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ODM experts in Kenya Kwanza contemporary political court jesters

Opinion

By Alexander Chagema | Dec 10, 2024

**Peter Anyang Nyong'o addresses the Press at Kisumu International Airport after taking over leadership of the party.**[File, Standard]

Inference drawn from recent utterances by ODM experts in government is that fidelity to principles is conditional and circumstantial.

Their actions and words amplify the amorphous, pendulum nature of Kenyan politicians, firming the belief that they are in the business for gain, not to serve millions of lowly-placed Kenyans who look up to them for guidance.

Energy CS Opiyo Wandayi, National Treasury CS John Mbadi and Mining CS Hassan Joho have in the recent past made public utterances that stupefy. Their complete transformation from being caustic to government and President William Ruto’s critics to defenders, apologists, loud hailers and Ruto campaigners for the 2027 elections is nothing short of amazing.

They evoke memories of political court jesters of the middle age whose job was to entertain monarchs wherever they were or went. They were also used to deliver disguised warnings to the kings' detractors. They didn't have minds of their own. From the outset, Kenya Kwanza had its contemporary political court jesters whose major achievement is the successful bad-mouthing and torpedoing of their own second-in-command.

Having served their purpose, they are being inexorably pushed out by the new, more boisterous ODM stars as power dynamics change. Both camps, however, appear to be captives of Stockholm syndrome. The king, no matter what, must be entertained and kept happy. Those we thought could tell the king he is naked wouldn't dare and would rather hang onto the gravy train.

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It is doubtful whether Mbadi still considers the Cabinet a skunk, now that he sits in it after it was reconstituted post the June 25, 2024, Gen Z protests. It took the comfort of their posh offices, the perks that come with the ministerial positions for Mbadi and Wandayi to recover from amnesia and suddenly remember how Ruto supported the 'Luo' in the 2007 elections and declare that the Luo community will support Ruto in 2027.

It takes hubris to make such assumptions about enlightened people who cannot be herded like sheep to the abattoir. Such unfortunate sentiments vindicate a long-held belief that ODM exists as a national party but is wired to serve the interests of Nyanza region, serves as Raila Odinga’s plaything, the altar where any aspiring politician in Nyanza must worship or be doomed.

These gentlemen are beneficiaries of the so-called broad-based' government, a euphemism for 'strange bedfellows' trying too hard to prop a limping government that shoots itself in the foot at every turn but would rather blame phantoms for its shortcomings.

Unrelenting social media onslaught against the government is finally finding its mark. President William Ruto has been on the receiving end without a breather, and the pressure is beginning to bear. While in Taita Taveta County recently, a usually composed Ruto was visibly agitated and accused Kenyans of being possessed by demons of opposition. Joho soaked up some of the heat and tried bluster in an unthinking moment but ended up stirring the hornet's nest.

Seemingly, the online harassment of Ruto is not about to fizzle out any time soon. Can he deal with the psychological distress this could trigger and still make critical decisions, as well as govern effectively without really bothering about what Kenyans think of his maligned government?

The online attacks on Ruto have caused despondency in government and created a public perception that he is an unworthy leader who should exit. There is a serious public trust deficit in his leadership that he should try and win back, but can he?

Frustration and desperation are manifest in the fact that an individual sold the government some spin about creating an app that could delete negative publicity on social media platforms, and the loyalists in government fell for it

Kenyans don't want the earth and heaven, all they need is ease of living, which excessive taxation and dysfunctionality in government conspire to deny them.