In the run-up to the hotly contested Kibra by-election, political rhetoric reached unprecedented levels.
No other people beat the drums louder than Deputy President William Ruto and former Prime Minister Raila Odinga and their respective lieutenants. Both jostling to make a political statement, no word was spared, including unprintable ones. From ‘teaching lessons’ to the ‘bedroom’ to ‘protecting votes at all costs’, the ODM and Jubilee parties raised political temperatures in the capital and largely in the whole country.
The election was billed as a do-or-die affair for both Ruto and Raila. As a consequence, violent scenes, some involving former and current members of Parliament, were beamed on national television, social and the print media. In the end, ODM carried the day and then the chest-thumping began.
The orange party even made it clear that, after securing the ‘bedroom’ under lock and key, it intended to wrestle Raila’s ‘sitting room’ (Lang’ata constituency) from Jubilee. When and how it plans to do this before 2022 baffles conscious souls. ODM claimed that the win sounded the death knell to Ruto’s bid to succeed President Uhuru Kenyatta.
Ruto, in his trademark policy of never leaving a challenge unattended to, explained how his party’s fortunes in Kibra soared as compared to the 2017 poll.
As the Kibra by-election dust settles, the focus has already shifted to the much-anticipated release of the Building Bridges Initiative report. The same camps are making it clear how they intend to shoot it down or use it to eternally bury some people’s political ambitions.
Touted as the panacea to our problems every election cycle, BBI looks set to tear the political elite right at the centre.
Bungoma
