Mr Odinga should have his day in court, but he needs real solid evidence

Arsenal fans have become inured to defeat. It has been close to a decade since the fans of one of the most storied football clubs in the English Premier League delighted in the thrill of victory. They have gotten used to the agony of defeat.

Evolution has worked in their favour, for Arsenal fans have developed strong shock absorbers that will see them endure one loss after another, and they will still come back like gluttons for more punishment.

Being an Arsenal fan, outgoing Prime Minister and defeated Cord alliance presidential candidate Raila Odinga surely could not have been denied very solid shock absorbers.

Over three decades in the public limelight, he has fought many battles and learned to roll with the punches.

He has fallen down and got back on his feet to keep up the good fight in the pursuit of reform, democracy, human rights and all the good things that make for a civilised society.

He has sometimes come across as the perpetual fighter, and is now at it again challenging the results in which his Jubilee coalition rival Uhuru Kenyatta was declared elected president.

For that he has had to take quite a bit of flak. Some, worn out by a gruelling election campaigns and the long and tense vote count, just want to put politics on the back burner and get on with their lives.

Some are pointing accusing fingers at Mr Odinga, suggesting that he is the sort of contestant who will never gracefully accept defeat.

The odd thing is that many of those pouring opprobrium on Mr Odinga for challenging the election results in court are the very same people who told him to do just that if dissatisfied.

Kenya was plunged into bloodshed the last time there was a disputed election because a compromised, Judiciary could not be the trusted arbiter.

Now that we have a reformed and independent Judiciary, surely it is the right of any person to pursue the legal and constitutional mechanisms rather than resorting to extra-judicial options.

The courts are open, not just to Mr Odinga. I am sure many Jubilee coalition candidates dissatisfied that they lost their bids for Governor, Senator, Women’s Representative or any other elective office will similarly be filing petitions.

Courts exist for everyone who has an issue best settled through civilised means; whether it be a marital conflict, land dispute or business deal gone sour.

That Kenyans may too fatigued by politics to contemplate a repeat election in the event that Mr Odinga wins his case might be a powerful argument. But it falls flat on its face when weighed against the fact that such an eventuality is even remotely considered.

I don’t know what evidence Mr Odinga will take to court, but I can free of charge tell him that it would be futile to present a half-baked case based on bar gossip and tales concocted by campaign staffers.

If he does not have rock-solid evidence, he would save himself, and all of us, valuable time and heartache by accepting the election results and finding something more useful to do with his life. For the moment.

However if he has evidence he thinks is solid enough to deserve a hearing, then by all means, he must pursue his quest.

Anybody saying otherwise is being extremely hypocritical and self-serving, for those against whom the petition is to be filed cannot be the ones pontificating on the need to move ahead.

Meanwhile, let us accept some home truths. Mr Uhuru Kenyatta was declared President of the Republic.

That is the status quo unless the courts rule otherwise. PORK, to appropriate the American term, is still a pretty powerful position, even with all the new checks and balances in place.

I am intrigued which President Kenyatta II will move back into State House. Will it be the worldly, cosmopolitan, outgoing, sophisticate who would be at home in the company of his peers in the financial capitals of Zurich, London, Tokyo and New York, or the angry, insular, isolationist ethnic kingpin we saw on the campaign soapbox?

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