The biggest political news of the week was about how Hon Ababu Namwamba bolted from the ODM wagon, where he served, according to him, as a ceremonial Secretary General. For a person who loved being regarded as Jenerali, resigning from the position was a huge personal sacrifice. Who knows? That could be the only serious party that he will have served as an SG.
The fact that he resigned after his friend Hon Paul Otuoma resigned from the post of the ODM Vice Chairman tells a lot. Maybe not a lot, considering that the two politicians hail from Busia County, but the ramifications are there to be felt. It will be unwarranted to start arguing the huge impact their leaving the party has, but it will be equally foolhardy to ignore the impact it has altogether. Ababu is fondly remembered in the opposition circles as the only MP to have sworn in the name of Raila Odinga when being sworn as a Member of Parliament in 2008. Whereas such emotional kicks are expected here and there, that act alone underscored how much he loved former Prime Minister Raila Odinga and how fervent he was about it.
This weekend has been Raila's chance to go at the defectors. It is time for him to prove to the defectors that he still runs the show in the opposition. The best place to do that is none other than in Migori County where a political giant from the area was recently incarcerated for his criticism to Jubilee's demagogic governance. The mammoth crowd gathered in Migori was a big statement for Raila. Never mind gathering such a crowd of people on a working day simply underlines how important joblessness is important to the so-called enigma of Kenyan politics.
Raila used the Migori platform to entice the crowd on how the CORD coalition will win the 2017 elections. For a coalition that is weakening by the day, Raila has the audacity to promise his followers that 2017 is a walk in the park for CORD. The exit of Namwamba and Otuoma is not significant. Regardless, no matter the number of defections, no matter the number of low ratings for the opposition chief, CORD will win the elections. The only way that CORD will not win the 2017 elections, Raila stated, is if IEBC and Jubilee collude to rig the elections.
What has Raila done to ensure CORD wins the 2017 elections? It is even ridiculous that CORD has not sorted out its imminent fallout over who will be the coalition's flagbearer. Not even the ardent Raila fan believes in his words. A closer looker at Raila in his campaign sporadic tells of a person who does not even believe in his own words. The 2017 is concluded. The rest, for him, is history absorbing him.
