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- Nov 7, 2006
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Raila: What leadership is all about
By Anthony Kariuki
Last updated: Sun, Oct 07, 2007 23:19 PM (EAT)
On his brief visit to Uganda, Kenyas leading opposition candidate Raila Odinga, was hosted on 93.3 K- fms political talk show the Hot Seat hosted by Charles Mwanguhya Mpagi. Mr Odinga who is leader of the Orange Democratic Movement was accompanied to the show by Mvita MP Najib Balala. They discussed the Kenyan elections, the East African Federation and African leadership. Daily Monitors Jan Ajwang listened in and has the excerpts Host: Mr Odinga many people here wonder which political party you belong to; they dont seem to understand the evaluation of political parties in Kenya; Which political party do you represent?
Odinga: Multi party politics in Kenya has been going through an evolution. When we repealed section 2 a) of the constitution which had made the country a single party dictatorship in 1991 ,the movement that was responsible was Ford. Soon a number of parties came up with Ford itself splitting into ford Kenya and Ford Asili. More parties sprung and we formed the National Development Party. We then formed an alliance with the then ruling party [KANU] but we disagreed and eventually formed the liberal Democratic Party (LDP).
LDP went into an alliance with other parties just before the last general elections, with another group of parties like Ford Kenya, Democratic Party, National alliance Party of Kenya to form the National Rainbow Coalition- NARC. LDP wasnt dissolved; it just remained as a coalition partner. The coalition collapsed because of disagreement among the partners. LDP walked out of the coalition and remained on its own. When the referendum came, LDP joined with KANU to oppose the draft constitution which was being imposed by the regime on Kenyans
The symbol at that time was the orange for those voting NO and a banana for that e voting YES. That is how ODM sprung up and from then we coined it and it became a political party of its own .We realised that there was need to consolidate the movement by getting KANU and LDP to come together.
Does this mean that you have dissolved the LDP?
Odinga: LDP hasnt been resolved; we agreed that the parties constituting the ODM remain dormant, because it would confuse the electorate. Instead we chose to concentrate on strengthening the ODM as movement ahead of the elections. ODM is now a political party but it is not a coalition. The constituent parties themselves have become dormant and we hope ODM will evolve into a strong political party by which time we will be able to dissolve all the other parties from which it was constituted.
Host: What is the purpose of your Visit to Uganda?
Odinga: I was invited by students studying in various universities here. - We have an ODM chapter in Uganda. They invited me to give a talk, at Makerere University and there is a fund-raising dinner, at the Grand Imperial Hotel. I have also been talking to friends around in town, basically explaining what is going on in Kenya and drumming up support. We are looking for moral and material support from whoever can give us assistance at this moment in time.
Host: Would one say that you are trying to prepare ground in case you get elected?
Odinga: Yes. We really want to cultivate the spirit of East African Corporation. We want to see that the process of integration of East Africa is fast tracked. We are trying to basically have an exchange with the people in advance before we are elected. When we come to government we want to fast track this process [East African Federation]
Host: You are speaking with a lot of confidence, as if you have already won the elections. Are you sure you have already won?
Odinga: It is not the question of if, it is the question of when I will win the elections. I have a lot of confidence that the people of Kenya are going to demonstrate that they want change and which they know that I do represent.
Host: Watching Kenyan politics, most Ugandans have always known that former President Daniel Arap Moi won the elections not because he got the majority votes but because the opposition was much divided. With the divisions from NARC, to ODM and now there is ODM-Kenya, arent you giving President Mwai Kibaki another victory on a silver platter?
Odinga: Moi never used to really win. He used to rig himself back into power in both 1992 and in 1997. But in 2002 we came together as the opposition and we beat him against his project. This time he is now backing President Mwai Kibaki. We in the ODM are fairly united, there is a minor splinter group ODM-K that walked out, but by and large we have remained more intact. The presidents camp is in more disarray and that gives us the confidence that we shall win the elections.
Host: Mr Najib dont you think that this is just political ground [grand] standing that Hon Odinga is telling us that he is sure of victory?
Balala: There will be two challenges two horse races one is ODM and the other we expected that president will come with a horse call PNU. PNU is like a chameleon as it has many colours. There is Ford-Kenya, DP, KANU and they are all fighting against each other.
We also believe that there are two tribes, in Kenya. One is the old guard that are campaigning for the status quo, protecting the stolen wealth that they have. They are a few elite that dont want to rock the boat in terms of ideas and transformation of this country. The second one is a young and dynamic and all inclusive team that believes in the real change for all and that is ODM. That is why we said that we believe that we can change because the majority of Kenyans want to raise above tribalism that Kibaki and his team have cultivated in the last five years. Secondly we want to fight corruption considering that Kibaki and his team came from Goldenberg to come to Anglo- leasing corruption scandals. Thirdly, Tribalism has been entrenched in the government and dominated by one tribe- This is what we are fighting against.
SOURCE:http://politics.nationmedia.com/inner.asp?cat=ISSUES&sid=689
Raila: What leadership is all about
By Anthony Kariuki
Last updated: Sun, Oct 07, 2007 23:19 PM (EAT)
On his brief visit to Uganda, Kenyas leading opposition candidate Raila Odinga, was hosted on 93.3 K- fms political talk show the Hot Seat hosted by Charles Mwanguhya Mpagi. Mr Odinga who is leader of the Orange Democratic Movement was accompanied to the show by Mvita MP Najib Balala. They discussed the Kenyan elections, the East African Federation and African leadership. Daily Monitors Jan Ajwang listened in and has the excerpts Host: Mr Odinga many people here wonder which political party you belong to; they dont seem to understand the evaluation of political parties in Kenya; Which political party do you represent?
Odinga: Multi party politics in Kenya has been going through an evolution. When we repealed section 2 a) of the constitution which had made the country a single party dictatorship in 1991 ,the movement that was responsible was Ford. Soon a number of parties came up with Ford itself splitting into ford Kenya and Ford Asili. More parties sprung and we formed the National Development Party. We then formed an alliance with the then ruling party [KANU] but we disagreed and eventually formed the liberal Democratic Party (LDP).
LDP went into an alliance with other parties just before the last general elections, with another group of parties like Ford Kenya, Democratic Party, National alliance Party of Kenya to form the National Rainbow Coalition- NARC. LDP wasnt dissolved; it just remained as a coalition partner. The coalition collapsed because of disagreement among the partners. LDP walked out of the coalition and remained on its own. When the referendum came, LDP joined with KANU to oppose the draft constitution which was being imposed by the regime on Kenyans
The symbol at that time was the orange for those voting NO and a banana for that e voting YES. That is how ODM sprung up and from then we coined it and it became a political party of its own .We realised that there was need to consolidate the movement by getting KANU and LDP to come together.
Does this mean that you have dissolved the LDP?
Odinga: LDP hasnt been resolved; we agreed that the parties constituting the ODM remain dormant, because it would confuse the electorate. Instead we chose to concentrate on strengthening the ODM as movement ahead of the elections. ODM is now a political party but it is not a coalition. The constituent parties themselves have become dormant and we hope ODM will evolve into a strong political party by which time we will be able to dissolve all the other parties from which it was constituted.
Host: What is the purpose of your Visit to Uganda?
Odinga: I was invited by students studying in various universities here. - We have an ODM chapter in Uganda. They invited me to give a talk, at Makerere University and there is a fund-raising dinner, at the Grand Imperial Hotel. I have also been talking to friends around in town, basically explaining what is going on in Kenya and drumming up support. We are looking for moral and material support from whoever can give us assistance at this moment in time.
Host: Would one say that you are trying to prepare ground in case you get elected?
Odinga: Yes. We really want to cultivate the spirit of East African Corporation. We want to see that the process of integration of East Africa is fast tracked. We are trying to basically have an exchange with the people in advance before we are elected. When we come to government we want to fast track this process [East African Federation]
Host: You are speaking with a lot of confidence, as if you have already won the elections. Are you sure you have already won?
Odinga: It is not the question of if, it is the question of when I will win the elections. I have a lot of confidence that the people of Kenya are going to demonstrate that they want change and which they know that I do represent.
Host: Watching Kenyan politics, most Ugandans have always known that former President Daniel Arap Moi won the elections not because he got the majority votes but because the opposition was much divided. With the divisions from NARC, to ODM and now there is ODM-Kenya, arent you giving President Mwai Kibaki another victory on a silver platter?
Odinga: Moi never used to really win. He used to rig himself back into power in both 1992 and in 1997. But in 2002 we came together as the opposition and we beat him against his project. This time he is now backing President Mwai Kibaki. We in the ODM are fairly united, there is a minor splinter group ODM-K that walked out, but by and large we have remained more intact. The presidents camp is in more disarray and that gives us the confidence that we shall win the elections.
Host: Mr Najib dont you think that this is just political ground [grand] standing that Hon Odinga is telling us that he is sure of victory?
Balala: There will be two challenges two horse races one is ODM and the other we expected that president will come with a horse call PNU. PNU is like a chameleon as it has many colours. There is Ford-Kenya, DP, KANU and they are all fighting against each other.
We also believe that there are two tribes, in Kenya. One is the old guard that are campaigning for the status quo, protecting the stolen wealth that they have. They are a few elite that dont want to rock the boat in terms of ideas and transformation of this country. The second one is a young and dynamic and all inclusive team that believes in the real change for all and that is ODM. That is why we said that we believe that we can change because the majority of Kenyans want to raise above tribalism that Kibaki and his team have cultivated in the last five years. Secondly we want to fight corruption considering that Kibaki and his team came from Goldenberg to come to Anglo- leasing corruption scandals. Thirdly, Tribalism has been entrenched in the government and dominated by one tribe- This is what we are fighting against.
SOURCE:http://politics.nationmedia.com/inner.asp?cat=ISSUES&sid=689