Nominated MP Oburu Oginga. [Photo/ zip.co.ke]
News that NASA flag bearer Raila Odinga and his running mate Kalonzo Musyoka had pushed for their immediate family members for top state jobs are could not come at a more perfect time. This is the time that Kenyans are keenly scrutinising the leaders who want to be trusted with the responsibility of running the affairs of the country. Many Kenyans, even those that openly support the NASA coalition, are very upset that Raila Odinga used his ODM party to have his brother, nominated MP Oburu Oginga, be part of a team representing Kenya at the East Africa Legislative Assembly (EALA)What is also surprising is that former Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka, Raila’s running mate under the NASA ticket, also used his Wiper party to have his firstborn son, Kennedy Musyoka, occupy the coveted EALA slot. After public uproar, even among diehard NASA and pundits in the media, the two have decided to withdraw their candidate for the two posts. “Dr Oginga formally declined this offer last week and instead asked the party to give priority to one of those whose nominations were shot down by Jubilee last time,” Raila Odinga’s spokesman, Dennis Onyango, said on Sunday evening. Mr Oburu, a long-serving MP, lost in the recent ODM primaries for the Bondo MP’s seat. He now claims he will use his time to campaign for Raila presidential candidature. Considering that Raila and Kalonzo have accused President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto of not being inclusive enough in their administration, it hard for them to explain how they chose their immediate family members when they had an opportunity to be more accommodating in their job offers.Since old people don’t wake and suddenly change their habits, does this mean Raila and Kalonzo, if they win the August election, will fill their government with all of their relatives? It is hard to argue otherwise given what they have shown us. The last-minute withdrawal of the candidatures of 74-year-old Oburu and Kalonzo’s rookie son was, at best, a public relations exercise meant to save the images of the NASA ticket.