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Elder Lister
Days to the 2022 ODM party nominations after Raila Odinga had excluded my constituency, Kasipul from party nominations I confronted him in his office, we walked to the lift, he drew his phone and called Junet Mohammed, put him on speaker phone and asked him to include Kasipul constituency among those constituencies in which nominations would take place. The moment he put Junet on speaker phone, I knew he was managing me. Nevertheless, I managed the situation too.
After I had left, he called Junet and told him to forget about me. That was cowardice. He could have just told me to my face that my opponent had paid him such good money that he could not take him through the rigours of nominations against the most popular man in the constituency. Raila was the second most powerful man in Kenya around that time. He was a man who would dismiss every advice or suggestion with the most derogatory words possible and you would still thank him and apologise. He held almost every luo by the scrotum and literally chose for them all cadre of leaders. The luo only registered as voters to vote for Raila and endorse his choices. Today, for the very first time since the fateful day, we shared the same room with a pale shadow of the arrogant man who read half of his cabinet long before elections were held. A man who used to have a beehive of activity around himself whenever he appeared in public. A man who used to have every one in the room rise upon his arrival.
A man who would visit luo Nyanza with a high powered delegation of non luos. Today, the only non luo who was in his delegation was Junet Mohamed and his prefered successor Opiyo Wandayi. We sat at the VIP lounge at the Wilson Airport, and continued with our stories like the room had not receive any new VIP. The normalcy that prevailed during his arrival was as if to justify the adage; 'RESPECT IS EARNED'. I was reminded of King Saul who lost all his clout and power in Israel after the Amalek debacle but still thought he was King. David was already reigning but Saul was still deluded that he was King! I did not hear his voice nor see him sit down, I only noticed the sadness on his face on seeing the man he threw under the bus after emptying his pockets, sitting on the very seat he would have loved to sit on.
The man he believed would never rise again. The man he shortchanged in 2005, 2007, 2013, 2017 and 2022. Long live President William Ruto, may the God of Abraham give you long life. May you live long enough to watch the luo prosper after the exit of the Lord of poverty, deceit, discrimination, violence, exploitation and hate. May you live long enough to see a free luo.
After I had left, he called Junet and told him to forget about me. That was cowardice. He could have just told me to my face that my opponent had paid him such good money that he could not take him through the rigours of nominations against the most popular man in the constituency. Raila was the second most powerful man in Kenya around that time. He was a man who would dismiss every advice or suggestion with the most derogatory words possible and you would still thank him and apologise. He held almost every luo by the scrotum and literally chose for them all cadre of leaders. The luo only registered as voters to vote for Raila and endorse his choices. Today, for the very first time since the fateful day, we shared the same room with a pale shadow of the arrogant man who read half of his cabinet long before elections were held. A man who used to have a beehive of activity around himself whenever he appeared in public. A man who used to have every one in the room rise upon his arrival.
A man who would visit luo Nyanza with a high powered delegation of non luos. Today, the only non luo who was in his delegation was Junet Mohamed and his prefered successor Opiyo Wandayi. We sat at the VIP lounge at the Wilson Airport, and continued with our stories like the room had not receive any new VIP. The normalcy that prevailed during his arrival was as if to justify the adage; 'RESPECT IS EARNED'. I was reminded of King Saul who lost all his clout and power in Israel after the Amalek debacle but still thought he was King. David was already reigning but Saul was still deluded that he was King! I did not hear his voice nor see him sit down, I only noticed the sadness on his face on seeing the man he threw under the bus after emptying his pockets, sitting on the very seat he would have loved to sit on.
The man he believed would never rise again. The man he shortchanged in 2005, 2007, 2013, 2017 and 2022. Long live President William Ruto, may the God of Abraham give you long life. May you live long enough to watch the luo prosper after the exit of the Lord of poverty, deceit, discrimination, violence, exploitation and hate. May you live long enough to see a free luo.