Monday, the
12 of March 2012 - Raila’s statement last week saying he wants Uhuru and Ruto behind bars
because they are facing serious charges of crimes against humanity at the ICC is
in itself surprising since this comes from a man who has kept
uncharacteristically mum over the issue ever since the two were charged. What
is more surprising than that though is that the PM was able to change the news
cycle in Kenya without even being in the country.
And it wasn’t just any story that he dislodged from the headline spot
either. The top story in the country at the time was Kibaki’s revelation that
he wouldn’t be calling for elections at the end of the year but would instead
do so early next year as per the constitutional court’s ruling on the matter.
Now that is not to say that Raila intentionally released the statement so
as to change the news cycle from Kibaki’s decision to stay a bit longer as
president, no, just suggesting that as long as we are looking for reasons for
why Raila would suddenly turn so combative against Ruto and Uhuru - who have
been making subtle and not so subtle hints at rallies that he is to blame for
their woes for months now – we might as well consider this as a plausible one.
That said though, Raila’s sudden harsh statements mark a turning point in
the race to State House. The gloves are now off and we might hear even tougher
campaign talk from the candidates as the race heats up.
Raila’s statement was precipitated by a debate in parliament last week
that revolved around a British diplomatic cable that had allegedly been
intercepted. The document purported to say that
British authorities were allegedly putting plans in place to arrest
president Mwai Kibaki for his role in the 2007 violence together with Uhuru and
Ruto.
British officials have said that the document is patently false since it
has some atrocious spelling mistakes and grammar errors that could not have
been made by a native speaker of the language.
As we welcome this new twist, all we know is that it is going add spice
in an already tasty political month.
This may promise more attacks to and from Raila.
The Kenyan DAILY POST
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