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WHY Miguna Miguna’s FAKE Donald Trump Strategy Will Not Work in Nairobi

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By Jackson Omondi
His performance on JK Live was a punchy concoction of Trumpism packaged in an Obama-esque caricature that his intended audience will pick apart for what it was – highfalutin verbiage with no meat.

The five dollar words and expressions, the dismissive mien, the faux visceral connection, the fabulation and flatout incorrigible comportment. This was a case of a bellicose individual channeling his inner Bill Clinton with the “I feel your pain” Clintonian signature narrative.

Is it going to work? The simple answer is a resounding NO. He wants to be Governor of Nairobi because he believes that his opponents are either corrupt or downright unqualified. In vintage form, he cavalierly dismisses his opponents in a manner that mirrors the Donald. A demeaning, narcissistic and megalomaniac fashion reminiscent of his political idol – but he doesn’t expressly say it.

But it doesn’t take a genius to infer that underneath the bullying and the casual tough talk, there is a clear parallel between his style and the Republican presumptive nominee’s. The Donald, bullied his way to the nomination with sheer vile and kindergarten take-downs because he tapped into the hatred and anger of a fraction of the American electorate. The same can’t be said about the Kenyan voters.

Money talks. In fact, in Kenya, big money talks. Miguna falsely theorizes that Nairobi voters are hungry for leadership that is devoid of colossal campaign financing. And to drive his point home, he heads to the archives of University politics where he dusts up his student leadership race in which he spent nearly nothing and emerged victorious! Tell that to Babu Owino’s multi-million shilling SONU campaigns! Times have changed but Miguna still lives in the days of yore.

To those who might be eating, this is the time to swallow your bites. He goes on to compare himself to Obama! Citing Obama’s stint as a community organizer, he told Nairobians that like Obama, who had nothing and still meteorically rose to the highest seat in the universe, he is well suited to take a stab at the Nairobi gubernatorial seat with nominal resources.

Of course, he wouldn’t be MM if he didn’t slide in the name of his former boss-turned political punching bag RAO. Using RAO’s frugal nature, he drew a parallel between his would-be campaign with RAO’s presidential campaigns in which, he avered that RAO spends meagre currency. Never mind that all RAO’s presidential campaigns have been fully funded. One can argue on the nature and depth of the expenditure but there is no doubt that one can’t mount a serious presidential campaign without funds.

While it was great (for a CORDASHIAN like me) to see him walk over Jubilee’s menu of political Lilliputians gunning for Kidero’s seat, MM’s Trumpism cannot and will not work in Nairobi. I can bet money that Kidero’s political braintrust will not lose sleep over what they saw at Kempinski.

Here was a man waxing about mounting a gubernatorial campaign with nonexistent resources while his would-be competitors are busy hoarding vast largesse in readiness for the big dance! And to brag about political prowess and aptitude that “placed” RAO in executive leadership while the whole world knows that he was relegated to a handyman and later shown the door is a glaring oxymoron as it gets.

Furthermore, any politically savvy operative knows better than to dismiss a man who emerged third in total votes cast. I am no Sonko supporter but I am aware that he got over 800,000 votes in the last general elections. He got more than Musalia MUDAVADI who was a presidential candidate!

Unless the tough talking, sabre-rattling, self proclaimed political aficionado knows something that we don’t, his campaign looks alot like a trip to the good old political dustbin because there is no way, such a character can put together a meaningful stab at the Nairobi Governor’s mansion.

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