Former Mombasa Senator Hassan Omar with President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto. [Photo/Tuko]
In recent weeks, there has been a mass exodus of key NASA leaders to the Jubilee Party. Which begs the question: why is EVERYONE running away from Raila Odinga?Over the weekend, former Wiper Party secretary general Hassan Omar declared his support for the re-election of President Uhuru Kenyatta, dealing a huge blow to NASA candidate Raila, who lost by more than 1.4 million votes in the August general election. The defection of Omar, a former senator for Mombasa County, is likely to change the political landscape at the Coast and beyond, in favour of Jubilee, since the ex-student leader has the support of millions of young NASA supporters. Former Taita Taveta Governor John Mruttu, an ODM member, has also withdrawn his support for Raila, revealing that he is now on the Jubilee train — ahead of the October 26 repeat polls. Mruttu has vowed to campaign for President Kenyatta at the Coast. He accused Raila of failing to support him. Immediately after Raila lost to President Kenyatta, former Bomet Governor Isaac Rutto, then a NASA principal, dumped the opposition for Jubilee, saying he had been lonely supporting Raila. Days later, PNU party leader joined NASA as a principal, for less than a week, and returned to Jubilee to campaign for the re-election of the president. The above defections are just a few examples among hundreds of NASA leaders who are running away from Raila. We are yet to see any Jubilee loser decamp to Raila. The few leaders remaining in NASA seem so ashamed of supporting Raila, that they do not want to identify with or accompany the ODM leader to public events. They have largely kept off the anti-IEBC demos. Raila now appears to be a lone ranger, especially after his efforts to use a judicial coup were badly exposed and nabbed at the bud. He has run out of options. In the meantime, Kenyans can’t wait for October 26 to cast their votes once again, and move on from the extended electioneering period. The country has been at a standstill, with many businesses suffering the stalemate.