This archive report was first published on 12 January 2020.
Published on January 12, 2020, by Otieno Otieno
ODM party leader Raila Odinga's recent remark about Miguna Miguna has sparked a heated debate on the rule of law and the importance of 'small people' in Kenya's struggle for democracy.
At a public rally in Kisii on Friday, Odinga dismissed Miguna as a 'small person' whose troubles were not worth his attention. However, this comment has been met with criticism from many who argue that Miguna's continued exile in Canada against a court order protecting his right to Kenyan citizenship raises serious concerns about the State's respect for the rule of law.
It is worth noting that Odinga's personal emotions towards his former aide seem to be clouding his judgment on the controversial red alert issued against Miguna travelling back to the country. Miguna has been a vocal critic of Odinga and has authored two tell-all books in which Odinga does not come off as enigmatic as some people believe he is.
However, the Miguna saga is not just about Odinga and Miguna's personal differences. It is about the rule of law and the importance of 'small people' in Kenya's struggle for democracy. As Odinga himself once fondly referred to Miguna as 'Janyando', it is ironic that he would dismiss him as a 'small person' at an event where he was promoting the Building Bridges Initiative, which seeks democratic reforms.
Before he inherited the ethnic political base following the death of his father in 1994, Odinga was widely seen as a small person with a big family name. Even as Kenya's longest political detainee or an exile in Norway, he appeared to get public sympathy mostly because he was seen as a small victim of his father's troubles with the State.
However, the success of the reform movement against the Moi dictatorship is often wrongly attributed to the opportunistic role of a handful of disgruntled elements among the political elite who occasionally fell out with the ruling party. This narrative grossly understates the role of the small victim, whose suffering at the hands of the State security apparatus inflamed public opinion and sparked the groundswell of rebellion against the dictatorship.
