Jimmy Wanjigi wrongly vilified by media

Jimmy Wanjigi wrongly vilified by media

In a democracy, it’s the people who define the type of leaders they vote for or associate with. Businessman Jimmy Wanjigi, in exercising his democratic right, has chosen to support Raila Amolo Odinga for President in August.

Therefore, the grotesque picture painted on Wanjigi’ personality by the Daily Nation dated Monday June 26 2017, left a lot to be desired. I’m not trying to question the authenticity of what the media said about Wanjigi but the dossier left both friend and foe with questions than answers.

First of all, the timing of the dossier is suspect since he has already been mentioned many times to be associated with Raila’s presidential bid through the National Super Alliance (Nasa).  What is even more ironical is why the media failed to bring out the dossier when Wanjigi was in Jubilee… having supported President Uhuru Kenyatta and William Ruto’s ticket in 2013.

It appears the highly researched story was kept in a lock box waiting for the right time to unleash it. Waiting four years for Wanjigi to jump ship from Jubilee to the political opposition portrays a vendetta against the businessman. I wonder if the same would have happened if he was still in Jubilee.

This trend of vilifying individuals who associate with Raila Odinga is not only barbaric but a travesty to freedom of association. Both Raila and Wanjigi are Kenyans who should associate freely and make political decisions independently without raising eyebrows.

Raila, like any candidate running for office cannot vet the integrity of those who support him if at all the issues raised in the media about Wanjigi integrity is something to go by.

It must be remembered that Wanjigi, has never served in government. Never been board member of any private or public corporation. Secondly, he has never been hounded in a court of law to be judged of any offense.

If all the financial dealings Wanjigi is associated with were true as per the media, how come he has not been judged in a court of law? Can we then conclude that that the current government is using the media to blackmail anybody associated with Raila?

Vilifying Wanjigi and invading his privacy is not only inhuman but unprofessional. Kenya has gone through a lot. We have individuals with questionable records who should be investigated and the truth laid bare.

Kenyans want to see the media unravel what happened with Chicken gate, Ministry of Health and the NYS scandals, to mention but a few. Let the fourth estate tell us how much is hidden in offshore accounts and who is behind it if they care about the financial future of the country.

I also want to challenge the media to investigate the gurus of Triton Oil, Chicken Gate, NYS and many other scandals which have bedeviled the country are sitting pretty comfortable; enjoying their loot.

Even if Wanjigi has issues, why should Raila decline to associate with him? After all, we live in a very evil age. No one is good; except God. The Bible reminds us in Luke 18:19.

Let Wanjigi be! He is not an angel and if he has done anything wrong, he should be subjected to the due process. Doing character assassination on him through splashy headlines to appease some government apologists is not ethical in journalism.

The fourth estate is fond of depicting Raila and his supporters in bad light yet the Nasa Presidential candidate has fought for media freedom as a tool for democracy and information in the country for many decades.

In fact, this is like sheltering a refuge in your house who later threatens to kill you and your children. Why can’t they just appreciate what Raila has done and accord him some respect?

The media needs to give prominence to myriad challenges facing the country like the Cholera outbreak in Weston Hotel and the IEBC ballot tender saga because the two issues affects the lives of Kenyans than the Wanjigi story. 

After all, blackmailing an individual merely because of his political affiliations is not right.

Joseph Lister Nyaringo New Jersey, USA