kaka2za wrote:
Assassinations create heroes out of otherwise ordinary people.
Robert Ouko would most probably have faded into obscurity in 1992 if he had lived. JM Kariuki would have become another Shikuku. Tom Mboya would have been neutered by Jaramogi. Assassination made them legends.
Why kill when you can frustrate them in life? Can assure you that ''insiders' will NEVER let the guy win.
I disagree. Firstly none of those people you mentioned were ordinary. Assasinations are targeted towards neutralizing people who are becoming real threats to the existing hegemony.
In 1990 Ouko's star was rising very fast. On a visit to the USA he shone very brilliantly, answering questions from the US media , from congress and so forth. He represented Kenya so well. He was brilliant articulate, eloquent intelligent as opposed to Moi who appeared like a bumbling buffoon to the Americans. So much so that American politicians openly said Ouko should be prezzi not Moi. His speeches in America were replayed over and over on KBC whoch was the only TV station most Kenyans had at the time. (Few people had KTN)Ouko suddenly became very popular all over Kenya. Thats why Moi and Biwott felt he had to be neutralized.
My take is that in 1992, Ouko would not have faded into obscurity. He likely would have joined the opposition as did many KANU stalwarts. And since he had support all over the country, he would have been a much stronger contender than Oginga Odinga. For much of the 1980s, Oginga was not a factor in Kenyan politics. He only started to rise again during the clamour for pluralism around 1990.
Comparing Shikuku to JM Kariuki is an insult to a great man who rose above tribal sycophancy, something that many Kenyans can't do even 50 years later.
JM and Mboya were highly respected outside of their respective regions. There is a good chance that one of them would have become president at some point. The curse of Kenya is that all the leaders who would have made excellent presidents and united a tribally fissured country were all assassinated. We are now stuck with leaders who prosper by dividing Kenyans along tribal lines.