Deya is ODM's suicidal pill!

The fragility of the ODM bubble is seriously threatened by an approaching sharp arrow fired by the self appointed, miracle performing, wanted criminal suspect Bishop Gilbert Deya. If a strong wind does not blow the bubble away from the path of the arrow it is sure to burst and render the artificial political unity in Kenya’s opposition politics useless. But even if a strong political wind blows the bubble out of danger, it will still remain a fragile one, far from the strong ball of orange fire that made President Mwai Kibaki shake in his boots in the 2005 referendum.

If there was ever a picture that truly told “a better story than a thousand words”, that which was circulated to thousands of Kenyans through the internet throughout the whole of last week was it. It showed the suspected smuggler of newly born babies, Deya, posing for the camera with Raila Odinga, one of the ODM presidential candidates. Altogether there were more than ten pictures – clear and irrefutable proof that Raila did indeed visit the suspected child smuggler and voodoo miracle performer who claims to be a Christian bishop.

On the night of March 15th Raila categorically denied in a televised interview ever going to “Bishop” Deya’s place; but the NTV On The Spot interviewer, Julie Gichuru, either did not know of the Deya-Raila pictures or simply let the ODM leader off the hook. Her persistent questioning on the relationship between Raila and Deya however revealed quite interesting information: They both come from Siaya and the politician was quite ready to come to the defence of the wanted suspected criminal: “Everyone is presumed to be innocent until proven guilty!” he said. Is Deya really an innocent man?

Writing for the British provincial paper published in Birmingham, Sunday Mercury, Fionnuala Bourke, says Kenyan police are seeking to extradite Gilbert Deya, whose controversial church has three branches in Midlands. Bourke says the Archbishop has been accused of running a baby smuggling racket where children were “miraculously born” in Africa to sterile women and then transported back to Britain.[1] Bourke exposes Deya as a conman who used tricks to get photographed with the Queen in order to promote his church. She claims the aeroplane with his name on it is actually not his but a hired one.

Whether Raila is backed by Deya or not no one will really know the truth. What is known however is the fact that the ODM London meeting of early this month was a total failure because Kalonzo Musyoka, Uhuru Kenyatta, William Ruto, Najib Balala and Julia Ojiambo boycotted it mainly because they suspected Deya was closely connected with the whole arrangement. In a press statement rejecting the London conference five leaders claimed Kenyans had become suspicious of the trip “which was being seen as a begging mission.” According to Daily Nation reporter David Mugonyi, Pastor Deya confirmed that he was one of the organisers and an ODM supporter. He says independent sources iformed him some of the leaders withdrew after they learnt that pastor Gilbert Deya was one of the organisers of the trip.[2]

There are many who will see Raila’s relationship with Deya as an extremely dangerous time bomb about to explode and wreck the very survival of the party which was already vulnerable to fragmentation caused by ethnic nationalism within it. His dependence on Deya’s financial assistance, if at all it is there, could ruin his political popularity outside Luoland for the rest of the current electioneering period. The matter becomes worse whenever Deya opens his mouth. As Raila was denying visiting the pastor’s offices in the UK, the self styled conjuror was telling a journalist of the existence of a MoU between him and Raila promising him the job of Kenya’s high commissioner in London whenever ODM formed the government after the 2007 elections. No wonder the majority of ODM presidential candidates boycotted the London meeting.

Apart from the Deya scandal ODM as apolitical party is deeply buried in power struggle between Kalonzo Musyoka and Raila Odinga. To paraphrase Henrick Smith, the renown Washington correspondent of the New York Times , in Kenya those two ODM leaders talk of politics as a game, and themselves as players. To be a player is to have power or influence on some issue. Not to be a player is to be out of the power loop and without influence [3] Kalonzo and Raila exhibited unusual skills in influencing opinion and support in the party both before and after the now infamous London trip.

Raila and his supporters claimed in London ODM would get an international platform and an opportunity to solve its internal problems. Before the trip he even managed to convince his rival Kalonzo that London would provide the secret to party unity. According to the Sunday Standard Kalonzo at that time said: “In London, we will sit and compare notes because all of us have campaigned far and wide. We will identify our weak points and improve on them.”[4]That was before the ball was in his court when he championed the anti-London crusade which left Raila almost single handed in his trip-to-London mission where he met Deya alone.

Many political observers saw a Machiavellian touch in Raila’s scheme of getting everyone to London to spread the ODM doctrine to the converted Kenyans in the Diaspora. His secret plan was exposed by Kalonzo who had the last laugh when the rip flopped despite Agwambo’s presence in the British capital. His anger was most conspicuous on his return to Nairobi when he addressed the Press in the most threatening language: No one was indispensable and there would be “no so and so tosha” this time. The message was loudly and clearly directed to Kalonzo Musyoka.

The rise of anti Raila sentiments in the ODM was a surprise to many political pundits. A lot of presidential candidates who backed Kalonzo were suspected Raila puppets. One of them, Najib Balala, had to admit himself in Mombasa hospital to save face while the other, Musalia Mudavadi, had to pretend to be too busy talking to the Mijikenda people in Malindi to be bothered about the party’s international image. All these moves by Kalonzo, Mudavadi and Balala joined by William Ruto and Julia Ojiambo were first warnings to Raila that he was losing grip of absolute control of the party the way he used to control the National Development Party before he dissolved it to become Kanu’s secretary general under President Moi only a few years ago. Is the political momentum which Raila used to manipulate to his advantage losing its strength?

Until today ODM strongly believes it has what it takes to remove Mwai Kibaki from power in December this year. In an almost euphoric manner its members have what Robert G. Wesson, a former specialist in Sovietology who was primarily interested in finding a way out of political backwardness of international relations, would call “believing what they like”. He said humans have a wonderful capacity to believe what they like. If individuals enjoy this vice, still more are nations disposed to reinforce the agreeable view and patriotically shut out what does not suit.[5] Shutting out Bishop Deya may not be possible now because, we like it or not, he is there. But ODM has a dream. A dream of constitutionally replacing Kibaki. But if this dream ever comes true the party in a bubble has to take many damage control exercises. For example it has many brilliant people who should realise they ought not touch “bishop” Deya – even with a barge pole!
If ODM does not sever relationship with Deya at the earliest possible opportunity, it will in fact be swallowing a suicidal pill which he happens to be.







[1] Bourke, Fionnuala, ‘Queen and the Miracle Baby Bishop’ in Sunday Mercury of October 24, 2004.
[2] Mugonyi, David. ‘Kalonzo and Uhuru skip UK bonding trip’ in Daily Nation of March 9, 2007.

[3] Smith, Hedrick. The Power Game. (Random House). New York.1988.
[4] The Sunday Standard Number 1402 of March 4, 2007.
[5] Wesson , Robert G. The American Problem, (Abelard- Schuman.) London. 1963.