It was bound to happen sooner rather than later. The superbly erudite and brilliant Pius Tawfiq Ababu Namwamba, the Honourable Member of Parliament for Budalang’i, has hit a brick wall in ODM.
Hon Ababu should take solace in the fact that he isn’t the first, nor will he be the last victim of the irrational, self-destructive and autocratic wrath of The Odinga Caliphate.
As long as Kenyan women continue to procreate, we will have courageous individuals who refuse to allow artificial stratifications, social caging and political usury by destructive Caliphates like the one currently being perpetuated by Raila Amolo Odinga, and his immediate and extended families.
Unlike most senior members of The Caliphate, Ababu is young, properly educated, certifiably articulate, charismatic and thoughtful. Over the years, he has demonstrated his abilities and superior intellect in and out of Parliament.
Unlike the rambling Oburu Odinga, the incoherent Raila, the perpetually inebriated Jakoyo Midiwo, or the incomprehensible Ruth Adhiambo, Ababu isn’t just precise and capable of holding complex discussions – he is an inimitable wordsmith.
Of course, Ababu has committed many unimaginable ‘crimes’. As an interloper in The Odinga Caliphate, he forgot that he isn’t allowed to dream. Typical of free spirits and those who aspire for greatness, Tawfiq’s unquestionable abilities, his proven tenacity and glorious ideals made him aspire for prominence within ODM.
He imagined that having earned his stripes – so to speak – through his loyalty, and by eloquently championing Raila’s cause before he had even made his maiden speech in the National Assembly in January 2008, he deserved to queue in line for transition.
With fiery and unmatched oratory, Ababu had refused to be sworn in as an MP (as previously planned by ODM), pointed a finger at former President Mwai Kibaki, and loudly stated that the person whom Kenyans had popularly elected as the President of the Republic was Raila Amolo Odinga and that it was to him that he would swear allegiance.
That was Ababu’s first fatal sin – (or should we simply call it a grievous error?)
As his oratorical flair soared, Ababu realised that his colleagues, who were supposed to join him in defying the Kibaki state machinery, had suddenly gone mute. He had been tricked, exposed and isolated.
The second major miscalculation would occur in 2011, after he took a principled stand in my defence at an ODM guillotine conclave that the Luo Paramount Chief had organised in order to concoct ‘reasons’ for my ill-fated suspension. Ababu had again forgotten that the guiding principle in The Caliphate is for everyone with proven ability, integrity and commitment to be culled before they either become ambitious or before the public recognises their innate qualities.
That was principally the reason why Hon Raphael Tuju, Prof PLO Lumumba and Dr Shem Ochuodho – before him, or for that matter, Nairobi Governor Dr Evans Kidero, Migori Governor Zackary Obado, former Siaya gubernatorial candidate William Oduol and many other popular candidates in Nyanza parliamentary, senatorial and gubernatorial races couldn’t be allowed to shine.
The Odinga Caliphate or the Orange Democratic Movement – as it is known in polite parlance – isn’t really a political party. It’s both a cult and a profit-making enterprise. (Cord’s Okoa Kenya Movement or other clever variants are tributaries of The Odinga Caliphate; not independent entities).
The Caliphate has two types of members: bona fide Odinga blood (which is the royalty or blue blood), who enjoys full rights; and special privileges over and above that of the interlopers, who are invited members with specific roles. While some of the interlopers are intended for colour, beautification and sprucing up of The Caliphate (so that it has a fake resemblance of the face of Kenya), others are recruited to provide financial, logistical and other resources.
Except for the royalty, all Caliphate members have designed roles. They are expected to be inducted into delirious worship of one man called Raila Amolo Odinga. In that state, the mind is supposed to be numb and unreflective. Any sign of thoughtfulness is punishable by a life-term ban, perpetual libel and ostracism.
But more importantly, to The Odinga Caliphate, ODM – like Ford, Ford-Kenya, LDP and NDP before them – is just an instrument for controlling Luo Nyanza politics and for earning the livelihood for the entire Odinga lineage.
ODM membership fees, special contributions by elected representatives, donations, annual subscriptions and particularly nomination fees during election cycles earn The Paramount Chief millions of shillings each month.
If you top it up by other irregular ‘contributions’ of governors, senators, drug lords, lobbyists, influence peddlers and legitimate enterprises eager to cash in just in case The Paramount Chief were to become president, then one can start seeing why retiring from politics isn’t on the cards.
Bear in mind also that there is more money to be made if The Paramount Chief is a presidential candidate. The kind of cash Mr Odinga attracts when he runs for president is like water flowing along the Amazon River.
Senior members of The Caliphate earn tens of millions on nomination fee collections during elections, apart from other deals on the side.
Prof Peter Anyang’ Nyong’o, therefore, is just a convenient malleable busy body at Orange House. He is useful to The Caliphate because he does whatever the blue bloods want. Something my comrade Ababu wouldn’t entertain.
Ababu frightened The Caliphate by shoving aside Agnes Zani – another malleable interloper. That was the final and most fatal sin he committed. Thus, when you hear blue bloods like Oburu and Jakoyo viciously attacking Ababu and portraying him as a Jubilee agent, then you must appreciate that Ababu must have threatened the economic lifeline of The Odinga Caliphate.
To Raila, Oburu and Jakoyo, ODM is nothing but a gravy train, which they intend to ride into perpetuity if they can. That explains why Raila has declared his candidature for the 2017 presidency. It’s also why the referendum is a life and death operation for The Odinga Caliphate.
It is what cults do – cause delirious excitement and make tonnes of money!
So, don’t give up, Ababu! I salute your courage and vision. You are not alone!
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Mr Miguna Miguna is a lawyer and author of Peeling Back the Mask: A Quest for Justice in Kenya and Kidneys for the King: Deforming the Status Quo in Kenya.
Source- the-star.co.ke
Activist Lawyer Miguna Miguna Salutes Ababu Namwamba
