By Gathu Kaara
Since former prime minister, Raila Odinga, announced his return from a three-month trip to the US, the country, previously peaceful over that period, has been one big house of Babel. Kenya has been treated to a circus from Cord politicians. These politicians held rallies shortly before and after Raila arrived where ethnic jingoism, subversion and treasonous call for a violent government overthrow were espoused. All this subversion has been aided, abetted and amplified by the media. It is clear that some media are going out of their way to stoke tensions.
In fact, one media house owning both electronic and print media publications, is unashamedly and deliberately instigating a conflict between Raila and President Uhuru Kenyatta through highly subversive and abusive content designed to inflame passions and incite disaffection against the government. Do these media even understand what is going on? One, a key motivation for Raila’s rabble rousing is to divert attention from key issues facing his party, ODM.
The party’s botched elections are something Raila would like to keep in the back burner forever. He, therefore, must look for distractions. The second is that after serving in government for most of 10 years, he has now begun to feel the flipside of being out in the cold, traumatised by withdrawal of privileges he took for granted. He is, therefore, seeking his way back to government the only way he knows how— create chaos and negotiate your way in.
What the media should be doing is to tell Raila to stop polarising the country with highly-charged rhetoric, not doublespeak. Indeed, the tribal talk and anti-Kikuyu campaign strategy of 41 against one that he used to run his 2007 election campaign has resurfaced. This is an ominous sign. The media must call on all parties, especially the protagonists in ODM, to tone down to cool temperatures. Dialogue is important, but it cannot be demanded with threats. There seems a more nefarious agenda.
The media must also caution Raila that any attempts to try and storm State House is tragic and disastrous thinking. He surely has little regard for his followers’ lives if he thinks he can attempt to take over power through such ridiculous means. He must accept he lost the elections, and wait for the next turn. The media in Kenya stand warned. You did terrible work inciting Kenyans against one another in 2007/08. While some have since redeemed themselves and now work for Kenya first, there are those who continue to exhibit unbridled arrogance and show little remorse.
These are the ones who seem intent on burning Kenya. Those editors had better be warned. Do they think they will be spared if this country starts burning? Think again! They need look no further than Egypt, Central African Republic, Libya, and Syria among others. Do not cut off your nose to spite your face. Finally, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) and the National Cohesion and Integration Commission stand accused.
A lot of tribal baiting, subversion and open treason has been spewed at these Cord rallies with no response from them whatsoever. They continue to ignore the threat posed to Kenya by this Cord, and pretend nothing is happening. Are they part of this conspiracy? The Inspector General of Police must be on heightened alert. He must be ready to deal swiftly and firmly with any threat to the fragile peace that was so hard won after the post-election violence. The writer can be reached at gathukara@gmail.com
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