UHURU KENYATTA MUST BE PREPARED TO LOSE UNLESS HE CHANGES TACTICS

If free and fair elections were to be held today, Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga would most likely upset the incumbent President Uhuru Kenyatta.

I base my position on the following premise:

First, three years into government the ruling Jubilee has failed to meet the threshold of national aspirations: It has failed to inspire hope, failed to unite a balkanized country, and failed to tackle chronic unemployment and biting poverty. Tens of thousands of Kenyans are starving in various parts of the country due, in part, to poor policies.

Two, despite promises of commitment and declarations of intent to 'sly the dragon,' grand corruption still gnaws ferociously at the very fabric of the nation. After President Kibaki failed to deal with the matter during his eight years in office, Kenyans expected much more from their new youthful and savvy leader. But recently Kenyatta surprised many when he admitted

he was frustrated by the whole issue of corruption, and blamed his officials for letting him down.

None other than the former anti-corruption czar John Githongo has said that Kenyatta's is "the most rapacious administration we have ever had."

Three, Kenyatta could go home in 2017 because an increasingly cynical citizenry is hungry for real, substantive, and sustainable change. They are tired of the status quo, of rampant tribalism and entrenched nepotism.

During campaigns, the Jubilee party leadership promised a double digit growth. That has not happened. The economy is still hovering at around five percent.

It also guaranteed five million jobs over a five year period. Three years down the line, not even half of those jobs have been delivered. A staggering 70 percent of young people remain jobless.

Four, the economy. Kenya's debt has grown exponentially from 1.2 trillion shillings to 3.2 trillion shillings within three years. It is the citizenry that is shouldering the burden. Even the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) are worried.

Five, there has been a noticeable increase in police brutality against innocent people, protesters and members of the media in the last few years. A number of journalists have been threatened and beaten, and media freedoms are seemingly under siege.

And finally, Kenyatta won by the narrowest of margins in 2013: 50.03 percent against Odinga's 43.28 percent of the vote. Dynamics have not changed much. Odinga remains Kenyatta's most potent political adversary and will most likely give the President a run for his money. The leader of the Orange Democratic Party has the momentum, the determination, and a fanatical support of loyalists across the country at this point of time.

Also, the newly inaugurated Jubilee Party is yet to kick off in a more tangible way. It is only this week that party regional committees were appointed to oversee activities at the grassroots level. This laissez-faire attitude on the part of the Jubilee could be its Achilles Heels.

The only thing the opposition must do without delay is to announce its presidential flag-bearer, even though my view is that the flag-bearer will indeed be Odinga himself.

Having said all that Kenyatta has some positive victories of his own. He can cite improved infrastructure (roads and railway lines), free maternity services, a more secure country, fertilizers and electricity provisions, and the delivery of digital learning devices to schools. He can also argue that Kenya is viewed more positively in the world today than it was during Kibaki's time.

Will these positives be enough to guarantee him another four years in office?

Conventional wisdom tells me nyet.

I must say however that not everything is broken for Kenyatta. There is still time to change the negative perceptions on the ground. To do so, he needs to change tactics and strategies and dispel feelings among some that his Administration is elitist and insular.

As someone says, politics is a battle of perceptions.

And that is my say.