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DP William Ruto during the July 26, 2022 presidential debate at the Catholic University of Eastern Africa, Nairobi on July 26, 2022. /CFM

Fifth Estate

Raila didn’t lose anything by skipping the presidential debate

Kenyan politics is not for the faint-hearted. The Azimio supremo, Raila Odinga doesn’t show up for the debate and it’s a field day for his main rival to hog prime time on national TV. The debates gave us the many facets of the DP and the post debates pundits are unanimous on the fact that none did him any good. He contradicted himself on serious national issues, exonerated the handshake as the genesis of some of the problems he has bandied around as handshake problems and painted the picture of both hero of the masses and a victim of insurmountable powers. The attendant meltdown and wanton attacks on President Uhuru Kenyatta is symptomatic of a post-debate period and a lead-up to the elections that he did not envision.

What should worry him though after the debate, however, is fact that we are on the home stretch, and he failed to convince his supporters that he is poised to win. He lost the best opportunity to speak of his candidature’s infallibility; of a politician who has been on the political campaign trail, but has the mien of a president and the decorum of a national leaders. He lost that opportunity to consolidate support base and woe the undecided.

Instead of inspiring confidence, like his running mate he slid to blame game and attack on individuals who were not on stage to respond. These are not stuff that would endear him to anyone who expected a solid and well thought out articulation of what his presidency would look like. It is safe to argue that his team failed him by allowing him to resort to lamentations, victimhood, attack on President Kenyatta, reference to his competitor as an unworthy competitor and a host of fake statistics to whip emotions. He was out of breath on simple facts like KRA VAT collections and bandied lofty figures that a simple Google search falsifies. He exaggerated taxes on fuel and easily gave figures to shock and evoke emotions not knowing that we live in a world of fact checkers, and it is embarrassing to a presidential candidate to be perpetually on such a lane riding of alternative facts and political expedient rhetoric.

Sometimes in a political contest, because that is what elections are all about, you earn respect and admiration by hoisting your rival as a worthy competitor, respectful national leader whose presence in the contest is good for the contest. This elevates you to well poised position pushes your candidature to another level, but his advisors failed him on this. Senator John McCain and Barrack Obama did it in 2008, Raila Odinga did it in 2013 in his closing remarks and gave President Uhuru Kenyatta who was his main competitor back then a glowing tribute.  In fact, Raila Odinga, in 2013, absolved President Uhuru Kenyatta from unfair attacks on issues that other candidates raised in the debate.

The clincher of the straw that probably did the Deputy President in is the condescending attitude he appeared to have demonstrated towards the moderators. He had the opportunity to charm Kenyans, but instead he gave Kenyans a reason to dig deep and with revelations coming out after the debate, every word he said, his body language, false starts and responses have been under scrutiny. Unflattering aspersions on the moderators who did an amazing job with their grounding in research and sharp questions that many agree were well thought out rightly elicited reactions most of which claim that the candidate was alone but lost to excellent journalism. Nonetheless, he gave Kenyans more of what his candidature and his temperament is all about and come August 9, 2022 Kenyans will decide.

Away from the presidential debate, the electioneering period is heading to the home stretch, and President Kenyatta is winding down his reign in style. He will probably go down in history as the president who has revolutionised our infrastructural landscape big time. The road network has seen tarmac road coverage increase six times as his government has put in more than 11,000 KM of solid road network. Data shows that this is more than all the three previous republics combined and he has crowned it all with the Express Way.

Critics say The Express Way has come 20 years ahead of time and the cost benefits of that cannot be gain said. It has lessened congestion on the normal road and for those who use the Express Way, the convenience and efficiency is traded for the toll fee while for other Kenyans who use the normal road, the combination of the enhanced commuter trains and reduction in numbers on the normal road has occasioned less congestion and traffic. In fact, unknown to many Kenyans the Central Railway Station has subways and many Kenyans who have not used the commuter train get shocked when they get to the train stations. The efficiency, the clean trains have made the commuter train a preference for many of the Nairobi working class. While COVID-19 restricted movement at the height of the pandemic, the infrastructure for the Nairobi commuter rail got an upgrade. Today hundreds of Kenyans from various parts of the Nairobi metropolis enjoy cheap, efficient, reliable, and fast commuter services.

But without a doubt one of President Uhuru Kenyatta’s landmark legacy projects has to be Uhuru Gardens. The historic garden that our founding fathers identified as the site for independence celebrations, stands as a conspicuous architectural masterpiece and cultural historical melting pot. A monumental garden where the Union Jack came down as Kenya hoisted its flag, Uhuru Gardens had been turned to a den of everything bad for a progressive society and was on the verge of being grabbed until the President stepped in.  As he winds down his ten-year reign he leaves behind a rich repertoire of legacy projects. From infrastructure that the next president will definitely find as a solid anchor to change the lives of Kenyan, to uniting Kenyans and showing all and sundry that this country deserves leadership from all communities that form the nation Kenya, but the clincher and the most ensuring has to be the Uhuru Gardens. This historic garden is today a monument of beauty where history and modernity; harmony and elegance; ethnic diversity and rich celebration of diversity stands tall as a stark reminder of how such a great park that is poised to serve generation and generations to come would have been lost to unscrupulous people, we call leaders.

Le 63 lounge and Restaurant had some historical allusions, but only in name because the intention was to put one leg in and create a pathway for commercialism. Critics have argued that the commercialisation of a public park was essentially a recipe for eventual grabbing of the historic garden. Museum galleries, public spaces for leisure, historical and cultural artifacts and the historical information of the Kenyan ethnic communities will put our next generation in a better space to look back and build on our past, celebrate our diversity and build a stronger cultural nationalism.

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The author is a PhD Candidate in Media Studies and Political communication.

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