By Kiflu Hussain
The Monitor
Because, the way Mwai Kibaki came to the presidency in the first place is diametrically opposed to the other tyrants whom we hate to know in our region, coupled with his long record in public service, no one expected he would stoop this low.
Having heard the press conference of the four ECK commissioners preceded by Mr Kipkemoi Kirui who first exposed the alteration of poll tallies, I am inclined to believe that there is universal agreement by now that Kenya joined those African nations who squander millions of their national currencies on farcical elections. To make matters worse, Kenya which was considered an oasis of stability in the highly volatile region, surpassed all in violence and killing in just three days.
The worst violence which cost lives of 199 people due to election rigging took place in Ethiopia in 2005. Also the whole process in Kenya up to the infamous Kibaki’s swearing-in smacks of the Ethiopian vote rigging which to many of us Ethiopians is still a traumatic experience.
Of course, Ugandans too because of their contiguity to Kenya and their own fair share of sham elections may feel that the blueprint for rigging has been handed down to Kibaki from their home.
Whatever the case, election has been rigged, resource squandered, and lives have been lost. The way out of this quagmire is not by pampering another cheat and shying away from telling him the ugly truth.
Nor is it by trying to squash the legitimate grievance of a populace swindled out of its vote. Not so long ago, history has taught us that tyrants who scavenge ballot boxes also make sure to have a kangaroo court that dances only to their tune.
So, this unduly pressure on Raila Odinga, instead of Mwai Kibaki, to take the matter to court serves no purpose except pushing the last bastion of peace and stability in the region to the precipice.
Besides, Kenyan judiciary is notorious for flouting the cardinal principle of “justice delayed is justice denied.” Past election disputes are still dragging on. The Kenyan judiciary has shown no qualms when it pressed charges of murder recently against a poor fellow after imprisoning him for 18 years with no explanation (reported recently on BBC Network Africa).
Thus, let alone in Kenya where corruption is rife and has infected every segment of the society, even in America where the law is thought to be blind, partisanship reigned in Al Gore vs. Bush thereby earning the Rehnquist court a legacy called “In calendars we trust.” Also Kenya is not America where someone says “country before party” and walk away. Hence, if this latest joker is left alone there is no guarantee that he won’t be emboldened to lift the presidential term like his colleague in the vicinity.
All told, Raila Odinga is right when he said, “I will not go to court and I will not give Kenyans anesthesia. Rather, those who think their interest will be affected by the further instability and chaos of the region should bring down all their influence on Mwai Kibaki.”
The writer is an Ethiopian refugee in Uganda.
Watch the following press conference by Raila Odinga.
5 thoughts on “Kibaki joined Meles as ballot box thief”
As a regular reader and sometimes contributor to Ethiopian Review, which, by the way, was ridiculed as “Eritrean Review” by the Aiga website, I am not surprised, nor anyone who was following the pattern in the Horn of Africa surprised by what appears to be VOTE RIGGING exercise by another American modern day slave, Kibaki or whatever the hell his name is. I prefer to call him “goog magoog”. These people have long sold their soul to the devil which President Hugo Chavez has correctly identified “Il Diavolo”!. It is easy for me to dismiss the incident in which more than 300 people were mowed down unceremoniously, but, I believe there is some hope if Eritrea and Ethiopia work together to make some miracle in the Horn. It is happening in Eritrea in spite of the ganging of the US and its satellite nations. We need to get rid of the Weyane group (Kibaki’s murder mate) and hopefully have a democratic Ethiopia that would work hand and gloves with Eritrea for the betterment of our people. I am convinced such a possibility is just around the corner if we do not let Uncle Sam destroy of such possibility. It is up to us to make or break such a deal and what a sweet deal would that be to our PEOPLES.
Kenya’s killings between the Kikuyu and the Luo on behalf of Kibaki and Odinga is a prelude of what lays ahead for Ethiopia. The Kikuyu’s autocratic rule and oppression over the rest of Kenya’s population is the underlying cause of such arbitrary actions of a mob.
The people of Ethiopia were and still are subjected to the most brutal and cruel dictatorship led by Meles and Tigrean ethnic cohorts that has caused pain, misery and death to hundreds and thousands of Oromos, Amaras, Somalis, Agnuaks, Sidamas and others through the last 18 years.
It is this kind of injustice that will lead people to a breaking point where the minority Tigreans will end up paying the price for the crime of the Adwa thugs. People will neither foget nor forgive for the crime committed against them by Meles and his Tigrean accomplices.
The Kenyan election has nothing to do with ethnicity, as some people suggest. It is a political deficit that has come to light as a result of the election.
The mass protest by the Opposition was called following the election and it is obvious that there is genuine reason to believe that it is flaud and rigged. There are many indications for this.
1)The election result was announced later than the expected; Kibabki gave order for the result to be delayed,
2)The Attorney General recently has commented that the vote rigging allegation should be investigated and all the ballots counted;
3)The Election Commission also said it was put under pressure by Kibaki to delay the result and to declare Kibaki as a winner.
What more evidence do we need to verify that the Kenyan vote was stolen by Kibaki.
Whether or not the election was rigged and therefore robbed the winning chance from the opposition, I sincerely pray and hope that Kenyans will take a deep breath and find a way to safe their country from going into civil war.
People in the Horn of Africa and Great Lakes are somehow less fortunate even in African standards as they either endured outright vicious civil wars (Somalia, Rwanda, Brundi and Zaire, to a lesser scale (Sudan and Uganda) or lived through ruthless dictatorship regimes such as current and Ethiopian regimes.
Since their independence, though never shared equally by all its citizens, Kenyans enjoyed relative peace and prosperity: something alien to the rest of the region.
It,therefore, sad to witness Kenyans massacring one another and thousands or even millions of them becoming destitute refugees with all its implications and joining others in the region in the refugees camps lining up for hand outs.
It will be shame and disheartening.
Let this be a lesson for all Ethiopians who cry or cried FRAUD,and for those who died for nothing since Meles played smart and threw the opposition leaders in jail. EVERYTHING STOPPED!!!
KETENEKOLU AYFERU!
Kenyans are showing to be a little different and there is no way of stopping them until Kibaki leaves office.
GO KENYANS!! PLEASE SHOW THEM HOW IT’S DONE!