Friends,
On the 26th November 2012, Kenyans will be treated to a live Presidential Debate on all the 8 TV Channels and the 32 FM Stations in the Country. This is something we are all looking forward to, because, it will help us understand our leaders more clearly.
In the past, we have been treated to our leaders saying something today and when night comes, they are saying something different.
As a precursor to this great debate, I have taken very keen interest on Talk Shows that feature any of the Presidential Candidates. I am always very keen on what they say and their body mannerism. For at times, the body language speaks loud and clear as well.
I have also been very keen on how our host Journalists handle such shows- the questions they ask and their grip of our History. Many tend not to have any grip on our recent History, more so political History.
Yesterday, I was treated to such an episode when our Presidential Aspirant, the ever Green William Samoei Ruto was hosted at Agenda Kenya at NTV in the night. You cannot ignore Ruto anymore in Kenya, for the man is sharp, articulate and robust. But I learnt, he can also lie.
He was asked about his position regarding the clamour; Let us not be Vague, let us go to the Hague. And he said, he was all along for a Local Tribunal. He was playing politics with this show and I would have wanted a clip of him advocating for the Hague Option played for him. Here was a promising leader lying to a TV audience. In developed Democracies, this could easily have costed him his Presidential bid. We cannot have a lair for a President!
Again, he was asked about his role in the infamous Youth for Kanu '92 and he denied having ever been the Organizing Secretary. He instead said he was just a choir member in the Team and his brief was to sing Kanu yajenga Nchi. And he is happy that they did some good singing and Kanu won. Again, he was being economical with the truth on this matter, for these are matters in the public domain.
We have hosted Hon William Ruto in one of The Clean-up Campaigns in Eldoret and I must admit, Hon Ruto is a brain we need in Kenya. He is a bold politician and he can address some of the issues that bedevil this Country head on. But what message is he relaying to his Friends and Supporters when he lies about things we all know?
Issues like having advocated for the Hague Option are not issues to be denied. He could just have accepted his role in the Hague Option and indicated that the times then were such that Hague looked the best option. One can change his thought process on an issue and it is no sin to accept that he has since changed his thoughts on the Hague Option.
The Interview at Agenda Kenya helped expose Hon William Ruto as a lair. And this does not portend well with his bid for the Presidency. We want to look for leaders who stand with what they have said in the past, and if you have to shift your position, it is better to accept that your earlier position on the same was wrong. That is leadership. It will not cost you any votes. It will instead strengthen you as a leader, for it will prove that you are as mortal as all of us.
Good Governance is the 3rd Pillar of The Clean Kenya Campaign, and as such, we are very keen with what our leaders say and do. We will hence appreciate leaders who stick to the truth, who conform to Chapter 6 of our Constitution on Integrity and who respect that Kenyans are equally as intelligent as they are.
Let us all work for a Clean Kenya as a Transformative Deliverable as we turn 50.
Odhiambo T Oketch,
Executive Director,
On the 26th November 2012, Kenyans will be treated to a live Presidential Debate on all the 8 TV Channels and the 32 FM Stations in the Country. This is something we are all looking forward to, because, it will help us understand our leaders more clearly.
In the past, we have been treated to our leaders saying something today and when night comes, they are saying something different.
As a precursor to this great debate, I have taken very keen interest on Talk Shows that feature any of the Presidential Candidates. I am always very keen on what they say and their body mannerism. For at times, the body language speaks loud and clear as well.
I have also been very keen on how our host Journalists handle such shows- the questions they ask and their grip of our History. Many tend not to have any grip on our recent History, more so political History.
Yesterday, I was treated to such an episode when our Presidential Aspirant, the ever Green William Samoei Ruto was hosted at Agenda Kenya at NTV in the night. You cannot ignore Ruto anymore in Kenya, for the man is sharp, articulate and robust. But I learnt, he can also lie.
He was asked about his position regarding the clamour; Let us not be Vague, let us go to the Hague. And he said, he was all along for a Local Tribunal. He was playing politics with this show and I would have wanted a clip of him advocating for the Hague Option played for him. Here was a promising leader lying to a TV audience. In developed Democracies, this could easily have costed him his Presidential bid. We cannot have a lair for a President!
Again, he was asked about his role in the infamous Youth for Kanu '92 and he denied having ever been the Organizing Secretary. He instead said he was just a choir member in the Team and his brief was to sing Kanu yajenga Nchi. And he is happy that they did some good singing and Kanu won. Again, he was being economical with the truth on this matter, for these are matters in the public domain.
We have hosted Hon William Ruto in one of The Clean-up Campaigns in Eldoret and I must admit, Hon Ruto is a brain we need in Kenya. He is a bold politician and he can address some of the issues that bedevil this Country head on. But what message is he relaying to his Friends and Supporters when he lies about things we all know?
Issues like having advocated for the Hague Option are not issues to be denied. He could just have accepted his role in the Hague Option and indicated that the times then were such that Hague looked the best option. One can change his thought process on an issue and it is no sin to accept that he has since changed his thoughts on the Hague Option.
The Interview at Agenda Kenya helped expose Hon William Ruto as a lair. And this does not portend well with his bid for the Presidency. We want to look for leaders who stand with what they have said in the past, and if you have to shift your position, it is better to accept that your earlier position on the same was wrong. That is leadership. It will not cost you any votes. It will instead strengthen you as a leader, for it will prove that you are as mortal as all of us.
Good Governance is the 3rd Pillar of The Clean Kenya Campaign, and as such, we are very keen with what our leaders say and do. We will hence appreciate leaders who stick to the truth, who conform to Chapter 6 of our Constitution on Integrity and who respect that Kenyans are equally as intelligent as they are.
Let us all work for a Clean Kenya as a Transformative Deliverable as we turn 50.
Odhiambo T Oketch,
Executive Director,
The Clean Kenya
Campaign-TCKC
Tel; 0724 365 557
Email; komarockswatch@yahoo.com
Blogspot; http://kcdnkomarockswatch. blogspot.com
Website; www.kcdnkenya.org
Facebook; Odhiambo T Oketch
Facebook; Monthly Nationwide Clean up Campaign
Mailing Group; friendsofkcdn@ yahoogroups.com
Email; komarockswatch@yahoo.com
Blogspot; http://kcdnkomarockswatch. blogspot.com
Website; www.kcdnkenya.org
Facebook; Odhiambo T Oketch
Facebook; Monthly Nationwide Clean up Campaign
Mailing Group; friendsofkcdn@ yahoogroups.com
The Clean Kenya Campaign is an Initiative of The KCDN Kenya.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment