Raila is only using TJRC report to woo Maasai voters

A day before veteran politician William ole Ntimama was buried, I keenly followed the proceedings of the requiem mass at the All Saints Cathedral in Nairobi. As an observer, the remarks and body language of Opposition leaders, who spoke after the mass, left me with no doubt they were out to take advantage of his death to hit out at the Jubilee administration. This would not come as a surprise bearing in mind they have used similar ceremonies in the past to gain political mileage.

Since President Kenyatta was elected, he has demonstrated that he respects the deceased. As such, he has always humbled himself and steered clear of politics whenever he attends burials.

Raila’s continued criticism of the Government can be traced to the 2013 presidential election which he lost. Raila filed a petition in the Supreme Court but it was dismissed. Since then, the Opposition chief has never given up portraying the Kenyatta administration as a failure.

Raila says Kenyatta is yet to fulfill any promises he made to Kenyans during the campaigns. However, I am sure those who have been watching what is happening on the ground will not buy his arguments. Most of the development projects contained in the Jubilee manifesto have been commissioned and some have been concluded. Implementation of others is on course.

Back to the politics that kicked off after the death of Ntimama; Raila would set the ball rolling when he attended a pre-burial ceremony in Narok when he accused Uhuru’s government of sitting on the TJRC report. He demanded that the report should be implemented in honor of Ntimama.

It should be recalled that the task force that conducted public hearings and compiled this report was appointed when Raila served in top positions in Kibaki’s government. So, if he Raila wanted the Maa community to believe he is their savior, one would have expected him to use his influence then to push for the implementation of the report during that time. However, the report has since been tabled in Parliament and is awaiting debate following Kenyatta’s intervention.

It seems Raila has crafted a new strategy to woo the Maasa to back his bid for the 2017 polls. During Ntimama’s burial preparations, Raila repeatedly revisited the role he played in securing the Mau forest complex. However, many believe he did not deserve credit, given cases of encroachment and illegal excisions of the forest land are yet to be resolved.

Yes, it is true Ntimama was a key defender of Masaai land rights and he had played key role in the conservation of Mau forest. He, however, started long before Raila became the PM.

During the burial, Raila claimed Ntimama called him after he attended a meeting at State House and assured him that he was still in ODM. However, it is believed Ntimama, who led a delegation of Masaai leaders to the meeting, pledged that the community will support Uhuru in 2017.

Raila would fire another salvo at the President when he said the Government ‘has two hands and one of them is causing a lot of trouble to the Masaai. Ntimama came to see your hand because he believed it can solve their problems. Put yourself in Uhuru’s shoes, how would you react to these attacks? In light of this, Uhuru’s response did not amount to overreaction as his critics want us to believe.

Let us learn to respect the holder of the presidency. If Raila becomes President, how does he expect to be treated? If for instance, Uhuru as a private citizen refuses to stand for him, how will he feel?

It was disrespectful of Raila to refuse to stand up after Uhuru concluded his speech during the burial when all other leaders stood up.