Raila Odinga at UK's Chatham House. [Photo/ The Star]
When giving a public lecture at Chatham House in the UK over the weekend, Raila Odinga asked foreign powers to come to Kenya to intervene and offer mediation talks over a ‘crisis', just like they did in 2008. For starters, there is no crisis in the country. President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto have already made this clear. It appears that Raila’s motive in urging his supporters to stage violent anti-IEBC demos is to cause chaos and then pretend that the country needs foreign intervention to return to normalcy. Just like the Supreme Court ordered, the repeat presidential election is set for October 26 — well within the 60 days constitutional requirement — and 7 of the 8 candidates who took in the last general election have been welcome to contest again. Cyrus Jirongo, who was recently declared bankrupt, is, however, ineligible to compete. While in England, Raila met a former United Nations deputy secretary general — Lord Mark Malloch Brown — who was Kofi Annan’s assistant. Mr Annan will be remembered for coming to Kenya to mediate talks between Raila and former President Mwai Kibaki after the 2007 disputed general election. Just like in 2007, Raila has asked his supporters to be on the streets daily. At least 40 people have died in the process within the last two months alone. In 2007/08, more than 1,200 Kenyans lost their lives and half a million were displaced from their homes. All signs indicate that Raila buried his political career when he decided to abandon the elections. All other candidates are interested in challenging President Kenyatta. After October 26, Kenyans want to move on with their lives, following a pro-longed electioneering period, which has nearly crippled the economy. The people can’t wait to cast their votes and focus on their lives.