How (I think) the People's Assembly will look like
1. Organization of NASA friendly counties to pass bills recognizing people's assemblies.
2. Create an organ (like an executive) that will oversee, lead and give direction concerning the activities of these assemblies. Complete with a cabinet.
3. At the top of this organ in (2) above, have the position of President.
Now, lets stop here briefly and think. Kenyatta University, as a matter of fact, has a president. The Law Society of Kenya has a president. Numerous other organizations in our country have presidents. As long as they are not sworn in as the President of the Republic of Kenya, they should not be in any trouble with the law. This could be the reason no one has been arrested and charged with treason. Are we together up to that point?
4. I doubt Raila is going to be sworn is as the President of the Republic of Kenya. I think he will be sworn as as the President of the People's Assembly of Kenya (or something of that sort). In which case Githu Muigai and his ilk will have to go hug a tree. Creative, right? I know!
5. By Friday last week, about 14 counties had adopted the People's Assembly.
Now here's the kicker.
Remember how the government went to great lengths to show that the electoral protests were a Luo problem? I know you do. But let's stop again briefly and put things into perspective.
In a sensitization address to the Sudanese diaspora after the signing of the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement, Dr. John Garang said he had an issue with the way the Khartoum government had kept referring to the civil war as the 'Southern Problem'. He asked, figuratively, "Kan zol ja gaid fi ragabti, munu yau mushkila fi sura de?" If someone comes and sits on your neck, who's the problem? The person being sat on or the person sitting on the other?
In essence, assuming it is only the Luo who protested, it did not mean that only the Luo had a problem. Electoral malpractice was/is not a Luo problem. It is the guy who has been 'sitting on our backs' that is the problem.
6. The People's Assembly will work against the notion that only the Luo have a problem with the way things are done. So far, Central is the only former province where NASA does not have People's Assembly adopted. Parts of Eastern are in, parts of North Eastern are in, it is likely that the entire Coast will be in, Western is in with both feet as is Nyanza, expectedly. Even parts of Rift Valley, believe it or not, are in. As for Nairobi, the Speaker seems to be under instructions to frustrate any efforts of bringing that People's Assembly bill to the floor of the Nairobi County Assembly.
So you see, the struggle against electoral malpractices is not a Luo problem. It is not even a Kamba problem or a Turkana problem. It is the problem of the guy 'sitting on our necks'. A problem that these counties that have adopted the Assemblies will try to resolve.
7. Through the People's Assembly, Raila will lead people in the counties that have adopted it. He wont need to be President of the Republic of Kenya to do so. He just needs to be president of People's Assemblies of Kenya.
8. Through the People's Assembly, Raila will remain active, relevant and influential in our politics for a few more years.
9. If these assemblies mobilize themselves into an economic and political block as I think they should, then we are talking about a de facto separate country.
10. What this will do is it will deprive further Uhuru Kenyatta the legitimacy he so much desires. He will see hostility of proportions he has not seen before.
11. This scenario does not play well with the government. They are likely to spend too much resources trying to reign in this assembly thing.
So, because no one was giving an explanation about this assembly thing, I sat down to think about it and this is what I think is going to happen. We have to wait and see. I could be wrong, but if I'm right, Dr. David Ndii is genius.
By Kelly Odiek
