By G Oguda
I support Martha Karua in whatever move she makes to return to the politics of this country. She should never have contested for the Presidency in 2013, this parliament needed people like her to improve the quality of debates coming through.
The reason I do so is threeforld;
One. Martha is steel in it’s purest form. She is no bullshitter, takes you down without fear and returns fire with fire. She was the ‘only man in PNU’ when Kibaki needed foot-soldiers to defend his turf that time when Kenya was about to start burning. When you are going to war and your infantry division is wilting in the heat of opposition fire, you need Martha Karua in the leading pack. You saw the damage she did inside that KICC hall when ODM was coming down hard and Samuel Kivuitu was almost burning his fuse. She did wrong in helping Kibaki rig the 2007 vote but you cannot question her resolve to fight for a course she believes in; and that is one currency in politics you don’t just buy off the shelves. Martha Karua is the closest we shall come to having a benevolent dictator, and we need one like yesterday.
Two. The one thing I love about Martha Karua is that she is her own person. She needed no one to hold her hand for her to burst into the political scene, and when we finally knew her name, she made sure she remained true to type. Martha is not hypocritical. When she sided with those who rigged our vote she did so with a straight face. She owed no one an apology, she was doing what was right in her books, back then. You cannot say that of Kalonzo Musyoka or Moses Mudavadi – those who want to please everyone with every decision they make you’d think they are running to be the head of a Buddhist Monastery.
This country is replete with folks who are afraid of following their conviction because they fear being judged, or they fear failing, or they fear fear itself. Martha Karua takes a position and sticks to it. It may be the wrong position with the benefit of hindsight, but how could anyone improve if they did not burn their fingers and learnt to do better? All of us agree that corruption is killing this country, but people are afraid to make it to the streets because they fear being marked by the bosses and losing their jobs as a result. When Martha was in Parliament, she served you the truth raw and hard. She never cared she was making enemies with the opposition group. When you speak your mind, you free yourself off cowardice and prepare to live with the consequences whatever they are. Martha is a better leader now because she refuses not to make mistakes. You cannot say that about those other ones who want to please the whole world.
Three, and most importantly, is the Uhuru Kenyatta succession politics.
I am no political scientist, but you can clearly see the return of Martha Karua to Central Kenya politics is part of the board games the Uhuru axis have started playing as they prepare post-2017. Many have been questioning what plans Central Kenya have after Uhuru serves his two terms in 2022. You were answered when Peter Kenneth trooped back to start warming by the sidelines. Then Martha announced today she is returning to Kirinyaga to clear the cobwebs and work up the bases again.
The House of Mumbi have been stunned by William Ruto’s meteoric rise to power. There is no stopping that hustler from Kamagut, anyone who underestimates this William Ruto must be advised to start waking up to a cold reality. It will take something of a catastrophe, of monumental proportions, to stop William Ruto from becoming President in 2022. And that is why Martha Karua has to return now. If there is one Kenyan who can take on William Ruto pound-for-pound to the last mile, that person is Martha Karua, bar none. Central Kenya knows it, and that is why they are chuffed at her coming back to offer the necessary ammunition going forward. You will start hearing more of those Karua vs Ruto punch-ups.
When Karua opens her gloves for combat, and especially if the guy in the Blue corner is one who has too many skeletons in his closet like William, then you know we have a fight of our lives. They want to see whether they can tame William Ruto before he runs out of control. They must start doing it now. And they need the Martha Karua of 2008 to lead their line.
I am happy about Martha Karua’s return because anyone who takes on William Ruto should be our friend. I don’t know about you, but I fear a William Ruto presidency with all my nerves. This short time he has been Deputy President has made me struggle to like the man any bit. I admire his charisma to rise to the top, but I fear he might be worse than President Moi, and we need to do something about it before he morphs into another Donald Trump.
Welcome back Martha. Kindly do your thing.
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