Politics

Why Raila 7.0 is possible

Published

3 weeks ago

September 1, 2021

Raila Odinga, despite running for the presidency for four times and failing all of them, will be the man to watch in 2022.

Raila was defeated in all the presidential elections he contested, at least officially. And, all of these will not discourage him from running again and stand in the way of his claim to State House. For this reason, and because of the ‘handshake’, we should be getting ready for his last version – Raila 7.0

In 1997, Raila ran for the presidency and finished third behind President Daniel Moi and Mwai Kibaki. The election was not free and fair, and was marred with irregularities. Kibaki rejected the outcome and so was Raila. Contrary to his critics, Raila never claimed he won the election. By then, he didn’t have a national platform.

Raila 2.0 was the most successful version of Raila Odinga. It happened in 2002 when he declared ‘Kibaki Tosha.’ Raila led dozens of senior politicians including the then Vice President George Saitoti out of KANU and formed the Liberal Democratic Party which he merged it with the opposition party to form the National Rainbow Alliance (Narc). It was in 2002, when Kenyans became the most hopeful people on earth.

LDP was sidelined when Kibaki formed the government in 2003. Kenyans’ hope died away when rift emerged between Kibaki’s and Raila’s wings of government.

Raila 3.0 emerged in 2005. He became stronger and gained countrywide popularity. He led the ‘NO’ team in rejecting the Bomas draft constitution, giving a resounding defeat to President Kibaki.

In 2007 – the year when Raila almost became a president. This was Raila 4.0. He was more popular countrywide and was the face of the change Kenyans were yearning for. He was leading Mwai Kibaki in the result tallying one hour before his victory was snatched and the electoral commission announced Kibaki as the winner.

The 2013 presidential election – Raila 5.0 – was his worst. His presidential campaign was disorganised and most members of the team he formed in 2007 deserted him. He became a wounded and lonely man.

The opposition NASA picked Raila as its flag bearer in 2017 despite his failure to win the presidency in previous three attempts. Raila 6.0 again flopped as a result of rigging which was confirmed by the Supreme Court.

Now, get ready for Raila 7.0 in 2022. We have a president who is retiring. Free, fair and credible elections do happen in third world countries when the incumbent president is not contesting. And, a William Ruto presidency is seen as a continuation of Uhuru’s. And then, there’s the handshake. When Raila shook hand with President Uhuru Kenyattta and vowed to work with him, he was ‘offered the presidency’ in 2022, in whichever form it comes, executive or non-executive.

Click to comment

Up Next

EU appoints Estonian diplomat to lead its mission in Somalia

Don't Miss

Somali military court jails ISIS cameraman for 15 years

frontier

Politics

Farmajo names committee of inquiry to investigate disappearance of former spy Ikran Tahlil

Published

1 week ago

September 13, 2021

frontier

Somali president Mohamed Farmajo has appointing a five-member committee to investigate the disappearance of former spy agent Ikran Tahlil.

“I hereby appoint a five-Member Commission of inquiry Chaired by the Attorney-General and deputized by Head of Military Court to expedite investigations on the case of IKRAN TAHLIL and to hand over the findings and evidence to responsible legal institutions for the execution of Justice.”

In the presidential decree, Farmajo appointed the Attorney-General to lead the fact-finding mission. The Armed Forces Court Attorney General is also a member of the committee. The three committee members will be nominated later by the Somali Police Force Commander, the Commander of the Somali National Army and Col. Yasin Abdulahi Mohamud, his new appointee Director-General of the National Intelligence and Security Agency.

The statement added that Ikran’s case was a “sensitive one that needs a thorough investigation.”

Farmajo instructed the commission to submit its investigative reports to the relevant authorities, although there will undoubtedly be demands to make the findings of any report public. There will also likely be apprehension to Somalia’s intelligence agency being a part of the investigation. Many lawmakers have called on an independent inquiry into Ikran’s murder.

Farmajo declared that the decree came into effect immediately after he signed it.

Politics

Qorqor and Laftagareen try to bring Farmajo and Roble together

Published

2 weeks ago

September 10, 2021

frontier

The presidents of Galmudug, Ahmed Abdi Karie Qoor Qoor his South West State counterpart and Abdiaziz Hassan Mohamed Laftagareen have taken the role of mediators to find a solution the wrangle between President Mohamed Farmajo and his Prime Minister Mohamed Roble.

The two met with Farmajo and Roble separately, and urged both parties to refrain from further action that would escalate the tense situation.

Reports indicate that the president and the prime minister have accepted the mediation, although each has developed conditions attached to the talks.

Prime Minister Roble insisted that Commander Bashir Goobe was the commander of NISA, and President Farmajo emphasized that the steps taken by the Prime Minister were invalid.

The meeting is expected to continue on Friday. The two presidents are hopeful that the two top officials will finally be reconciled so that their differences do not affect the election process.

The intervention comes amidst heightened political tensions between Farmajo and Roble which could threaten the fragile security of the Horn of Africa nation.

Politics

Finland swears-in its first Somali-born member of parliament

Published

2 weeks ago

September 10, 2021

frontier

Suldaan Said Ahmed has been officially sworn in as a Member of Parliament, becoming Finland’s first Somali-background MP, according to Finnish news oulrt Yle News.

The Helsinki city councillor replaces party colleague and outgoing MP Paavo Arhinmäki (Left), who left Parliament to take up a role as Helsinki Deputy Mayor.

Said Ahmed told Yle News that he still “cannot quite believe” he is now an MP.

“If someone had told the refugee-background, single-mother raised, teenage Suldaan, that you would one day become a Finnish legislator, I would not have believed it,” he said.

“There were no people like me in Parliament when I was growing up.”

He added that he intends to help “build a better Finland” during his time in Parliament.

“I want a Finland where every young person, regardless of their background or starting point, can pursue their dreams. I hope that my selection here will send a message to young people that anything is possible,” he added.

Said Ahmed and two other incoming MPs — Atte Kaleva (NCP) and Jari Kinnunen (NCP) — were officially announced as Members of Parliament by parliamentary speaker Anu Vehviläinen (Cen) at a plenary session on Thursday afternoon.

Kaleva and Kinnunen are replacing party colleagues Anna-Kaisa Ikonen and Juhana Vartiainen, who became mayors of Tampere and Helsinki respectively.

Said Ahmed was born in Somalia in 1993 and moved to Finland in 2008. He was elected to Helsinki City Council at the municipal elections in 2017, garnering over 1,000 votes, and was re-elected to the council at the last municipal election in June, increasing his vote count to 1,634.