Miguna Miguna’s revelatory book ‘PEELING BACK THE MASK – A QUEST FOR JUSTICE IN KENYA’ was officially launched on Saturday. Infuriatingly the book does not contain an index, so to help Kenya Forum readers, here’s what Miguna had to say about Raila Odinga (with page references). Later today on the Forum, Miguna on the Odinga family, Ruto, post-election violence, Mudavadi, Sally Kosgei, Amos Wako, Kilonzo and more…

‘WARNING SIGNS’

These and other incidents, show a pattern of behaviour that, viewed together and over a period of time, depict a person who not only lacks administrative, managerial and leadership skills capable of steering the country to national cohesion, progress and prosperity; he also lacks ideological clarity, intellectual rigour and commitment to a progressive agenda for Kenya. In other words, Raila might have excelled as a rabble rouser and opposition leader; however, once he was placed in a position of responsibility where performance was easier to audit, his record triggered warning signs that could not be ignored.

‘RAILA HAD EFFECTIVELY BETRAYED EVERYONE…’

Once Raila had no use for someone, he discarded and forgot about them.

Raila has made a tradition of climbing over others bodies in his scramble to the top.

It is my contention that unknown to many Raila supporters, friends and compatriots, Raila had long discarded his fake ‘revolutionary’ attire and adorned Moi’s kleptomaniac ones.

It’s my observation that Raila loves money and power more that he loves anything else. In my assessment, he has never been interested in democratic governance for this country.

At the end of the day, Raila had effectively betrayed everyone and every significant constituency that had backed him in 2007.

DITHERING INCONSISTENCIES

What concerned me was the emptiness, the confusion and persistent lack of focus about and around Raila. I had had high hopes of the man. But once I had worked at close quarters with him, I felt underwhelmed. I was disappointed and tired of the constant dithering, inconsistencies, erratic reversals and goofs.

PNU hardliners knew that Raila was an unparalleled rabble rouser and mobiliser. Yes, he was lousy at the negotiating table. He was also a disaster in statecraft and administration. But what he lacked in governance skills, he made up for on the podium. Nobody in the history of Kenya’s multi-party democracy, could spur and incite a mob better than Raila. In another life he would have made a stellar trade unionist.

FLIP FLOPPER

… Raila had become quite confused: changing his mind more frequently than the rest of us change underwear.

… Raila had flip-flopped again and again on grave matters with national and international implications. By then, I was convinced that Raila wasn’t a leader. He couldn’t manage even a group of squirrels. [The Kenya Forum does query how anyone could manage a group of squirrels]

A FLAGRANT FRAUD

Raila might be very good (especially as a political comedian and conversationalist) at public rallies, roadside and funeral meetings, but he is disastrous in structured meetings. He is obviously a good listener. But he isn’t a good and organized leader, manager or administrator. He rarely delegates and when he does, it is often to the wrong people – people who are either incompetent or irredeemably corrupt, or both.

Those who criticized Kibaki for his so-called “hands off” management style, like this author, have found Raila’s style to be worse; it’s an “I don’t care attitude” couched in deception. It is greed, opportunism, selfishness and cynicism deceptively couched as “change”. In my view, a flagrant fraud is being perpetrated on the Kenyan people.