Jubilee Party, KISII Region

azimio connected

OPEN LETTER TO H.E. PRESIDENT UHURU KENYATTA: BY DON BOSCO OOGA GICHANA.
RE: AVERT KENYA AIRWAYS FUEL HEDGING FRAUD, IT IS CLEAR DAYLIGHT ROBBERY.
(IT IS A MULTI-BILLION SHILLINGS FRAUD)

First let me start by thanking you for finding time to read this letter. Without wasting your time, let me jump right into the main issue.

Mr. President, KQ (Kenya Airways) is a public company trading at the Nairobi Stock Exchange of which the largest shareholder is the Kenyan Tax Payer through its proxy investment arm, the government of Kenya (GOK).
Your recent purge on corruption is laudable and commendable as long as it is not personalized to target a few in whichever side of the broader political spectrum. In this, you have done exceptionally well to close your ears to your detractors and I applaud you sir. Let it be a blanket graft purge. Don’t fear for The Bible says in 2 Kings “Do not fear, those who are with us are more than those who are with them”. Verily I tell you Mr. President, those that are with you are more than those that are with them trying to fight you. Tame them and tame the runaway graft and corruption that is eating away at the very fabric of the Kenyan society. Be cautioned that corruption will fight back hard! Fear Not!
NOW PLEASE HEAR ME OUT SIR.
Mr. President, on the 22nd of June while watching Bloomberg news headlines here in prison, I read a heading titled “Kenya Airways could resume fuel hedging in Q3”. Don’t get me wrong, hedging is a common practice among corporations that import or export or that need to repatriate profits back home and can hedge in the forex market to cushion them against foreign exchange volatility. Hedging is not about eliminating risk 100% but reducing the exposure to risk.
But Mr. President what raised my eye brows was not the Bloomberg news headline but rather an article in the Daily Nation on the 23rd of June titled, “KQ back to price hedging after costly gamble”. The article says that two years ago, when the airline tried such a bet which is regarded as an international best practice in the airline industry, prices took a downward trend, contributing immensely to a monumental KES 26 billion loss that that the national carrier booked.
That KQ lost that magnitude of cash on fuel hedging and it caused a big chunk of their bottom line loss is neither here nor there. That is a blatant lie that can’t and will never stand the test of time. It does not add up in the world of financial instruments known as derivatives. It is simply theft laced up with economic sweeteners such as hedging in order to hoodwink the major shareholders who is Wanjiku through the Government of Kenya. Wanjiku just hears of “hedging” but does not know what it entails. Mr. President do NOT get your foot off the gas pedal in matters corruption. We, the majority, are ready to rise with your measures. This is my way of support in my own small way, from far off in a Tanzania Jail still awaiting trial the 6 years.
Let’s take an example of consumer or buyer of a product such as crude oil… (I chose crude oil because crude oil is positively correlated with the price of jet fuel cracks). Such a buyer prefers upward protection and an oil marketer or seller prefers downward protection. Logic therefore is that a buyer prefers lower prices and a seller higher prices, prices against that need hedging. For a buyer to hedge, he or she trades long FUTURES or buys futures.
KQ claim that they had a fixed price with the supplier so that if the jet fuel prices were to go up they would still buy the jet fuel cracks at that lower fixed price, say at $3.00 a litre. At prevailing market prices of say $4.80 a litre, they would still pay for jet fuel at $3.00 per litre. But instead, prices dropped to $2.50 a litre and they were forced to buy at $3.00 per litre. This is totally unacceptable!
It is trite law that you can’t hedge with your supplier for buyers and sellers have conflict of interest in pricing. A seller wants to sell at a higher price and the buyer at a lower cost price. This automatically creates a conflict of interest. Such a transaction happens physically whereas hedging is done in the ‘futures’ and ‘option futures’ market.
Crude oil futures and options are mostly traded in New York Mercantile Exchange in the US, Intercontinental Exchange in London and most recently this year in Shanghai, China.
Futures market and futures options has investors, speculators and hedgers. The latter mostly deal in oil options as opposed to oil futures. For they are not interested in physical delivery which for NYMEX is done in Cushing, Oklahoma. More specifically European options are settled in cash. Both American and European type of options are available at the NYMEX, one of the largest derivative product market in the world.
Remember, I don’t have any data on me from KQ, I am only relying on the newspaper article. What must have transpired is that some well-known KQ shareholder, knew that global crude oil prices were going or were already on a free fall. I will expound later on how they knew that global crude oil will nose dive so a contract to supply was signed and then a marketer was sublet the contract at the prevailing market prices. As such a contract was penned knowing in advance the futures of the oil prices but still a contract was hurriedly signed at prevailing market prices say of $3.00 per litre. The known mafia shareholder in cahoots with the oil/jet fuel cracks supplier in the contract bound KQ to be supplied for a whole financial year at $3.00 per litre even if the prices were to rise higher. They called that hedging, and even if the price of jet fuel was to drop, KQ was still to pay $3.00 per litre. It sounds like a fair deal but slightly discriminative on the supplier. The supplier was given a letter of credit and went smiling all the way to the bank!
Reality however is crude oil futures and options, when I say crude oil gasoline, Brent, Natural gas, heating oil, jet fuel, Naphtha and propane are all inclusive. These futures contracts and futures options contracts are delivered monthly, not quarterly nor semi-annually nor annually! For instance, there are futures prices for crude oil for August 2019, 2020 etc. The marketers know very well that there is a price guideline for every moth in form of discount or premium to the prevailing market prices. So how did Kenya Airways get into a long term contract on the hedging monster?
Toward the tail end months of 2014, OPEC + Russia increased crude oil output to protect themselves from U.S share oil products whose increased output was eating into their market share. Given also U.S light crude oil trading in the NYMEX trades at a discount compared to the international Benchmark Brent Oil. In June, the spread between the two hit an all-time high of $11.00. The end result of crude oil war between OPEC + Russia vs U.S was an oil glut in the market. This fundamental aspect of supply was in place until January 2017 when OPEC + Russia agreed to oil production cut of 1.6 million barrels per day.
Mr. President, we didn’t just wake up one day and Brent crude prices plummeted from $100 to $26 per barrel in January 2016. It happened in phases or gradually, and for such movement to happen, some fundamental of supply or demand must have been breached. We also have technical indicators that show if the short term or long term prices are in a down, sideways or uptrend. Crude oil prices are very volatile and exposed to geo-political tensions also. For instance, Brent oil reached an all-time high of $145.61 per barrel in January 2008 and a low of $26 per barrel in January 2016. But the record low was $2.23 per barrel in May 1970.
If Kenya Airways management mean well or if I was to consult for them, I would have had month by month contract from the best shortlisted suppliers premiums based on the daily global or rather NYMEX or ICE prices. For instance, for a premium of $0.25, if NYMEX future prices for today is $2.00 per litre, then I would be supplied at $2.25 per litre. The figures I am using are only figurative and not actual figures.
For upscale price protection, if for KQ to remain competitive, it must be supplied at price levels of $3.80 per litre. First is to approach a hedge fund or commodity futures broker who in both cases specializes also in Energy derivatives. For simplicity, I will use litres, but the standard is barrels and one contract is worth 1000 barrels. I will buy jet fuel call options.

With March 2019 jet fuel futures trading at $3.00 per litre in August, KQ decides that in order to protect its profit margin, the cash market price must not be allowed to exceed $3.80 cents per litre. The cost to buy the call option is $0.25 cents per litre (premium) to hedge my first option.
Net buy price = $3.25 per litre
($3.00 August price + $0.25 premium)
In February, jet fuel prices have risen as expected, March futures are trading at $4.80 per litre. KQ exercises the 1 March $3.00 calls. The closing of the resulting futures position at $4.80 per litre leaves KQ with a net $1.55 per litre. Gain on the option ($1.80 minus premium $0.25)
$4.80 per litre (Feb price) - $3.25 per litre (Net buy price)
= $1.55 per litre net gain.
When the $1.55 per litre futures market again is used to offset the $4.80 per litre paid to KQ Jet fuel supplier. The effective price for jet fuel is reduced to $3.25 per litre (0.55 per litre) below the price ceiling established with the March $3.00 call option.
Suppose then the prices fell as with the case with KQ?
If the prices had fallen below the $3.00 per litre to $2.50 per litre, KQ option losses would be limited to the $0.25 per litre premium paid for the call option, which would be allowed to expire worthless. While KQ would benefit from a lower jet fuel cracks purchase price as per the contract.
Mr. President, if they were smart enough, the conspirators could have signed such a fraudulent contract and then buy crude oil put options which offer downside protection, with a recognized international hedge fund. The fraudulent contract would have provided upside protection and the downside would have provided both the supplier and KQ fat profits. The suppliers could have benefited from the corrupt proceeds and KQ could have used the proceeds from the profitable hedge to cover up on the loss they incurred in the fraudulent contract. The price drop was a boon and not a bane as KQ would want to portray.
Mr. President, I earlier wrote that from the end of 2014, there were tell-tale signs that there was an oversupply of crude oil in the global market. Demand was also affected, because China, the largest consumer and importer of crude oil economy was in a semi recession. This also affected other commodities of which China is the largest importer such as copper, platinum, palladium, silver, aluminum, iron ore etc.
Come 2017 OPEC + Russia agreed to cut oil outputs in order to shore up prices in order to shore up prices, balance supply and demand and remove an oil glut.
From this, it was crystal clear that oil prices were to skyrocket. Kenya Airways could have benefited from that fraudulent contract because that contract enabled KQ to buy at a fixed price. They should have signed another contract when crude oil was trading at below $50 per barrel. That meant up to May 2018 when Brent crude hit $80.00 per barrel, KQ could have bought their fuel at almost half the price of the prevailing market price. Instead they claim they stopped fuel hedging because it had cost them previously. The truth is that the conspirators could have lost all the loot they had made in their previous fraudulent contract. The end result is that KQ spent over $25 billion on fuel alone! Incredulous theft indeed!
KQ could have saved almost half the amount had they hedged by buying crude oil futures options or even crude oil futures.
Apart from supply reduction of 1,600,000 barrels per day (bpd), demand had also improved because China’s economy had improved tremendously. In my May 2018 New Year’s message, I also predicted Brent oil to hit $100.00 per barrel. Indeed Brent crude was at an all-time high of $60.00 per barrel. Indeed Brent crude oil in 1H 2018 has hit $80.00 per barrel. Many commodity analysts joined me in June saying the crude oil prices will hit $100.00 per barrel notable one being Morgan Stanley that has raised its oil price forecast by $7.50 per barrel to $85.00 on expectation of more outages from Angola, Iran and Libya.
Crude oil Brent was on target to hit $100.00 per barrel but major oil consumers China and India complained to OPEC cartel of rising inflation due to high oil prices, it’s strange that KQ, a consumer complained of lower prices. Trump joined the fray also and urged Saudi Arabia to ramp up crude oil production saying “oil prices are too high, OPEC is at it again. Not good!” Trump tweeted. The pact was meant to run till the end of 2018 which obviously could have had oil prices surpass even $100.00 per barrel because Venezuela’s collapse in oil production due to financial constraints and fresh Iranian sanctions that raised fears of supply crunch. The markets were overheating.
OPEC and non OPEC Energy ministers met in Vienna Austria between June 21 and 23 of 2018. Crunch talks on a landmark pact curbing oil output, with Saudi Arabia and Russia hoping to persuade their peers to increase production again. Resistance was led by Iran, deeply wary of any move by regional rival Saudi Arabia that could push down oil prices at a time when Tehran faced renewed sanctions. Iran and Venezuela also objected. Since OPEC operates on the principle of unanimity, they agreed to end oil curbs.
Mr. President, on the very day OPEC + Rusiia arrived at the decision to ramp up production so as to lower global crude oil prices coincided with KQ CEO Sebastian Micosz announcement of plans to restart fuel price hedging in Q3 2018. The daily nation reported that the airlines executives were already in talks with banks and other firms in the energy sector to finalize on the technical aspect of the process.
Is it then a coincidence or an orchestrated conspiracy to completely kill KQ which is already on its deathbed? OPEC and + Russia agreement means prices will drop. Last year and 1H 2018 when OPEC + Russia curbed production, Kenya Airways did not hedge the fuel, and here comes Vienna meeting and the oil cartels agree to rump up production to lower the price, immediately the economic hitmen are back with their controversial fuel hedging scheme. To make matters worse, the executives of KQ claim to be in talks with banks and Energy firms!
I repeat again its trite edging principle that you can’t hedge between a buyer and seller for there is already a pricing conflict of interest. WHY IS KQ IN TALKS WITH ENERGY FIRMS???????
Your Excellency, it took Joseph in the Bible who then was in Jail to be called to interpret the dream the King had and he was eventually made the Prime Minister of Egypt. Mr. President, t had taken me in detention without trial here in TZ being my sixth (6th) year to unravel a multi-billion theft scam that has been bedeviling KQ for more than a decade now. The perpetrators of the scheme are major shareholders and political financiers. Ownership of the energy firm is well known!
Mr. President Sir, this has taken me a while to compile and many hours of research. I have no internet, no phone and no communication gadget other than the television where I am lucky to get the Bloomberg channel. Using close friends who have stuck with my ordeal since it started, I ask them to get me newspapers, they google and print for me whatever I ask them to and they bring it to me. I then study these closely, make comparative research and then do my analysis. I rate my success in this at a minimum of 97% always right. I have taken out the 3% because I am human and may sometimes miss a little part out. You have a team of good researchers, put them to work and you will find I am completely right. If need be, I can ask that you be provided by all my stock predictions and blog posts and you will know I completely understand what I have written above.
Sir, Mr. President, all I ask of you is this, MAY THIS NOT GO IN VAIN. PLEASE SIR.
Thanking you for your indulgence and patience in reading this.
Yours,
Don Bosco Ooga Gichana.
Arusha Main Prison,
Tanzania.

EGESA FM NEWS PRESENTER

EGESA FM is seeking to fill the position of a radio news presenter. If you believe you have what it takes to fill the above position, take time, read through and apply.

KEY ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

To sub-edit copy from reporters/correspondents.
Writing scripts for bulletins, headlines and reports.
Selecting appropriate stories and exercising editorial judgement on the best angle from which to approach a story.
Preparing and presenting material ‘on air’ for both pre-recorded and live pieces;
Generating ideas for stories , features and following leads from news agencies, the police, the public, press conferences and other sources.
Pitching story ideas to editors.
Developing and maintaining local contacts.
Coordinating and liaising with correspondents in the field for purpose of compiling news and features.
Make sure that News bytes are of good quality, ethically sound and precise to the right length.
Ensure all social media platforms are updated regularly
Advising your supervisor on new trends in online tools, applications, channels, design & strategy
Moderating talk shows

Skills and Personal attribute

Have a good command of Ekegusii language- Spoken and written ( Attach voice demo)
Strong writing, editing and analytical skills
Ability to moderate a talk show
Ability to work odd hours
Clear understanding of media laws and ethics
Self driven, assertive, punctual and organized.
Must have a nose for news, broad and strategic thinker and pay attention to detail.
Must demonstrate a professional approach and appearance including enthusiasm, drive, commitment, honesty, trust, loyalty and keep abreast with evolving

Academic and professional experience

A university degree in journalism / mass communication or another related field from a recognized university.
A masters degree in communication or its acceptable equivalent will be an added advantage.
At least 3 years experience as a Presenter /newsreader/reporter/subeditor in a reputable newsroom.
Must be social media savvy, innovative and creative

If you find this a good challenge and you qualify, please send your application and CV to [email protected]. Quote the code HRD/EGESAPRESENTER/2018
Closing date will be Friday 29th June ,2018 at 5pm. Please note only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

Itierio School shines in Kisii drama fete, eyes national win

A play on how selfishness and individualism hinder the achievement of national cohesion and integration moved the audience during the Kisii County Secondary Schools Drama Festival held at Nyabururu Teachers Training College.

It was performed by Itierio Boys High School from Kisii County during the four-day drama festivals that ended on Friday.

The highlight of the event was ‘Pandemonium’, a play written and directed by Franklin Nyambane and produced by Isaac Okeyo, the school’s principal, which won amid tough competition.

In the play, Solomon, acted by Mohamed Aden, is in a dilemma as he can only save either his twin sister Pamela or step-sister Precious who are in critical medical conditions.

NATIONAL COHESION

The play explores the effects of selfishness and individualism in achieving national cohesion and integration.

"I am optimistic that this play will make it to the National Drama Festival in Nairobi," said Mr Nyambane, the artistic director and drama patron at Itierio Boys.

The themes that dominated the day’s plays included national cohesion, democracy and the electoral process, environmental conversation and drug and substance abuse.

Masongo modern vreative dance directed and choreographed by Dr George Areba and produced by Lawrence Otiso thrilled the audience.

The dance highlighted the thorny issue of drug abuse in schools and its effects on the academic and social life of students.

The creative and modern dance techniques intertwined in the story made the dance to get a standing ovation from thespians.

Masongo solo verse entitled ‘Red Rage’ scripted and directed by Dr Areba condemns excessive use of force by the security agenciesto deal with demonstrations especially during general elections.

The Verse is produce by Lawrence Otiso
UPCOMING SCHOOLS

Most of the schools which performed well in the festivals and qualified for the regional drama festival are upcoming day and boarding schools.

These included Masongo Secondary School and Mobamba Secondary School, among others.

“As Kisii County drama fraternity, we are looking forward to putting a spirited fight on the regional stage from 13 to 17. Luckily, Kisii County is hosting the Lake Region Drama Festival. Kisii County is the giant county in the region with 11 sub-counties,” remarked the executive secretary, Dr Areba.

Events Chairman Norman Sasati said, “This year we started our activities in the drama calendar by holding a very successful county drama workshop which enriched drama patrons enormously.’

‘’I salute the county education office for their efficient coordination of drama activities, Kenya Secondary Schools Heads Association Kisii County for continuous sponsorship of the festivals and artistic directors of various schools for working tirelessly to ensure that their productions are polished to grace this occasion,’’ Mr Sasati said.

WINNERS:

Modern creative dance: 1 Iterio Girls, 2. Masongo Secondary School, 3. Nyatieko Secondary School.

Solo verse: 1. Nyamonaria, 2. Cardinal Otunga High School, 3. Masongo Secondary School.

Choral verse: 1. Kisii School, 2. Mobamba Secondary School, 3. Kioge Girls.

Cultural creative dance: 1. Sengera Girls, 2. Bobaracho Secondary School, 3. Igorera Secondary School.

Plays: 1. Iterio Boys, 2. Nyakoiba, 3. Mobamba.

Narrative: 1 Mobamba Secondary School, 2. Gesabakwa Secondary School, 3. Kisii School.

Comedy: 1. Bogeka Secondary School, 2. Mobamba Secondary School, 3. Magena Girls Secondary

Kisii Court upheld hon oroo oyioka as duely elected mp for bonchari . congratulations mheshimwa . abuche.

How Moi outplayed opposition on legitimacy queries

When Mr Daniel arap Moi won the presidency in 1992, with a paltry 36 per cent of the votes cast, his opponents quickly raised the question of legitimacy — just as Mr Raila Odinga’s National Super Alliance has done after President Uhuru Kenyatta’s October 26 re-election.

But how Mr Moi managed to survive an energised civil society, and an opposition that had learnt from its mistakes, is something that involved local and diplomatic manoeuvres.

Mr Moi was shrewd and scheming; a perfect barnstormer in African politics who manipulated the opposition like wooden marionettes.

DIVIDED OPPOSITION

How he outfoxed the opposition and the civil society and why the Americans came to his aid is a story that informs the trajectory of African politics.

It tells the other half of the story on why the opposition floundered.

As a bloc, the opposition could have easily won that race with an overwhelming 64 per cent of the vote — which was more than the 61 per cent that Mr Mwai Kibaki received in 2002.

But it was hopelessly divided between Mr Kenneth Matiba’s Ford Asili, Mr Jaramogi Oginga Odinga’s Ford Kenya and Mr Kibaki’s Democratic Party.

FOOD CRISIS

What they didn’t know was the game had already changed and that the Americans, who had been backing the opposition, had shifted their loyalty thanks to the food crisis that was enveloping Somalia.

President Moi had meanwhile allowed into Kenya some US Army Special Forces soldiers drawn from the 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne) at Fort Campbell, Kentucky.

They had found good ground in Mombasa from where they conducted a low-key reconnaissance of Somalia identifying the airfields and routes for US ground involvement.

As the campaign tempo towards the General Election increased, and when the opposition was talking of a boycott, the US sent their Undersecretary of State for African Affairs Herman Cohen to see Moi at State House.

FRIEND OF THE US

He also had a cheque donation of $5 million (about Sh500 million of today’s rates).

There was a reason for that: “Moi was one of our best friends in Africa. He never refused any of our requests, including rights to use the port of Mombasa and the international airport at Nairobi for US military movements in the Indian Ocean,” Mr Cohen writes in his book The Mind of the African Strongman.

Earlier on, during the clamour for multiparty politics, Mr Cohen had approached President Moi and asked him to release the political detainees — Mr Matiba and Mr Charles Rubia — and those convicted of political crimes.

They included Mr Koigi wa Wamwere, lawyers Rumba Kinuthia and Mirugi Kariuki and Mwakenya activist Kangethe Mungai.

RENAMO

Mr Cohen was shocked that the President had without much prodding said: “OK, I will release all of them. They are not worth the food that we feed them.”

Mr Cohen and President Moi had been friends — and for a reason.

When the Americans were looking for somebody who could convince Mozambique rebel leader Mr Alfonse Dhlakama, the head of the anti-communist guerrilla movement Renamo, to commence talks with Mozambique President Joaquim Chissano, it was Mr Moi who offered to help.

He not only gave the rebel leaders Kenyan passports but also secretly sent his permanent secretary Mr Bethuel Kiplagat to take charge.

On October 1992 — two months to Kenya’s election — a treaty had been signed.

KENNEDY FAMILY

Thus, when Mr Cohen arrived in Nairobi ahead of the December 29, 1992 General Election, those who keenly watched the body language between the two could easily tell the ground had shifted.

Elsewhere, the influential Kennedy family — which was pro-opposition — was trying to organise a meeting between Mr Cohen and the opposition leaders in Nairobi.

Mr Cohen refused since that could have jeopardised their relations with Mr Moi whose help they were seeking in taming the emerging Horn of Africa crisis.

Shortly after the meeting with Mr Moi, and 20 days to the Kenyan election, President George Bush Snr ordered a large US military force to Somalia with the first US Marines landing in the first phase of “Operation Restore Hope” on December 10, 1992.

YK92

As Kenyans voted, Mr Moi had the backing of the Americans who were looking upon him.

They also knew Mr Moi would easily beat the divided opposition.

The bank coffers had been opened thanks to Cyrus Jirongo’s Youth for Kanu ‘92, and Kamlesh Pattni’s Goldenberg, which oiled the Kanu campaign to levels that destroyed the economy.

Between the nominations and ahead of the election, some 50 politicians defected back to Kanu, which easily won nine parliamentary seats unopposed.

FRESH ELECTIONS

After the elections — and Kanu was accused of cooking some numbers against Mr Matiba — the opposition embarked on a campaign that questioned the legitimacy of the victory.

At Chester House, Nairobi, Mr Matiba had called an international press conference to launch his “Moi Must Go” campaign demanding fresh elections.

An international journalist asked: “But Moi was elected?” and an obviously irritated Mr Matiba mused: “Who elected him. Even in his home area he was not elected…”

That was not true, though, even if Mr Matiba had few sympathisers within the opposition for wrecking the original Ford party.

VOTES

As Kenya historian Charles Hornsby would later write in his book, Kenya: A History Since Independence, “Moi almost won the presidency legitimately, in that he polled a larger number of genuine votes than any other candidate…the splits between the DP and Ford, then within Ford, allowed Kanu to win on a minority vote.”

After Mr Moi managed to knock out Mr Matiba’s presidential petition on a technicality, the President embarked on a campaign to undermine the opposition.

Mr Matiba had made the mistake of boycotting parliament, which he said was a “waste of time” and only made “technical appearances” to save his seat.

This weakened his party, and was also ridiculed by the media.

DEFECTOR

Mr Matiba had become the official leader of opposition — thanks to a single seat more than Mr Odinga Snr’s Ford Kenya.

And since he was the incessant trouble-shooter, the Kanu mandarins approached one of his MPs, Makuyu MP Julius Njoroge, to defect to Kanu.

And he did, opening a hilarious battle inside parliament on who would occupy the Leader of Opposition seat.
The ground had been tested earlier after Bonchari MP Protus Momanyi abandoned DP and easily won the seat with 4,288 votes against Ford-Kenya’s Richard Mbeche, who polled 1,276.

BRIBERY

Quietly, Mr Moi decided to damage Ford-Kenya.

During the Bonchari by-election, Goldenberg scandal architect Kamlesh Pattni approached Mr Odinga Snr and gave him Sh2 million for the by-election.

The doyen of opposition politics accepted the money though he would later say he only saw “a young man” whom he thought was a supporter.

But at the party, the Secretary General, Gitobu Imanyara, said the Sh2 million was a “bribe intended to shut Odinga up over Goldenberg”.

HARAMBEES

Whether this was plotted by State House is not clear but what followed this donation wrecked the once-vibrant party.

On September 1993, only nine months after the elections, the crisis saw the resignation of Mr Imanyara as Secretary General, First Vice Chairman, Paul Muite, Legal Secretary Kiraitu Murungi, and Assistant Secretary for Economic Affairs, Robert Shaw.

Lagdera MP Mohammed Farah, a committee member, also quit.

With the Young Turks out of the party, President Moi went on to consolidate his hold on Ford Kenya and started what was known as “cooperation”.

He not only invited Mr Odinga Snr to a tour of Turkwel Gorge Dam but also started a wave of harambees in Western and Nyanza provinces with his famous mantra “siasa Mbaya, maisha Mbaya”.

FORD ASILI

In one of the Harambee rallies in Bondo, Mr Moi’s education minister, Prof Jonathan Ngeno said the opposition leader would succeed President Moi.

Mr Moi’s next target were defectors from the marginal areas, which had voted for Mr Matiba.

Between August 1993 and August 1994, Ford Asili lost five Luhya MPs and several councillors in quick succession — a move that frustrated the opposition.

The first to be targeted was Nicodemus Khaniri of Hamisi who defected to Kanu on August 1993 followed by Apili Wawire of Lugari in November.

The next target was Japheth Shamallah from Shinyalu, Benjamin Magwaga in Ikolomani and Javan Onami in Lurambi.

In all these, Kanu won the seats at a time the opposition was in disarray.

OCCUPIED

In Nairobi, Starehe MP Kiruhi Kimondo defected from Ford Asili in 1994 and although then Nairobi Mayor Steve Mwangi won the seat, he resigned in 1996 citing disappointment and surprisingly, Kanu won the by-election.

It is not clear if Mr Mwangi was sweet talked to defect but what we know is that a few weeks after his resignation, he hosted Mr Moi in Gatundu where some opposition councillors defected to Kanu.

There were other defections in Nyanza where Mr Charles Owino Likowa defected as Migori MP, Tom Obondo in Ndhiwa and Ochola Ogur in Nyatike, all from Ford Kenya.

But the opposition retained these seats.

Kept busy by the defections and their own internal intrigues, the opposition soon forgot to question Mr Moi’s legitimacy.

WAMALWA VS RAILA

With the defections, Kanu now had 122 members including the nominated MPs while the opposition had only 78.

The defection of John Keen as Mr Kibaki’s DP Secretary General and Ms Agnes Ndetei, another senior figure within the party, became an indicator of Mr Moi’s determination to eclipse the opposition.

Meanwhile, there was tension within Ford Kenya, then the official opposition, over Mr Pattni.

The Ford Kenya Chairman, Wamalwa Kijana, who chaired the Parliamentary Accounts Committee (PAC), was at loggerheads with Mr Raila Odinga over the Goldenberg scandal.

On the one hand, Mr Odinga was angry that PAC had decided to exonerate Mr Pattni from wrongdoing and was pushing for investigations.

RAILA JOINS NDP

On the other hand, Mr Wamalwa was accusing Mr Odinga of embarrassing and disrespecting him.

Mr Wamalwa had even recommended that Mr Pattni be paid a further Sh2.1 billion, which was rejected by parliament thus sinking the opposition into the Kanu mess.

It is these battles that saw Mr Odinga defect to the National Development Party and abandon the tainted Ford Kenya.

“There might be other things I could compromise but not this,” he wrote in his autobiography.

MOI'S TRAP

Meanwhile, opposition became a battleground between the old guards, personal self-interest, and “Young Turks”.

They could not agree on a roadmap towards unity as the 1997 elections approached.

By this time, Mr Moi had weakened them and the only tangible opposition remained in the Mt Kenya and Nyanza regions.

The only major addition to the 1997 race was Mr Odinga and the boycott by Mr Matiba.

After Mr Kibaki lost the race to Mr Moi, who won with 40 per cent of cast votes, it was now the younger Mr Odinga’s turn to fall to Mr Moi’s “cooperation” trap.

TACTICS

The rest is history and it was Mr Odinga who had the last laugh after he destroyed Kanu from within.

But history, has not been kind to him either and now he is facing President Moi’s two apostles: Uhuru Kenyatta and William Ruto.

Whether they will apply Mr Moi’s tactics is not known but it is a political scene worth watching.