Raila’s Security Detail
Forward this video to minute 1:00.
I’ was watching this video and I was astounded. If Raila Odinga (as much as I dislike him) is the prime minister and if he has a security detail supplied to him from Kenya’s elite Reece squad, his security men should have the right to accompany him everywhere he goes, just like they do the president and the vice-president. It’s very strange that they wouldn’t let Raila’s security detail in with him. Don’t these guards all work for the same department? don’t they all receive the same level of training and pay and salary promotions? What the heck is going on here?
I’ve always been amazed that they have been no assassination attempts on any of Kenya’s presidents. I’m sure the security personnel would like to say that it’s because of their excellent training, but after watching this drama, I don’t think it is. I think the Kenyan people are for the most part, deferential to all their “leaders”. They’ll kill each other, but they won’t kill their leaders. Although, one could argue that they tried to get Moi in 1982, but failed. However, based on what I read of Moi’s laughable autobiography, his security detail was concerned that the airforce would bomb his house in order to try and kill him. So, they took him out of state house and hid him in a maize field for hours! did you guys know that? they came back for his wife later, but he doesnt’ say where they hid her or his children. They were not afraid of an assassins bullet. They were afraid of aerial bombing.
My basic point here is that they must provide Raila Odinga with adequate security because if anything happens to him, the country will be plunged into violence.
So, what do you think? why have there been no assassination attempts in Kenya’s troubled political history? this is very rare for Africa.
That’s a great question KE. Not sure why there haven’t been any successful attempts – though I can think of a few folks that (IMO) should and do deserve to “disappear”. For their names, let’s have a side-bar/offline conversation…
…Seriously though, I think both Kenyatta and Moi had a pretty tight reign over the country during their regimes/reigns. Look at the number of folks that died under mysterious circumstances in both times. That must have instilled some element of fear on would-be plotters. I think there were some attempts at overthrowing the government and what I would assume may have ended in some assassination plot (the unnsuccessful ’82 coup), but didn’t go very far. Perhaps it’s the same old fear, mebbe it’s the “deference to their leaders” that you mentioned before, or the one I like best “Kenyans are not violent people”. Right.
Btw, I think that piece about Moi hidden in a maize field for hours is hilarious! Ok, so there was concern about aerial bombing of the buildings, but not the surroundings? Ingenious! Anyone ever heard of missed targets? Uhm, I think that’s why there are “special bunkers” in the rest of the world, or those now famous “panic rooms”.
Like someone once said to me about this one rotary in our area…how they wish it had been bombed as the planes were making their way to Iraq. I often find myself thinking about that same wish for some of the leadership in Kenya…