusader for equal social, economic and political opportunities for all South Africans. He's a populist. He longs for the day that South Africans will be free from the oppression of any nature. 

Populist

Miguna Miguna is a self-proclaimed leader of unquestionable integrity. According to his vision, his idea of leadership is the common good/greater good. He's a progressive mind that seeks to liberate common people from injustices by the ruling class. Julius Malema has consistently fought for the less fortunate South Africans. 

Unquestionable Integrity

Both leaders have proclaimed to be transparent and incorruptible. This is their bare-knuckle approach to fighting 'cartels.'

Conclusion

Africa needs such vibrant leaders. It's unfortunate that in our time, none of such has been given an opportunity to govern or form the government. Due to this, we can't certainly tell whether they would drink what they preach. 

Hon Charles Bazenga