Why Omar’s new love with Jubilee is more than a passing mention
What you need to know:
And for the past five years, Mr Omar has lived up to his “human rights crusader” tag, unleashing hard punches at Mr Kenyatta and Mr Ruto at every available opportunity.
Now, it seems, Omar's guns are firmly trained on Mr Odinga and Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka for “abandoning” him — among other accusations.
When he first cast his vote in the 1997 General Election, Mr Hassan Omar Sarai claimed recently, it was for Mr William Samoei arap Ruto as Eldoret North MP.
Then, Mr Omar was a student leader at Moi University in Eldoret — a stint that ended in expulsion and years in the cold for leading a strike whose demands included having the institution dissociate itself from “shameless dictator” Daniel arap Moi.
Twenty years later, Mr Omar said recently in Mombasa, it was Mr Ruto, now Deputy President, who wiped the former Mombasa Senator’s tears after his ambitions to be governor of the coastal city on a Wiper ticket suffered a humiliating defeat in the hands of incumbent Ali Hassan Joho.
“On August 11, the first person to call me was Mr Ruto and he said, ‘my friend, don’t lose hope, it is the beginning of the journey,” said Mr Omar as he defected from the opposition Nasa to the Jubilee Party having earlier resigned as Wiper Secretary-General.
And why would anyone fault the vocal politician for appreciating the gesture of one of the most influential individuals in Kenya today? Indeed, even a bout of amnesia about previous passionate public admissions that Nasa leader Raila Odinga was his political Baba was allowed for the sake of capturing the mood of the moment.
CRITICS
You would think that in a season when some critics snort that defectors from the opposition to the ruling party are sore losers, Mr Omar’s move to the open arms of President Uhuru Kenyatta and Mr Ruto would attract no more than a passing mention. But no, his history of agitating for reforms and human rights and harsh criticism of the Jubilee administration makes him stand out like a sore thumb — and social media duly took notice.
And since, as they say, the internet never forgets, a past video of Mr Omar ridiculing those defecting to Jubilee soon emerged: “Wewe utakwenda vipi Jubilee ambayo imeua watu wetu na damu yao kumwagika? Wewe utakwenda vipi Jubilee ambapo wakubwa wake wamemiliki Mombasa na kaunti zote katika pwani? (How can you cross over to this party that killed our people and spilt their blood? How can you join Jubilee whose leaders have grabbed properties in Mombasa and other towns in the coastal counties?)”
The clincher in the clip was Mr Omar’s unambiguous declaration that he was politically incompatible with Mr Kenyatta and Mr Ruto.
TOUGH POSITIONS
Before the 2013 elections, Mr Omar was not just loathed for his tough positions in his capacity as Commissioner at the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights. He was also enemy number one of UhuRuto supporters over accusations of allegedly coaching witnesses to testify against the two at the International Criminal Court over the 2007/2008 post-election violence.
Some even said he was a key member of the “Evil Society”— the label Jubilee spin doctors gave the civil society) — that wanted to bar the “Dynamic Duo” ticket from running for the presidency.
And for the past five years, Mr Omar has lived up to his “human rights crusader” tag, unleashing hard punches at Mr Kenyatta and Mr Ruto at every available opportunity.
So liberal and frequent were his punches that at some point in 2015, Jubilee Nominated Senator Emma Mbura warned him against his frequent attacks on the President.
Now, it seems, his guns are firmly trained on Mr Odinga and Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka for “abandoning” him — among other accusations.
WIPER PARTY
The former secretary general of Wiper Party has even harsher words for his former party leader, whom he recently described as “meek, weak, unfocused and unsure of whom to support.”
Never mind that before the August 8 elections some analyst advised the Senator to defend his seat instead of punching above his weight by seeking to dislodge Governor Joho, the self-styled Sultan and harsh Jubilee critic.
But even those who labelled Mr Omar a “Jubilee mole” ahead of the August elections found it hard to convince audiences that it was not mere propaganda.
Unlike the majority poll losers who troop to the UhuRuto camp, Mr Omar is not your ordinary politician.
He has a solid pro-reform background. Right from his high school days at Lenana School and university, Mr Omar has consistently stood on the side of the oppressed and viciously fought school, college and government establishments over excesses and abuse of human rights.
EXPULSION
This hardline stance led to his expulsion from Moi University in 1998 where, as a student leader, he led thousands of students in expressing displeasure and embarrassment at their institution of learning being named after a “shameless dictator”.
Mr Omar only got a second chance to complete his education after the Mwai Kibaki-led National Rainbow Coalition romped into power in 2002 ending the four-decade Kanu rule.
The politician has in previous interviews attributed his resumption of studies to the intervention of Mr Odinga, then a key figure in the Narc government. Now that he is in the Jubilee house, complete with revelations that Mr Ruto is his mentor, it will be interesting to watch the metamorphosis of Mr Omar.
