I Hope It Was Worth It

So, 1500 people died and some 600,000 people were displaced in violence after rigged elections that denied Raila Odinga his chance to become (what his campaign promised would be) the People’s President.
He never really specified exactly what the People’s President would do. But the feeling was that he would ensure the dark days of corruption and patronage were firmly in the past. He would govern as an inclusive leader, addressing the real problems of poverty and inequality that have bedevilled Kenya’s development.
But now that he has instead landed the post of prime minister we are starting to get a feel for his agenda. One of the first acts of the People’s Prime Minister has been to sort out his transport, according to today’s Standard…

The main perks that will go with the Prime Minister-designate Raila Odinga’s office continue to fall in place, awaiting his swearing in expected this week. The process of ordering a sleek, custom-made, Mercedes Benz car for the prime minister is understood to have started and is at the assembly and delivery stage.

The only thing more depressing than Raila’s choice of a Mercedes Benz – the badge of corrupt officialdom across Africa – is the Kenyan media’s lack of concern. The Standard is happy to parrot the government line that officials were sent to Germany to pick a “car, model and colour befitting the prime minister’s stature”. Until Kenyans decide they have had enough of vain, self-serving politicians, then that is what they will continue to get.