Raila: I’ll take you to Canaan this time round

There were 111 minutes between the arrival of the five Nasa principals to the time they left the podium, hand-in-hand.

This was a time of anxiety, song and dance and an announcement they had on Wednesday billed as “the biggest in a decade”.

The team declared ODM leader Raila Odinga its flag-bearer.

A somewhat expected announcement but which had to go through a labyrinth of personal and political intrigues.

NATIONAL FLAG COLOURS
What preceded the decision had been anger management, excitement, leaks, warnings, denials and declarations.

At Uhuru Park, the five Nasa principals – Raila Odinga, Kalonzo Musyoka, Musalia Mudavadi, Moses Wetang’ula and Isaac Ruto – came out all smiles, cracks sealed.

United. They came out of a back tent at Uhuru Park at 2.52pm, holding hands and clad in white shirts with cuffs mimicking the national flag colours.

The principals were welcomed to the dais as singer Hellena Ken’s song, "Mambo Yabadilika (Things Change)", and which has become the Nasa’s tag line, blasted from humongous speakers.

JOHO'S MOMENT
They placed their right hands firmly near their hearts as they sang three stanzas of the national anthem, led by a single violinist.

At 4.43pm, they went back to the tent and into their waiting cars, again, holding hands.

Mombasa Governor Ali Hassan Joho became a star attraction, with the crowd bulldozing their way to have him speak, and wildly cheering him each time the camera picked him and beamed his image on two giant screens.

“I am President Kenyatta’s enemy number one. And it is not personal. It is just that Jubilee has discriminated against all Kenyans,” Mr Joho said.

The Nasa team paraded seven Kenyans representing its seven pillars: security, health, food security, economy, education, eradication of corruption and promotion of devolution. Each gave a testimony of life experiences.

NEW CONSTITUTION
Unlike previous rallies when the leaders would ride in vehicles waving to the crowd, the leaders stayed in their cars as they snaked through the dense crowds at Uhuru Park, before emerging to wild cheers.

“I am a first among equals. I will be the Joshua that will take you to Canaan. And when I am there, my job here will be done,” Mr Odinga said as he swore before his colleagues to be a transitional one-term president.

But even before that, the Nasa team had made suggestions that Mr Odinga was the man to face President Uhuru Kenyatta right from the beginning of the rally attended by an enormous crowd.

Uhuru Park is where Mr Odinga declared ‘Kibaki Tosha’ in 2002, a declaration which led to the fall of the Kanu government months later.

It was also here that Kenya promulgated the new Constitution on August 27, 2010.

RAILA TOSHA
Yesterday, every time an announcer rallied the crowd to cheer the five principals, Mr Odinga’s name would be called last, and almost always, had the loudest cheer.

“At Uhuru Park in 2002, I said Kibaki tosha. Today, my brothers have honoured me with this,” Mr Odinga told the crowd.

When they entered Uhuru Park, Mr Odinga was on the furthest left of the other four principals, while his running mate Kalonzo Musyoka was on the extreme right.

Protocol? In the diplomatic world, hosts often keep left, ushering guests to the right. It is almost always the norm.

After making his speech, Mr Odinga was put at the center, akin to the team captain he said he was.

KALONZO CHEERED
Never short of the football game imagery, which he thoroughly enjoys, Mr Odinga promised the crowd that this time, with the backing of the Nasa Pentagon, he won’t miss the target. That he will score.

And when Mr Mudavadi called out his colleague Mr Musyoka, the Uhuru Park crowd became uncontrollable.

Theirs was a two-pronged celebration: they were happy for the man from Tseikuru for conceding to rally behind Mr Odinga and most importantly, they went wild because they knew Raila was going to be the Nasa presidential candidate.

DON'T BREAK PACT
And in a case of once bitten twice shy, Mr Musyoka reminded his colleagues of past memorandum of understanding that he said had been disregarded.

“This time there will be no broken MoUs. Never again will there be political gerrymandering and deceit,” Mr Musyoka, who said the Nasa unity document will be deposited with the Registrar of Political parties, said.

Enthusiastic Nasa supporters started streaming into Uhuru Park as early as 8am to await the announcement.