I heard that lots of people were going round to Raila's house to say Pole, after the results were announced. His response was that they should not be mourning, as noone has died. Damn right!
Here is a quote from Raila that I got from the Standard
“Do not tell me sorry for what happened, I do not wish to hear this. When a cooking stick breaks, do you stop preparing your meal? Certainly not! And that is why we want to state that we have enough work to do,” said Raila.
Relevant article: Raila declines Uhuru's job offer and vows to soldier on
An excerpt below
“We all know what happened, but we want to say that is over, we did not want to bring bloodshed again and that is why we are looking ahead,” he said. Wetangula warned against picking political rejects from Western for Cabinet slots saying this would not resonate with people’s wishes. He accused some leaders from Western of angling for appointments into the Cabinet saying they were selfish and had sold out the community. "
I am no fan of Martha Karua, but have to agree with the point she makes on this video.
Update: Relevant article An ode to a fallen general by Peter Wanyoni
An excerpt below
In recent times, young politicians and some Kenyans crawling on social media barely out of their napkins have taken Raila’s defeat in the recent elections as an opportunity to hurl insults at him.
They conveniently forget that the very structures over which they lord, the very country that they now bestride with noisy tweets and Facebook posts and many of the freedoms they enjoy, would never have been possible without the sacrifice of Raila Odinga and his contemporaries.
DEMOCRACY
These men and women endured years behind bars, banged up in detention without trial, to birth the openness and the democracy that we now take for granted, and in whose free air the new political class now hold forth with their salt-in-the-wound rubbing. In so doing, they come to resemble Chinua Achebe’s unwise little bird eneke-nti-oba, who so far forgot himself after a heavy meal that he challenged his personal god to a fight.
Raila is a yardstick against which to measure the performances of our new crop of politicians. He made mistakes — like everyone else — but his virtues far outweighed these. It is this very standard against which we will now judge the fortitude, the fitness-for-purpose, of our new leaders.
They have not begun on a good footing, letting their followers humiliate Raila in ways that are decidedly un-African.
Like Achebe said, those who mock Raila should remember that he whose palm nuts have been cracked for them by benevolent spirits, should not forget to be humble.
Thank the man for his selflessness and service, and let him be.
Here is a quote from Raila that I got from the Standard
“Do not tell me sorry for what happened, I do not wish to hear this. When a cooking stick breaks, do you stop preparing your meal? Certainly not! And that is why we want to state that we have enough work to do,” said Raila.
Relevant article: Raila declines Uhuru's job offer and vows to soldier on
An excerpt below
“We all know what happened, but we want to say that is over, we did not want to bring bloodshed again and that is why we are looking ahead,” he said. Wetangula warned against picking political rejects from Western for Cabinet slots saying this would not resonate with people’s wishes. He accused some leaders from Western of angling for appointments into the Cabinet saying they were selfish and had sold out the community. "
I am no fan of Martha Karua, but have to agree with the point she makes on this video.
Update: Relevant article An ode to a fallen general by Peter Wanyoni
An excerpt below
In recent times, young politicians and some Kenyans crawling on social media barely out of their napkins have taken Raila’s defeat in the recent elections as an opportunity to hurl insults at him.
They conveniently forget that the very structures over which they lord, the very country that they now bestride with noisy tweets and Facebook posts and many of the freedoms they enjoy, would never have been possible without the sacrifice of Raila Odinga and his contemporaries.
DEMOCRACY
These men and women endured years behind bars, banged up in detention without trial, to birth the openness and the democracy that we now take for granted, and in whose free air the new political class now hold forth with their salt-in-the-wound rubbing. In so doing, they come to resemble Chinua Achebe’s unwise little bird eneke-nti-oba, who so far forgot himself after a heavy meal that he challenged his personal god to a fight.
Raila is a yardstick against which to measure the performances of our new crop of politicians. He made mistakes — like everyone else — but his virtues far outweighed these. It is this very standard against which we will now judge the fortitude, the fitness-for-purpose, of our new leaders.
They have not begun on a good footing, letting their followers humiliate Raila in ways that are decidedly un-African.
Like Achebe said, those who mock Raila should remember that he whose palm nuts have been cracked for them by benevolent spirits, should not forget to be humble.
Thank the man for his selflessness and service, and let him be.
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