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Saturday August 6, marked the end of campaigns, to a two day break before Kenyans head to the polls. But the leading candidates ended it with a bang in the nation’s capital.
Azimio la Umoja flag bearer Raila Odinga and Kenya Kwanza’s William Ruto urged their supporters– one last time– to turn out on Tuesday to vote for them.
The weather was warm and friendly, setting the stage for the climax of the 2022 general election campaign that has been running for quite some time. Azimio’s loyals thronged Kasarani stadium while Ruto’s devotees flocked Nyayo stadium in a fiesta-kind-of campaign homestretch.
Odinga and Ruto recounted their past campaign experiences to remind the electorate that they had done what was humanly possible to preach their redemption message before narrowing it down to the clarion call of the day– please come out on Tuesday and vote (for us).
At Kasarani Sports Complex, Odinga sought to come out as the good, rare gem statesman who puts the nation before his interests and intimated he’ll put Kenya before his desire for the presidency, whichever way it goes Tuesday.
“I’ll continue with this handshake doctrine—the doctrine of unclenching the fist. For the sake of Kenya, I will shake the hand of my rivals and pay the political price if I have to. I will shake their hand if I win. And I will shake their hand if I don’t,” Odinga said.
Ruto couldn’t wait for a better moment to revert to Odinga. When he took to the podium to speak, he replied summarily, a clear indication he was following the Azimio event.
“I am ready to have a cup of tea with you after the August elections and agree on the role you will play, but I am not ready for the kind of arrangement you had with Uhuru,” Ruto said.
Odinga said he had shaken hands with former Presidents Moi and Kibaki in the past and now President Kenyatta to foster peace and harmony in the country.
“I’ll continue with this handshake doctrine—the doctrine of unclenching the fist. For the sake of Kenya, I will shake the hand of my rivals and pay the political price if I have to. I will shake their hand if I win. And I will shake their hand if I don’t,” Odinga said.
Odinga’s handshake with Kenyatta in 2018 is the most glorious, as it brought peace after the post-election rivalry soon after the 2017 polls. It also led to the collapse of the bromance between President Kenyatta and Ruto, his deputy. Ruto felt the reunion of Kenyatta and Odinga jeopardized his automatic ascent to the presidency.
Kalonzo Musyoka, the former vice president, beamed with hope beyond doubt that it was Odinga’s moment to lead and that no one could stop it.
“We have gone to all the corners and borders of this country; they say it is Raila. Therefore nobody, including you Chebukati, should try to steal Raila Odinga’s votes,” Musyoka said to the joy of the dancing crowd.
Odinga once again vouched for Martha Karua, her running mate, and slyly sought to justify why he settled on the formidable advocate to be Azimio’s number two.
“Fellow Kenyans, by voting in our next Deputy President, Madam Martha Wangari Karua, you will have a complete army to fight for you and our country.
“That is something you won’t find on the other side. There are neither fighters nor the fighting spirit on the other side,” the former premier said.
Odinga said that he and Karua we’re seeking the presidency to turn around Kenya’s economy and democracy to match those of the first world countries. He noted that the Azimio team has hope and opportunity for Kenyans, an opportunity that should not be squandered.
Odinga’s final campaign speech borrowed heavily from the Bible and Christian Hymns. He drew parallels and comparisons between the biblical travel from Egypt to Canaan.
“The long, dark night is almost gone, and the morning soon will break,” Odinga said.
“We are on the verge of a great victory. I, Raila Amolo Odinga, have seen Canaan, the land of milk and honey. The land of “No woman, No cry.” I have seen the Promised Land. The land of The Redemption Song,” he said, sounding like a blend of Martin Luther King Jr and Reggae legend Bob Marley.
King is widely remembered for his ‘I have a dream speech, which he delivered to thousands of people at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC in August 1963.
Odinga, charged by the cheering crowd in the stadium, reminded the nation of his role in bringing the multiparty democracy.
“I must also remind Kenyans that we started this struggle on Saba Saba Day, the 7th day of the 7th month of 1990,” he said.
“On that day, we declared that the walls of dictatorship must fall. The walls of corruption must fall. And the walls of impunity, injustice, and exclusion must fall,” Odinga added.
The ODM Party leader said that on Tuesday, Kenyans would get another chance to wrap up the struggle initiated on Saba Saba Day.
“I love this country so much that I will not participate in anything that undermines the Constitution of our motherland. That is how much I love the people, and I love my country, the Kenya we all belong,” Ruto said.
Odinga said he is the right person to lead the country as he has no reserve for bitterness and hatred like Ruto, his closest competitor, whom he termed a “warmonger who is a deviant and a convicted thief.”
Furthermore, the fifth-time presidential candidate reiterated that his government would make true his promise to give Ksh 6,000 monthly to poor Kenyans and told off those who were mocking the promise.
“If we could afford to pay Ksh800 billion to conmen, we can afford to pay a mere 6,000 shillings to known and real Kenyans struggling with life,” he offered.
Odinga wrapped up his speech with the final appeal to his followers to vote on the 9th of August.
“I need the vote of each and every one of you listening to me now. Let’s vote early. Let’s win early,” Odinga concluded.
Karua also added a voice to Odinga’s message saying, “Do not let this opportunity pass. It is too critical. We need a decisive first-round win,” Odinga urged his supporters.
While Odinga was addressing his supporters at Kasarani, 16 km away, William Ruto was also attending to his backers at Nyayo Stadium.
Ruto told his supporters it’s the Kenya Kwanza coalition that has a plan for the future of Kenya and urged them to ignore the Azimio coalition, which he said has “many stories about the past.”
Ruto and his supporters have dismissed Odinga’s experience as a political detainee and role in fighting for democracy.
Perhaps to cunningly shake off the power-hungry character that his competitors have associated him with, the Deputy President promised to uphold the Constitution of Kenya and act within the dictates of the law.
“I love this country so much that I will not participate in anything that undermines the Constitution of our motherland. That is how much I love the people, and I love my country, the Kenya we all belong,” Ruto said.
His vocal codes, body language, and spirit played ball so well, giving him the impetus to invoke God and speak out his heart again, the last time before the polls.
“The will of God is going to happen on Tuesday. We will prevail over the deep state. The system and the powerful will not stop us,” Ruto said.
Ruto and Kenya Kwanza have made an effort to paint their team as the Christian team favored by God. This view has drawn fire from the Azimio running mate Martha Karua, who has countered that Christianity is about action and not just words.
SEEKING DIVINE INTERVENTION
Karua quoted a popular gospel song that says not all hypocrites who call Jesus’ name all the time would enter heaven.
Like in the last few months, when Ruto has also spoken tough about stemming corruption, he promised to lead a country out of the vice and protect public resources.
“Your money will not be stolen. Corruption will not destroy your future. We are the only team that has a plan on fighting corruption. We are the only team that can dare fight state capture,” Ruto said.
He expressed his gratitude to Kenyans for steering clear of politics of ethnicity, trivialities, and personality cults that he said have characterized the previous elections.
“It is going to be a historic election. One that will confirm that it is the people who hire and fire governments. The people will confirm their centrality in elections. We have finally managed to eradicate ethnicity in politics,” he said.
In what seemed to be his unofficial parting shot with his boss, Ruto thanked President Kenyatta for what they achieved during their tenure as President and Deputy President.
“My brother President Uhuru Kenyatta, we worked and achieved so much together, but as fate would have it, you chose a different path. I wish you well as you go to retirement,” Ruto said.
Rigathi Gachagua, Ruto’s running mate, thanked their supporters for standing with them during the campaign period and asked them to ensure they kept their voting documents so they cast their votes on Tuesday.
“Don’t sell your ID cards. Don’t sell your future. Use them to vote. Tuesday is a very important day to redeem Kenya’s economy. It’s our responsibility to vote,” Gachagua said.
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