By Kodi Barth

It doesn’t matter if Lang’ata MP Raila Odinga is made minister of tsetse fly control. He would turn that into the single most important ministry. The man is himself a ministry. Heck, he is bigger than a ministry; even outside the Cabinet!

This is what the Kenyan media appears to have concluded.

During these tumultuous times in the Kibaki Presidency, the media appears to have entire divisions covering Raila.

The moment the President announced a cabinet without the entire Orange brigade, a cabinet that instantly began to chip at the seams and crumble in the middle, all news and analysis dedicated some space and time for Raila.

Mentioning those left out in the new Cabient, Raila’s picture and name always came first. Speculating on the way forward, columns and airtime profiled Raila. Where does he stand on this?

How is he likely to react?

What are his options?

No doubt was left that even in his absence, the man is kingpin.

Covering politics in Kenya, it appears, is incomplete without an angle on Raila.

A double-spread headline in Friday’s Standard attributed to former Attorney General Charles Njonjo said that the new line-up was a deliberate attempt by State House to sideline Raila.

Previously, sections of the media have quoted former Constitution of Kenya Review Chairman Prof Yash Pal Ghai saying that senior leaders in the Kibaki Presidency repeatedly approached him to help them tame Raila.

And when the failed Wako Draft Constitution finally came to the vote, the media highlighted voices that said it was a battle between President Kibaki and the man perceived to have singularly propelled him to State House — Raila.

For over three years now, little excuse was needed to drag the man’s name into headlines.

He may have been out of the country for a week, but a little stir at the LDP, where he doesn’t even hold an office, will prompt headlines like "Raila party claims A-B-C"; "Raila allies do 1-2-3".

This permanent fixture in the media aside, the Kenyan political process is clearly becoming sophisticated.

And the country’s media realises it must move with the pace.

A systematic look at the scene reveals at least six layers in the political process.

One: Political party leaders. The argument quickly gaining currency is that government can no longer move without these leaders’ blessing.

Two: Elected and appointed state officials. These include MPs, cabinet ministers, the Attorney General, the Head of Civil Service; all crucially relevant in the political scene.

Three: Interest pressure groups, such as NGOs, religious bodies, and the entire civil society who make it their business to demand good governance on behalf of the people.

Fourth: Organised professional bureaucracies, such as workers’ and teachers’ trade unions, who equally represent significant constituencies that must be listened to.

Five: Other government and state units, such as the Provincial Administration, local authorities, and the whole complex web of legal and financial involvements.

And six: The media. The media provides the largest stage upon which all other participants in the political contest play their parts, with the general public as an audience.

On this stage, inspiring stuff and shenanigans equally find a place. Take Friday’s swearing-in ceremony of the new cabinet.

With a reported 20 names pulling out of a list President Kibaki personally read out to the country on Wednesday, even the deaf and the blind knew State House was in the throng of a major crisis. Reports were rife about leaders’ frantic efforts to contain the egg yolk splashing all over the President’s face.

Yet, as the cameras rolled to capture the swearing-in ceremony on Friday, the first images were of President Kibaki and his deputy Moody Awori sitting side by side, exuding candour and casualness.

If you had been asleep for a month and just woke up to that picture, you wouldn’t guess Kenya had been to hell and back all month.

The President beamed, while Awori laughed his head off, clapping his knees and nearly toppling over in his seat.

They knew the cameras were rolling, and the country was watching. They were merely actors on a stage, laid out for free by the media.

But media practitioners know better than to imagine they merely provide the stage for the political process. They also take a direct part in the process. They initiate debate and lay out the agenda. They tell people how politics works, how it affects them, and how they can influence it.

That is why media must permanently keep the lens in perspective, not only on Raila’s face.

The writer is a journalism lecturer at the United States International University, Nairobi. kodi@kodibarth.com