Has the West abandoned Raila...

[SIZE=6]Has the West abandoned Raila for calling street protests?[/SIZE]
By Daud Osman
Published: Oct 29th 2017 at 10:29, Updated: Oct 29th 2017 at 10:31

https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/images/sunday/fivwdduvqjylsrir7d59f582e48501c.jpg
American Ambassador to Kenya Robert Godec with other ambassadors briefs the media after meeting IEBC commissioners at the bomas of Kenya on 2nd September 2017 [PHOTO: DAVID GICHURU STANDARD]
[SIZE=3]SUMMARY[/SIZE]
Foreign observer missions gave the August 8 elections, which was nullified, a clean bill of health

Diplomats, including British Foreign Minister Boris Johnson and EU president Jean-Claude Juncker, urged the NASA leader to rejoin the race but he refused to budge.

The last two weeks have been a diplomatic nightmare for National Super Alliance (NASA)leader Raila Odinga as he seemed to lose his allies in the West.

But the writing has been on the wall since the Supreme Court ruled on September 1 that the August 8 General Election, in which incumbent Uhuru Kenyatta was declared winner, had been bungled. The court nullified the election and ordered a fresh one which took place last Thursday.

Raila and NASA trained their guns on international observers who had given the election a clean bill of health. They had choice words on the missions, including the one from the Carter Centre in the US led by former Secretary of State John Kerry, the African Union mission led by former South African President Thabo Mbeki and the European Union mission.

The relations between Raila’s alliance and the West deteriorated further when they indirectly accused the US ambassador to Kenya, Robert Godec, of kow-towing to the Jubilee government in order to push for business deals for American companies.

Create a crisis

This was after it emerged that an American firm, Bechtel International Inc, had been awarded a multi-billion shilling project to construct the 473km high-speed expressway between Nairobi and Mombasa.

Things seem to have hit rock-bottom, following the NASA leader’s withdrawal from the repeat presidential election on October 9 and worsened by the High Court ruling the following day reinstating Ekuru Aukot as a presidential candidate.

While it had been assumed Raila’s withdrawal from the race would create a crisis, leading to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to postpone the election, the inclusion of Aukot plus all the other candidates threw the NASA leader’s plans to a mess.

Frantic efforts were made by his allies to convince him to get back to the race while some of the issues he had raised were addressed.

The diplomats also reached out to President Kenyatta to implore him not to sign into law the new election laws seen to seal all the loopholes the Supreme Court used to nullify his August 8 election.

Raila’s departure to London soon after his withdrawal ostensibly to explain his reasons for quitting the presidential race at a meeting in Chatham House presented an opportunity for the diplomatic pressure to be sustained.

According to the reputable Indian Ocean Newsletter, Donald Trump’s Secretary of State Rex Tillerson implored the NASA leader to end his demonstrations demanding the resignation of several IEBC officials.

Similarly, British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson urged Raila to take part in the election. Raila used the London trip to meet some British officials and explained reasons for his withdrawal to a meeting at Chatham House.

Also joining the fray to ask the NASA leader to rejoin the race was the president of the European Union Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, and his African Union counterpart Moussa Faki Mahamat.

However, the newsletter reports that Raila refused to budge and instead accused Western countries of being partisan and favouring his rival, Kenyatta.

Unlike in the 2007/08 post-election dispute that pitted Raila against former President Mwai Kibaki, the West has been reluctant to demand for talks between Kenyatta and the NASA leader.

During the dispute in which at least 1,300 Kenyans were killed and more than 600,000 displaced after Raila disputed the re-election of Kibaki, top diplomats flew to Nairobi to nudge both sides to go to the negotiation table.

The US president at the time George W Bush even dispatched his Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice to Nairobi to push the two sides to end the violence that was quickly spreading. Others who rushed to Nairobi to talk to Raila included current South African vice-president Cyril Ramaphosa and then Tanzanian President Jakaya Kiwete.

Centre of negotiations

Indeed, it was the West that got the two sides to settle on former United Nations Secretary-General Koffi Annan as the chief negotiator.

At the time, Raila was at the centre of the negotiations as the West wooed him and his coalition, which included William Ruto and Musalia Mudavadi. However, things seem to have changed drastically to the extent that no top diplomat has been to Nairobi despite the worsening political situation.

Last week, as the country moved closer to the October 26 date, the tone of the diplomats from the countries that had cajoled and nudged him to enter into negotiations 10 years ago, had changed.

Reading a statement from 20 of his colleagues, including the 28-nation European Union, the US ambassador called on the political rivals to unite to allow a credible election take place.

It was telling that the statement came hours after IEBC officials were attacked in Kisumu while on training. Raila’s sister Ruth Odinga and Kisumu Senator Fred Outa have been charged in court over the attack.

The diplomats said they had been working behind the scenes to encourage Raila to rejoin the race without success.

Mr Godec said the IEBC had made some efforts to ensure a credible election, including staff changes and technical processes, and urged the NASA flag-bearer and his running mate Kalonzo Musyoka to take part in the poll.

The statement was endorsed by Australia, Austria, Belgium, Britain, the Czech Republic, Denmark, the European Union, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United States.

The envoys also used the opportunity to advise Raila and the IEBC to use courts to resolve any disputes, saying Kenya’s current challenges must be found in its Constitution, not outside it.

By the time the NASA leader hit the road to western Kenya to mobilise his base to boycott the Thursday vote, relations between him and his Western allies had completely broken down.

It was reported that a senior envoy in Nairobi, presumed to be Godec, had been blocked from accessing him through telephone or in person.

Bereft of his Western allies, Raila must be feeling isolated. They have been a good source of finances for his campaign. Have they abandoned him? In the past when the cold war existed, one would have expected Raila to look East. But that route was sealed with the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.

[SIZE=1]Summary. [/SIZE]

Icc is calling

The Fall is tht loud

48 laws of power ~know when to quit

Even the police are no longer shooting at their supporters
[MEDIA=twitter]923960712300515328[/MEDIA]

:D:D:D:D:D:D

The west has not had a return on investment for more than a Decade for backing Odinga. They had to play “neutral” while on their way to kiss UhuRuto’a ass.

:D:D:D

It seems that kila mtu lazima apige magoti aseme tuko pamoja. The west is tired of waiting for RAO to take leadership and have no choice but woe the duo for a piece action as China influence in the country/region cannot be ignored.

haha hadi wazee bana. how humiliating hadi unasikia makarao wakicheka then one follows them closely behind like one would do when playing with a child. Makarau wame friend-zone protestors bana :D:D

Heheh. :D:D:D:D:D

:D:D:D

“The statement was endorsed by Australia, Austria, Belgium, Britain, the Czech Republic, Denmark, the European Union, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United States.”

This was the longest paragraph I read. Such a long list of endorsements.

It also says counter every bold move with an even bolder one.
Also says use surrender to recover.
But the trick is to know which to use and when. Wisdom is key to making such decisions.

Si I thought chupilee’s butt is sparkling clean from thorough asslicking administered by the Chinaman and the Indian :confused:

an ass can never be too clean murume

My thinking is angling more towards a cloak and dagger these Mûthûngûs are using. Kina Hustler need to be even more careful. They supported Morsi only to feed him to El sisi. Could they be trying to prep a king from the shadows.

With the leverage from the East, I do not think they can ever regain the immense influence they had in the past. Egypt is held by the balls by the West. Its military is almost wholly dependent on the West Military AID. Then find time to read on their Oil deals with the Israelis that is anchored on the peace treaty. Scenarios are very different. While at it, watch this

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pk1WXwPJzwg

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“Mtu wetu” syndrome will never let them try anything fishy. Kennia is truly a unique place and in a good way.

This is that arrogance that we don’t need. Even from me, mkale, sikubali. Tuwe watulivu.