Miguna to publish new book on reforms
Author Miguna Miguna will publish a new book early next year about the nation’s struggle for reforms, a development likely to arrest the attention of key players in the battle for the Kibaki succession.
Mr Miguna told the Nation the book will be issued before the next election and will assess the choices voters face in the first General Election since the new constitution was endorsed.
“The principal theme will be the question of reforms. Are reforms what Kenyans want? And if that is the case how can we go about it. Who can drive, sustain and bring to reality the reforms that Kenyans have fought for?”
The PM’s former adviser asserts that he will not be targeting Mr Odinga and will examine the record of all the presidential candidates.
But he says it is inevitable that more attention will be paid to the PM because he is the man who he knows best.
“I will deal with Raila very exhaustively. I know Raila well and I have worked with him. He is the only one among the candidates who I once believed in. I will write about Uhuru (Kenyatta) and (William) Ruto and the other players. But naturally I can say more about Raila than I can about the others.”
Mr Miguna said the new book will be more “explosive” than Peeling back the Mask.
“There is a lot of fresh information. The beauty of writing is that some people criticise you and say you got it wrong but others will say we have more information. Some will say here are documents you did not have. That means inevitably the result will be a book that is richer in content.”
On questions as to his motives and the criticism that he is a “hatchet man” targeting Mr Odinga because of their fallout, Mr Miguna said:
“That’s the easiest thing to say. But I’ve challenged my critics to put forward specific complaints. Cite a chapter or particular incident which I have mischaracterised. Don’t offer a generalised critique. If I say I attended a meeting where there were only four of us and you did not attend the meeting, on what grounds can you attack me. I have not been paid to write the book. That’s nonsense.”
Mr Miguna says the book will be a sequel to his memoirs, Peeling Back the Mask, a quest for justice in Kenya.
That book caused a sensation when it was published in July with its scathing assessment of Prime Minister Raila Odinga’s time in the grand coalition.
Some said it was the most important insider’s account of the workings of government since John Githongo exposed the Anglo Leasing account while critics slammed it as an attack on the PM.
Mr Miguna says his new work will not take the format of a memoir.
“This will be different. I will of course draw from my own experiences because the book has to be based on something and I will have to reflect on some of my own experiences. I will not write it like a trite academic work. It will be written in a style that is accessible and will be based on my interactions with Kenyans. I have toured more than 10 counties and drawn a broad array of views since my last book was published.”
Mr Miguna said he would not focus heavily on the International Criminal Court process because it was still under way. He said he was not cowed by the threats he has faced since the publication of his memoirs.
“I am not worried but concerned. I am very concerned that (Director of Public Prosecutions Keriako) Tobiko was very swift to say I should record a statement about the ICC despite the fact I am not a suspect but he has yet to act on video evidence of people assaulting me and violating my rights."
"But I am unbowed. The disease of intolerance must be dealt with by exposure, not silence. It is unfortunate that Raila has yet to condemn his supporters who have been hounding me and my family and the media, which like me is in the business of expressing opinion and has an interest in protecting free speech, has also largely been quiet.”
