A Swahili saying goes, mchagua jembe sio mkulima followed by asiye kubali kushindwa sio mshindani. Loosely translated it means a poor farmer blames his tools and he who does not accept defeat is not a worthwhile competitor.

Siaya senator James Orengo is a respected legal mind in Kenya. He holds a track record of reform and championing human rights that is second to none.

Orengo’s star shone brightly during the difficult Moi era, when dissent was heavily punished and very few were bold enough to question authority. He was a leading voice in the quest for multi-partyism and later constitutional reforms.

‘Jimmy’ as he is fondly referred to by his peers was later tested thoroughly by Kenya’s political machinations.

His eloquence and mastery of law was not enough to ensure a strong grip in his political success.
He suffered at the hands of the Nyanza ‘political god’ who visited untold misery to him for dissent.

Difficult times call for difficult measures, Jimmy together with Kisumu senator Prof Anyang Nyong’o another brilliant mind were thrown into a seemingly bottomless pit and it is only after turning into award winning sycophants did Raila hand them lifelines they rely on to date.

During the ‘nusu mkate’ Government Jimmy was handed the powerful lands docket raising the country’s hopes for a better-managed land system.

What Jimmy seemed to forget was that he was still a ‘resurrected’ slave answering to the whims of his master.

He was coiled and twisted into submission heralding one of the worst performances in the lands docket in the history of Kenya.

 It is during his tenure that large tracts of Government and community lands were appropriated. Lamu County is just but an example.
In pursuit of political survival, the Jimmy of yore disappeared and the current one is but a shadow.

He has spearheaded ethnic, religious and clan rivalry with fervor spewing anti- government bile with every breath that he takes.

True to his now notorious stature, he recently announced that the IEBC will never be ready for this year’s General Election.

For a man who spearheaded street demos for IEBC reform to later turn around and utter such words lends credence to the saying siku ya nyani kufa miti yote huteleza meaning when a monkey’s death beckons, all trees in the forest suddenly become slippery.

NASA had stacked all its cards on beating Jubilee during the just ended mass voter registration exercise.

To their dismay, Jubilee whitewashed them, registering impressive turn out in its strongholds. NASA has now resorted to an age-old trick- create doubt in preparation for chaos.

 They scored some success castigating the Jubilee Government on corruption until evidence was revealed of their corrupt dealings while in Government.

They tried pitting 40 tribes against the perceived ruling two but that backfired when Jubilee paraded its highly scoring ethnically balanced employment record.

This last straw that Jimmy has exposed may float them for a day, maybe two but the river is increasingly getting wild a sign of an impending waterfall.

The truth is IEBC is ready, willing and able to conduct Kenya’s 2017 General Election. The number of internal oversight bodies that have given it a clean bill of health rises by the day.

 Parliament itself where Jimmy is a respected member would have been the first voice to question IEBC’s readiness.

It is sad to see a once eminent brilliant soul wither in mediocrity as he heads into his sunset. May history judge Jimmy fairly even though he is hell bent on beheading his own statue.