In an opinion piece published in The Standard on Saturday (November 12), Barrack Muluka deliberately misquotes me just like Chepalungu MP Isaac Rutto did in Parliament on Thursday (November 10).
In both cases the misquotation has been deliberate to fit a well rehearsed thesis that presidential aspirant Raphael Tuju’s convoy was stoned by ODM youth sent to do so by ODM leadership.
Prime Minister Raila Odinga and I (ODM Secretary-General Anyang’ Nyong’o) condemned the stone throwing and called for peaceful campaigns devoid of violence.
However, during the Parliamentary Group meeting of the ODM on Tuesday last week, a discussion on the violence revealed the youths had claimed the stone throwing was most likely stage-managed.
MPs, therefore, demanded this aspect of the ugly incident be investigated so that all Kondele youth are not maligned unnecessarily.
During the press conference that ensued, I reported this aspect of our discussions and added, emphatically, that "stage-managed or not, ODM condemns any form of violence and calls upon party members and supporters to allow everybody to campaign peacefully".
It is interesting that during the discussion of this matter in Parliament when Rutto abortively sought a ministerial statement, Gichugu MP Martha Karua also told the House she had experienced a stage-managed heckling by youths in her own constituency at a funeral.
Since the Kondele incident is under probe, it would only be fair to put all allegations on the table rather than harangue all and sundry, who express points of view contrary to the one expressed by Tuju.
United democratic front
Mr Muluka, of course, had a completely different agenda. That is to go back to the hackneyed theme of dynastic tendencies in Luo politics. Fortunately, Raila, (Lands Minister) James Orengo and myself emanate from the Luo community but we are not simply Luo politicians. We have wider constituencies outside our birth places.
At a wider level, the three of us have an ideological, Pan-African and international constituency where we play in the same league. It would be artificial to fake any difference at this level.
At the home level, we have a Kenyan constituency which goes back many years in the struggle for democracy. This struggle was for a long time led by Jaramogi Oginga Odinga. We identified with Jaramogi and worked with him till he died. This fact nobody denies nor can anybody, except those who oppressed Kenyans, hold it against us.
After that period there were times when we had our differences and parted ways for some time. We had differences on tactics and strategy of winning the struggle against presidential authoritarianism.
Finally, however, Raila managed to bring all progressive forces together in 2002. We came together again and have remained in that broad united democratic front to date.
Muluka, on the other hand, thinks of Orengo and I simply as yo-yo men, who follow a political trend simply to survive in politics. He is incapable of doing a more convincing sociological analysis beyond the perceived dogma, which was always used by the regimes of yesteryear to disenfranchise Jaramogi.
I am afraid it is rather late to apply this dogma to the post-2002 politics. History is still fresh in our minds to be confused by right wing intellectual bigotry of any kind.
{Anyang’ Nyong’o, ODM Secretary General}
In both cases the misquotation has been deliberate to fit a well rehearsed thesis that presidential aspirant Raphael Tuju’s convoy was stoned by ODM youth sent to do so by ODM leadership.
Prime Minister Raila Odinga and I (ODM Secretary-General Anyang’ Nyong’o) condemned the stone throwing and called for peaceful campaigns devoid of violence.
However, during the Parliamentary Group meeting of the ODM on Tuesday last week, a discussion on the violence revealed the youths had claimed the stone throwing was most likely stage-managed.
MPs, therefore, demanded this aspect of the ugly incident be investigated so that all Kondele youth are not maligned unnecessarily.
During the press conference that ensued, I reported this aspect of our discussions and added, emphatically, that "stage-managed or not, ODM condemns any form of violence and calls upon party members and supporters to allow everybody to campaign peacefully".
It is interesting that during the discussion of this matter in Parliament when Rutto abortively sought a ministerial statement, Gichugu MP Martha Karua also told the House she had experienced a stage-managed heckling by youths in her own constituency at a funeral.
Since the Kondele incident is under probe, it would only be fair to put all allegations on the table rather than harangue all and sundry, who express points of view contrary to the one expressed by Tuju.
United democratic front
Mr Muluka, of course, had a completely different agenda. That is to go back to the hackneyed theme of dynastic tendencies in Luo politics. Fortunately, Raila, (Lands Minister) James Orengo and myself emanate from the Luo community but we are not simply Luo politicians. We have wider constituencies outside our birth places.
At a wider level, the three of us have an ideological, Pan-African and international constituency where we play in the same league. It would be artificial to fake any difference at this level.
At the home level, we have a Kenyan constituency which goes back many years in the struggle for democracy. This struggle was for a long time led by Jaramogi Oginga Odinga. We identified with Jaramogi and worked with him till he died. This fact nobody denies nor can anybody, except those who oppressed Kenyans, hold it against us.
After that period there were times when we had our differences and parted ways for some time. We had differences on tactics and strategy of winning the struggle against presidential authoritarianism.
Finally, however, Raila managed to bring all progressive forces together in 2002. We came together again and have remained in that broad united democratic front to date.
Muluka, on the other hand, thinks of Orengo and I simply as yo-yo men, who follow a political trend simply to survive in politics. He is incapable of doing a more convincing sociological analysis beyond the perceived dogma, which was always used by the regimes of yesteryear to disenfranchise Jaramogi.
I am afraid it is rather late to apply this dogma to the post-2002 politics. History is still fresh in our minds to be confused by right wing intellectual bigotry of any kind.
{Anyang’ Nyong’o, ODM Secretary General}
No comments:
Post a Comment