CORD MISSED IT ALL

By Wesonga Quintas

Losing this election obviously goes down with great sorrow for most of the top brass in Cord. Truth be told, the team had the best Kenyans could have in the just concluded elections. For Kalonzo Musyoka, it would be his first time in official opposition despite having been shortly there after opposing the Wako draft. Most importantly, this is his first time to lose an election since his time as the director of election in Kanu especially in the 1988 mlolongo election.

For Raila Odinga, logically speaking, it is the end of his journey to state house. Although the constitution does not bar him, his comeback in 2017 at the age of 72 would not work well for him. I note, not with ignorance, that Kibaki was elected at 71 years of age.


What I don’t approve is the current plan to pave way for both Raila and Kalonzo to go to the national assembly in the name of strengthening opposition. It doesn’t sound right even if it was in the senate. It will just show how desperate they are.

For them to join parliament, two of the CORD nominated MPs will have to resign so that the parties have chances to nominate them. This would be very unfair of the leaders. In such situations, they should learn from Senator Elizabeth Ongoro. Even if the MPs could be given 10 billion; it cannot erase the unfair deal.

If the hatched plan goes through, Raila will just be proving to the whole world what lawyer Ahmednassir Abdulahi said; that Raila’s best position is in the opposition. He will also lose my support. Martin Luther King Junior never held any office in government yet every child knows him decades after his death.

There is yet another block. Raila has expressed his lack of confidence in the IEBC. If the plan has to work i.e. if the MPs resign, it is IEBC that will have the final say on who gets to be the replacement. What image will Raila portray if the plan goes through but IEBC rejects his name and Kalonzo as replacement? It would be a total shame!

In his speech on 9th March, Raila said that they only want to lead if Kenyans want them to; that they will not force themselves on the people. This move would be working against his words.
There are also rumours of Raila being appointed the Kenyan ambassador to Netherlands. Of course if it happens, he will get 100% parliament approval but I won’t support it. This sounds like quarter a loaf, leave alone the half he got after 2007 election.