Reasons why Kalonzo has started out on the wrong footing

Mr Kalonzo Musyoka told the Akamba, and therefore the world, that after three failed presidential campaigns, two of which he was Mr Raila Odinga’s running mate, he had learned his lessons.

He was, therefore, wiser and primed to wage a top of the ticket bid for the presidency again. Wrong. That was a false start.

One, while it was clearly the launch of another long grind for the presidency, it was also clear that Mr Musyoka is not ready to run a re-thought presidential campaign.

One cannot win the highest office in the land if one cannot campaign long and hard, early and late, clean and dirty, and day and night about oneself and one’s platform.

WATERMELON
Two, one does not launch a presidential campaign by reminding one’s audience of an unflattering nickname given one by one’s political opponents, which suggests one tends to say one thing and do another or that one is deceitful.

Yet Mr Musyoka reminded Kenyans that his nickname is watermelon.

They happily, or with gnashing of teeth, filled in the rest for themselves as to why, when and by whom he was so nicknamed.

When people are reminded of one unsavoury deed or word about a person, they tend to look for and find something else unattractive said about him or either attributed to him or done by him.

THE SALE
That means last week many remembered that Mr Musyoka and National Super Alliance (Nasa) co-principals Musalia Mudavadi and Moses Wetang’ula have recently been branded cowards and hypocrites and why they were so reviled.

So Mr Musyoka launched a presidential campaign by drawing attention to his negatives and weaknesses.

He therefore invited discussion, not on what he intends to do for Kenya, not on why he is qualified to be president, and not on his ability, long service and versatility in public service.

Three, put simply, he needs to ignite debate by a performance that focuses opinion on how he comes across as a rejuvenated and re-energised; reset, repositioned and repurposed politician.

PERCEPTION
He needs a performance to bury once and for all references to him as a political lightweight, reluctant Odinga flower girl, 2007 betrayer of Kenyans and opportunistic 'mpita kati kati'.

Four, to evoke this kind of reaction and have the wind at his back, Mr Musyoka needs to lay out his newfound vision for Kenya, its pillars, its enablers and expected impacts on the targeted regions and demographics.

He needs to point out what exactly his three campaigns have taught him and how these lessons are anchoring and focusing his new vision.

And he needs to quit being overly cautious, gentle and meek.

He needs to be the general at the point of no return readying the troops for the first battle to set the tone, tempo and spirit for a just, but drawn out, war.

POLITICAL PARTIES
Five, Mr Musyoka asked for a new party. Yet Kenya does not need new parties; its 60 plus parties need new ideas.

Kenya’s politics needs new thinking but the problem of our parties and politicians is captured here:

Before Mr Mudavadi’s Amani National Congress (ANC) joined the Coalition for Reforms and Democracy (Cord) to form Nasa, it had a maxim.

It boldly proclaimed: In 2017 Kenyans have a clear choice to make between the promise of peace and prosperity under ANC or the incompetence of Jubilee and the hypocrisy of Cord.

But after defeat by the incompetents, the party of prosperity is locked in a vicious fight with that of hypocrites over how to make a deal with the victor.

LEADERSHIP

Six, the easier job in politics is that of the opposition for its main task is to make the government unpopular, the source and cause of all the problems bedevilling the citizenry and the scourge of the country.

The harder bit is that of designing the corrective interventions, selling them to the electorate and defending them as viable and, therefore, worth choosing over the government’s fare. The toughest part is governance.

Seven, the question Mr Musyoka needs to address is this: Why do Kenyans consistently tell opinion pollsters the country is headed in the wrong direction yet consistently hand leadership to those driving it in that direction?

If Mr Musyoka chooses to lead, he must grapple with this conundrum in order to find solutions to Kenya’s problems and a poll winning formula.

If he reaches out to President Kenyatta and, like Mr Odinga joins government, then he becomes a camp follower.

Opanga is a commentator with a bias for politics [email protected]