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Why Nasa supporters are annoyed with ‘The Economist’


Nasa supporters have now trained their guns on London based publication, The Economist, for an article it published about the opposition outfit’s leader Raila Odinga.

In the article titled, “Raila Odinga takes a gamble by threatening to boycott Kenya’s election,” the writer says the strategy Odinga is using is common in the hawking sector where a buyer’s last negotiating ploy is walking out in the hope that they would be chased down the street and offered the item at their price.

“Raila Odinga, Kenya’s softly-spoken opposition leader, seems to be hoping a similar strategy may rescue his electoral chances,” wrote The Economist.

The publication went on to state that it would be worse if the election goes on without Odinga as President Uhuru Kenyatta may retain his seat, “but a large proportion of the population would not recognise his right to rule and would feel left out of the political system.”

“By walking away, Mr Odinga seems to be gambling on his ability to threaten chaos to push Mr Kenyatta to negotiate. But the trouble with that strategy is that Mr Odinga is running out of money. And although protests occasionally gum up the centre of Nairobi, even his most partisan supporters will not stay on the streets indefinitely,” added the publication.

The article has made the hashtag #EconomistLies to trend on Twitter as users lashed at the publication and even its Africa correspondent.