Odinga’s choice of Martha Karua as his running mate makes for complex analysis. On a positive note it solidifies the ticket’s credibility credentials. It also portrays Odinga as a decisive leader and a risk taker. Further, it shows him as someone who values merit above politics.
Kalonzo was an obvious choice from a purely political perspective. The man presumably controls a voting block with between 1.5 and 2 million votes. A pricey figure in a tight race.
Odinga never needed to do anything about the Mt Kenya voting block for as long as Uhuru supports his candidacy. I say this because for those of us who understand Mt Kenya region, we know without a doubt that the votes Odinga will get from the region will be due to Uhuru’s support. Choosing Karua is a politically redundant decision unless Uhuru imposed the choice.
The only politics of numbers they could attempt to play with the choice is to appeal to the Mt Kenya East region. They should try and exploit the disappointment arising from the failure by Ruto to choose Prof. Kindiki as his running mate.
The idea of women voting as a block is farfetched. There is nowhere in the world where gender is a distinct voting block. In Kenya amongst the elite classes, some women will be excited by Karua’s choice. There represents an irrelevant minority.
Azimio’s candidacy is the greatest contradiction in the history of this country. It is a great mystery how two individuals with a rich legacy of resisting bad governance have finally subjugated themselves to Jubilee the worst corruption ever witnessed in the country.
Azimio’s foundation is Jubilee’s corruption. Odinga and Karua might present a semblance of moral hygiene, but the stench of Jubilee’s looting and mismanagement of the country can’t be extinguished.
I know some will think this is a harsh assessment. But ask yourself if Azimio would be what it is without Uhuru’s support. We all know the answer to that unless we are suffering from delusion. Would Azimio’s campaign be so awash with cash without access to looted government funds? Again we know the answer to that.
To me it would have made sense if Odinga and Karua run without Jubilee’s corrupt support. If they failed they would have fallen on the sword of integrity. History would have reserved the best judgement for them as those who stood for the country’s best interest to the end.
Now history will remember the duo as political opportunists who were happy to dine with the devil for as long as he promised them power. They were willing to overlook Jubilee’s unforgivable crimes for the furtherance of their political goals. They put their interests way ahead those of the country. They even happily and shamelessly brag about having the election rigging system behind them.
So in conclusion, nothing has changed for me in how I see the two corrupt fronts of Azimio and UDA. I deliberately don’t refer to UDA as Kenya Kwanza because it is blasphemous to relate UDA with Kenya. Azimio=UDA=Jubilee = Nothing good for the country. Let us hope for the best but also prepare for hard times. Our die is all but cast.
