Fight back strategy

Prime Minister Raila Odinga plans to counter allegations contained in a provocative new book by his former aide in an effort to control potential damage from his acrimonious falling out with author Miguna Miguna. ODM insiders have offered Mr Odinga several options to tackle the charges levelled against him in Peeling Back the Mask, Mr Miguna’s memoir of his time in the Prime Minister’s office. (READ: Inside Raila’s kitchen cabinet) Some within ODM feel that Mr Odinga should tackle Mr Miguna head on. There has been talk of going after Mr Miguna’s character and offering an examination of his record, which some on the PM’s team say would undermine his authority.

This team has been calling for publicisation of some court cases Mr Miguna battled while in exile in Canada. One source within ODM, who requested anonymity because consultations are still ongoing, said: “Who is Miguna? “How was his tenure as adviser on coalition affairs? What did he achieve? How did he get the job? “What determined his choice of publisher? Why did he flirt with American fundamentalists like the anti-Obama right winger Jerome Corsi in seeking to publish the book? These are some of the issues we will address.”

A second option Mr Odinga has been advised to pursue would be to encourage some of those whose character has been brought into question to seek redress in the courts, both in Nairobi and London. This is viewed as an effort to bring into doubt the authenticity of some of the claims and to demand that Mr Miguna provide evidence for his charges of corruption in the PM’s office.

In an interview with NTV before the official launch of his book on Saturday, Mr Miguna said he was ready to meet his challengers in court, where he would represent himself. “I hear that they want to take me to court. I am a lawyer, and I will teach them some law.”

Some within Mr Odinga’s team of advisers think the PM should ignore Mr Miguna entirely, saying responding to him might be seen as validating the claims. Speaking at the official launch of the book on Saturday, lawyer Paul Muite advised the PM not to take this course of action. Mr Muite said the new book should not be viewed as an attack on individuals but as an effort to advance Kenya’s political culture and to introduce greater openness in public life.

He said the PM should respond to the contents of the book instead of “fence- sitting”. “Kenyans want to know the real Odinga,” Mr Muite said. He called on Mr Odinga to offer a detailed, blow-by-blow response to Mr Miguna’s charges. The former Kikuyu MP said in developed democracies like America, a candidate’s past is examined back to the nursery school level, something that needs to be replicated in this country.

“Was he the beneficiary of the issues we are reading in the book? We also want to hear the unfinished business of the 1982 coup,” Mr Muite said. During the launch, a fire-spitting Mr Miguna defended his motives for writing the book, casting himself as a whistleblower who had stood against more conservative forces in the PM’s office.

Daily Nation