As Raila Odinga rides into the sunset years of his political
career, there is little doubt that he turned out to be the first among equals
of the so called “young Turks” of the 1990s. Mainly from the FORD movement but
with peers elsewhere, the group included among others Paul Muite, James Orengo,
Anyang’ Nyong’o, Mukhisa Kituyi, Kiraitu Murungi, Farah Maalim, Martha Karua,
Gitobu Imanyara, Koigi Wamwere, Kijana Wamalwa, George Anyona and Katama
Mkangi.
Spawned of the second liberation movement, this youngish
group of ambitious political activists threatened to upset the status quo,
capture power and introduce radical reforms in our political landscape. They
would eventually fail to decisively capture power by never winning the
presidency. The adoption of a new constitution in 2010 is perhaps the greatest
achievement of this cohort although they are no longer the drivers of its
implementation.
Two major factors contributed to their failure to ascend to
the presidency. First, an internecine war to become the de facto leader of the
group and eventually president proved costly. Characterized by feelings of
betrayal, jealousy and resentment, it led to splits, defections and creation of
a plethora of weak smaller parties from which each one hoped to win. When they
realized this would not work, they opted to join hands in coalitions devoid of
ideology other than “power by all means”. This was the case with the NDP-KANU
merger and later the birth of NARC.
Joining forces with KANU and therefore elements of the
status quo was the second main undoing of the group. Since NARC took power in
2002, it has been impossible to distinguish a major party that can purely boast
a reform agenda given the history of key members. No doubt, these
representatives of the status quo have been instrumental in fundraising for
campaign war chests hence the inability for the main parties to dispense with
them. In the process, they have managed to keep the young Turks of the 1990s
away from the presidency with the one who came closest being Raila Odinga. Besides,
they have successfully managed to engage young Turks from the 90s in their
tainted ways to the extent that the high esteem with which Kenyans once viewed
them all but dwindled.
First forward to 2014 and we have the Jubilee coalition that
takes pride in its mantra of a digital generation leadership under President
Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy, William Ruto. Having played critical roles in
the Kenyan politics from their KANU days, it would however be difficult to view
the duo as successors to the 1990s young Turks. Rather, the heirs of that
cohort are newer faces in both Jubilee and CORD coalitions. The likes of
Kipchumba Murkomen, Kindiki Kithure, Hassan Joho, Hassan Omar, Ababu Namwamba,
Alfred Mutua, Kenneth Okoth, Agostino Neto, Johnson Sakaja, Naisula Lesuuda,
Priscilla Nyokabi, Mary Emaase, and Rachael Shebesh are the new kids on the
block.
Have they learned from the mistakes of their
predecessors as they navigate the rough an unforgiving sea that is Kenyan
politics?
