WHY PROF. WAJACKOYAH IS RIGHT ON THE PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE.

 The presidential debate secretariat should rise to the occasion and come clean on the upcoming president debate which is slated to take place at the end of this month. Each and every PRESIDENTIAL candidate must be treated equally and with decorum. There is no presidential candidate who is special than the other. All of them were cleared by the IEBC chairman Wafula Chebukati after a rigorous exercise that took place at bomas of Kenya. Initially, there were more than 57 presidential aspirants but IEBC trimmed them to four of them , namely: Raila Odinga of Azimio la Umoja one Kenya Alliance coalition party , Roots Party of Kenya Prof George Wajackoyah, Agano Party Mwaure Waihiga and Kenya Kwanza Alliance Dr William Ruto.

Prof Wajackoyah is not a happy man but Why??? The presidential debate secretariat is giving him and his fellow presidential competitor the short end of the stick. Why should they be segregated that , their debate will take place separate from that of Raila Odinga and William Ruto. Why should that happen yet they are all equal , but wait!!! Is the secretariat relying on the opinion poll on popularity of the four presidential candidates? Where is the colleration between opinion polls and the presidential debate? The opinion polls are being conducted by ipsos Synovate and TIFA while the presidential debate is being conducted by an amalgamation of Media Council of Kenya ( MCK) , Editors guild and media owners association ( MoA). This are two totally different entities. Wajackoyah has threatened to boycott that much awaited debate. On this one , I stand with the  Wajackoyah. A heavy tree must stand by its roots and the roots party boss is actualizing that statement.

We only have 4 presidential candidates and am baffled by the decision of the secretariat to have two different debates. That of Raila Odinga and William Ruto alone and that of Wajackoyah and Mwaure. The question am asking myself , is this fair? If the number was big , it would be understandable but for now , the secretariat should not hide themselves by dragging the issue of candidates popularity. It is not convincing at all. The secretariat should go tell the birds but the fact is , if it wants that debate to be meaningful to Kenyans , all presidential candidates must be subjected in the podium at Catholic University of East Africa (CUEA). All of them should be seen by Kenyans and moderators should not assume that , Raila Odinga and William Ruto are the most entitled presidential candidates. The question is , if they will not have separate ballot papers during the general elections , why separate them now?.

During the first presidential debate back in 2013 at Daystar University , all the presidential candidates took to the podium at the same time. There was no segregation based on popularity level. Those who participated in that debate were : Raila Odinga , UHURU KENYATTA, Prof. Ole Kiyapi , Martha Karua SC , Mwalimu Abduba Dida , Peter Kenneth and Paul Muite. If the presidential secretariat back then relied on popularity levels to segragate the participants , then , Uhuru Kenyatta and Raila Odinga would have engaged in their own separate presidential debate. That's not wise and good. All presidential candidates must and should be subjected to Kenyans at the same time. 

The media in Kenya is borrowing a foreign concept that they are finding themselves at crossroads in implementing it. Presidential debates are deeply rooted in mature democracies and not in developing nations which majority of them practice pseudo democracy from the start till the end. This whole issue or they will not handle it with professionalism , it will leave them with an egg on their faces. All presidential candidates must and should be subjected in the podium and not being segragated through opinion polls. That is , candidate A is more popular than candidate B . The question is , will IEBC provide separate presidential ballot papers based on individual's presidential candidate popularity? No!! So , why is the presidential debate secretariat taking that route? 

Prof Wajackoyah George demands should be looked into and addressed with immediate effect. He has raised an issue that , devoid ones political affiliation , they are worth being given the maximum attention they deserve. The moderators too who will be overseeing that debate should be prepared in advance. They must composed the questions they will be posing to this presidential candidates. There should be no element or traces of partisanship however sporadic and clandestine they may be.  That is the only way this debates can instill confidentiality on the candidates first and then kenyans in general. It is that simple.