Somewhere in the hotbed of (fill in the blank) or “shithole”, Raila Amolo Odinga (and other members of Africa’s beleaguered opposition fraternity – Morgan Tsvangirai (Zimbabwe), Kizza Besigye (Uganda), Diane Rwigara (Rwanda), Tundu Lissu (Tanzania) etc.) are either gleefully dancing to some back-breaking Ohangla song (or preferred national dance style) or they are simmering in absolute frustration.
Raila Odinga, someone I have written about in the past as a consistent voice in Kenya’s fight against “shitholetitis”, found an unusual ally in Donald J. Trump in his fight against corruption and impunity.
With Trump’s recent missives against incompetence- and corruption-induced living conditions in Africa (and Haiti), the doyen of opposition politics in Kenya is either tossing back a handful of “ondelo” (Luo for popcorn) and washing it down with a glass of Del Monte or bottle of Dasani even as he smiles and says “ase bedo kawacho nu that corruption and incompetence is responsible for the dire conditions most citizens live in and what do I hear in response? That I will nefa be president. Now look!” (I have been telling you that corruption and incompetence is responsible.....)
Frankly if I was advising the man, I’d have allowed him a couple of days of schadenfreude. I would have also joined Raila in embracing a truism “finally” out on blast thanks to the global megaphone of the American presidency i.e. Donald Trump’s characterization that Africa, and by extension Kenya, is a “shithole”.
On the other hand, RAO might be tearing off the remaining gray strands of his hair while tossing back a stiff “Johnnie ma Wuotho” (Johnnie Walker scotch) wondering why it had to come to this. Why it had to be the now-universally reviled Donald Trump pointing out, in the crudest way possible, the truth everyday Africans know only too well:
That their lives and living conditions are truly deplorable – really!
Let’s set aside the very obvious parasitic and extractive relationship America, Britain, the west writ large and now China have had and continue to have with African countries; relationships that line the pockets/bank accounts of the continent’s ruling class while creating the very conditions Donald Trump characterized in such colorful language.
Even more specific to Trump’s America, let’s set aside what Daily Nation’s Rasna Warah points out: That “had it not been for the trans-Atlantic Slave Trade and the free labour provided by Africans, America would not have become a wealthy nation and there would be fewer blacks living there.”
Let’s also set aside the very racist and bigoted nature of Trump’s characterization. It is now obvious to all, except the 35-40% that would continue to support him even if he stood in the middle of 5th Avenue and shot someone, that the man is a racist and xenophobic bigot.
Put aside the patently segregationist and white supremacist timbre of the man’s comment as reflected in his immigrants of choice – Norwegians. To be clear, said preference is a window into his ideal immigration policy.
Finally, let’s set aside the ironic and laughable idea that people from a society that has one of the world’s best social safety net (Norway) would board a plane and come to a society (America) whose leader and legislature have been hell-bent on removing the remaining vestiges of basic healthcare and welfare support for those who need it most.
The fact is Raila has spoken out against the grand corruption and impunity that have combined to create the conditions that should not be commonplace in Kenya and most African countries – all entering their sixth decade of independence.
And no, Raila Odinga has never been Kenya’s chief executive nor is he “as white as cotton” – the latter a straw-man re: his corruptibility his critics saddle him with so as to make tearing him down that much easier.
In fact, his role as Prime Minister in the Coalition Government of 2008 i.e. the “Nusu Mkate” (half a loaf) Government was and continues to be relentlessly ridiculed by his detractors and political opponents alike. The fact is Raila’s role in creating and/or exacerbating the condition/s that prompted Trump’s slur has been unwittingly and fortuitously limited and impeded – by the same detractors and political opponents.
I’d even offer that RAO’s comparatively limited role in grand corruption and impunity (when compared to Kenya’s presidents – past and present) is what has provided him the moral underpinning on which to base his statement against Donald Trump’s racist comments.
Somehow, I am not surprised that Uhuru Kenyatta, the self-described Pan-Africanist and arbiter of what constitutes Kenya’s national pride, has remained curiously mum even as the rest of the world and the African Union (AU) have collectively cried foul over Trump’s comment.
Could it be because the incompetence of his Jubilee government on matters of incorruptibility and good governance is responsible for exacerbating the “shithole” Donald Trump crudely called out?
Maybe Kenyans should have heeded Raila’s warnings.
Maybe African government should have heeded their respective oppositions.