• At the right time, all of them will be herded towards the handshake with former Prime Minister Raila Odinga being the presidential candidate.
Image: FILE
One Kenya Alliance is a holding ground. It is neither a political formation nor a political party and doesn’t intend to produce a presidential candidate—whether the members know it or not.
They didn’t need to know it, but at least one of them—Baringo Senator Gideon Moi—is aware it is a holding ground.
There was danger OKA could fall into the hands of Deputy President William Ruto. So, you put them together and plant in their minds, except for Gideon's, that they could be supported by President Uhuru Kenyatta. This brought them together, each hoping to be the flag-bearer. The next person to be told the truth would be Bungoma Senator Moses Wetang’ula.
But at the right time, all of them will be herded towards the handshake with former Prime Minister Raila Odinga being the presidential candidate. It is a good holding ground, but the only surprising thing is they can’t see it. They fail to see the reality that they cannot be supported because they fail to make an honest self-assessment.
If they were honest they would know none of them has what it takes to face Ruto.
OKA is a small force created so when it finally joins the bigger force of Uhuru and Raila, they can face Ruto. Now they are all reacting to Raila, and feel the ODM leader should support them.
They don't seem to ask what chance they have to beat Ruto even if Raila supported them. Even if Uhuru and Raila said, ‘Kalonzo Tosha’, he couldn't do it. For now, they need a seasoned guru to chase the mongoose from the homestead.
Once the mongoose has been chased away, any of them can be a presidential candidate one day. The elephant in the room is Ruto and none of them can beat him, even with Uhuru and Raila's support. Only Raila can.
By sticking to OKA, they are burning their bridges with Ruto. That’s why it is a good holding ground. They would be in a situation where you try to make a mistake like standing alone and getting 200,000 votes.
The political analyst and UoN Communications and Linguistics don spoke to the Star