John Kihuria
22 June 2008
Nairobi — The executive office on the 20th floor of Nyayo House is a different world from the tiny crowded cubicle at Continental House.
But the man behind the polished mahogany desk is the same jolly, unassuming politician possessed by his trademark easy and hearty laughter; whether he is talking about weighty national issues or recalling, with nostalgia, how he coined the mapambano (struggle) slogan.
The reception area is a mini constituency conference centre where visitors feel literally at home as they converse in their mother tongue in complete disregard of posted messages urging the exclusive use of national languages.
All the visitors are on a single mission: to seek audience with the minister for Registration and Immigration.
As the interview with Sunday Nation kicks off, Otieno Kajwang vividly remembers the day he first used the mapambano slogan at the beginning of the Orange "No" campaign against the proposed constitution.
"In our efforts to stop the enactment of the proposed new constitution, we had to engage our opponents in the battlefield. I set out to harness public imagination and crystallise the campaign in a slogan," the minister said.
He explained that mapambano is a religious song about the struggle between good and evil and that he used to sing it when he was a member of his church choir.
"In politics, I first sang it at the start of the campaign against the proposed new constitution in Makadara constituency," he said. He had accompanied William Ruto and Martin Shikuku for a street clean-up exercise. "At the end of my speech, the word mapambano came to my lips and I just started singing."
From then on, the three-time Mbita MP has been considered a political "comedian," as he turns political gatherings into mass songfests with the mapambano anthem.
But is there more to Otieno Kajwang than the comedy?
"One has to separate political campaigns from serious discourse. Over the years, I have had serious debates on radio, television, newspapers and in Parliament," he said. "When it comes to political campaigns, you must forget serious discourse. Usually you have barely three minutes to make an impact. Political slogans carry the day."
On his political career, Kajwang contends that the transition from being a lawyer to a politician has not been easy. At some point, he says, he seriously contemplated giving up politics and "going back to school with the aim of becoming a teacher.
"Midway in my fist term in Parliament expectations were very high, and I felt I could not cope. Whereas I knew what I wanted for the country and its people, I was not making any impact and could not influence government policy or shape public opinion," he said.
But just when he was about to give up, the constitution review debate came to the fore and saved the career of the man who now feels well-placed to influence policy.
"If you are not in government, you cannot influence anything. The (constitutional) review process made me feel I could contribute to the development of this country," he said. "I saw the possibility of us (the opposition) being in government and being able to influence policy."
He would like to see Kenya open for business and industry at the same level as the Asian "tigers" as "we have all it takes. All one needs to do is press the right buttons, and Kenya would become the preferred destination for investment." On his appointment to the Cabinet, Kajwang says he anticipated it because "I had done my work for the party and remained loyal." He says the day he was struck off the Advocates Roll was the lowest moment in his life.
Being persecuted
"I felt like I was being persecuted for my opinions on certain issues. It is very painful to work so hard to qualify for a profession only to be denied the opportunity to practise. I am still very bitter with the decision to bar me."
On the size of the Cabinet, Kajwang says that "this Cabinet was imposed on us by the circumstances of the moment, and for peace to return to the country, it had to be done. Again people have not looked at what would have been the alternative. Had this not been done, the cost would have been much higher than a few hundred thousand shillings in allowances."
He says it is the policy of his ministry to serve people faster, make queues shorter and reduce the number of public complaints. "If that happens, I will be a very happy man. But for this to happen, we require to invest heavily, especially in IT." Have we heard the last of mapambano? "I do not think so. The struggle for justice and poverty eradication is with us every day," he said.
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