Forget What the War Mongering Leaders Say, Worry More About the Cheering Crowds

The political temperatures are rapidly rising, hitting high scales as the country nears the general elections set for next year August. CORD’s weekly demos that have since been called off by the opposition to give way for dialogue ended up in reported five deaths and scores of injuries including a five-year-old boy in Kisumu. The deaths are from police bullets.

The protests attracted sharp criticisms from the government and its supporters who have branded the demos as development derailleurs. In a statement that was used as a backup to cancel the demos, National Security Advisory Committee alleged that CORD was working with President Magu86fuli and Riek Machar of South Sudan to topple the Jubilee regime.

The Tanzania President was unamused by the sentiments made by the government that a delegation was dispatched to Nairobi’s statehouse to discuss on the matter. It’s in that same week that violent protests were witnessed in parts of Nyanza where police shot dead three protesters and in Nairobi’s Mathare estate a bus belonging to a woman from the President’s community was torched.

Jubilee supporters under a leadership of MPs Moses Kuria, Maina Kamanda, Dennis Waweru and Bishop Margret Wanjiru, mobilized hundreds of youths who staged a demo taking the shell and dumping it at the Prime Minister’s office in Capitol Hill, Nairobi. The tension was high when supporters of Raila stood firm guarding the premise, and the Jubilee supporters charged to storm into Raila’S office.

Maina Kamanda

The leaders issued stern warnings promising severe repercussions on CORD supporters and their leaders should they continue with ‘destructive’ demos. “We will protect our empire at all costs, don’t awaken the silent majority,” Maina Kamanda is quoted saying.

On the 11th, Saturday, Raila held a rally in Kisumu and was marred with heat. Police were forced to shoot in the air to disperse the rowdy youths who had stormed Raila’s hotel in a bid to evict him. However, the efforts were repulsed, and he went ahead with the rally.

Later on, Bahati MP Kimani Ngunjiri led a group of weapon-wielding youths to disrupt Raila’s rally. The youths from the grapevines were bankrolled by the governor, Kinuthia Mbugua, and the Bahati MP.
The Bahati MP, in a recorded audio clip that went viral, is heard, calling for ejection of Luos from Nakuru. He argued that Luos in Kisumu destroyed their brothers(Kikuyu) hence they shouldn’t have space in Nakuru.

Elsewhere, in an estimated 60,000 crowd at Kasarani where celebrated and openly pro-Jubilee radio presenter for Kameme FM, Njogu Njuguna was celebrating his 15 years in service, Gatundu South MP Moses Kuria shocked the ground. In a speech he delivered in Kikuyu since the audience was entirely from Central, Kuria called for the assassination of Raila Odinga whom he terms as the country’s biggest problem.

Loosely translated Kuria said, “they want to stage a gunman tasked to murder Raila and then put the blame on me. Raila should be careful as he can still bite the bullet.” Amidst deafening cheering from the crowd, Kuria went on, “we won’t allow ourselves to be troubled by one person forever.

He can as well bite the bullet, and we bury him next Monday. His supporters will just throw stones for one week and life continues. If it’s the war that they want, it’s that they’ll get. Tell Raila he can bite the bullet.

Interestingly, the crowd at Kasarani that was loudly cheering Kuria as he delivered the assassination speech is primarily drawn from a religious background since a man of the day Njogu hosts religious shows and brands himself a man of God. The event was publicized as a prayer rally.

In a quick rejoinder, ODM MPs held a press conference where they threatened to mobilize and stage a one million match to police HQs if by Monday police would not have arrested Kuria following his remarks.

The MPS led by Suna MP, Junet Muhammed, and Timothy Bosire. They said even CORD members won’t keep silence if they feel threatened and will stand up to defend their interest’s whichever ways.

Nairobi’s ODM Chairman George Aladwa

Another ODM affiliated leader Aladwa is under police investigations following remarks he made in Kibera that should Raila’s votes are stolen in 2017, and people will have to die. As these leaders continue to spew venomous inciting, tribal hatred, warmongering speeches, their supporters are always in the background cheering.

What this is worrying is the cheers a confirmation of endorsements of such remarks. This should worry us more than what exactly is said; they speak the hearts of the majority. For Aladwa supporters they’re okay with shedding blood should Raila be rigged out and Ngunjiri’s safe with evicting Luos and so does Kuria’s happy with the assassination of RAILA.

Levels of tolerance continue to dwindle by the day, disintegration along tribal lines heightens. Kenya learned less or nothing from the 2007/8 PEV. NCIC, which CORD has dismissed as partisan and unfair in acting on hate speech, has not adequately prosecuted a single high profile hate speech case.

The war drums are getting louder and the big two, Uhuru and Raila are maintaining a resounding silence as their attack dogs continue to keep reckless stands.

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