8th March 2019
by Guest contributor
Does Raila the rebel people’s president have the moral authority to direct Uhuru’s Government? What is fueling his drive?
It has been said that during campain rallies, there are certain individuals, whose presence sparks a walk out or detracts rather than attract supporters. Their mere act of speaking sends away 200 voters while attracting 20.
This reduces the worth and value of the candidate. Such is the net effect of Raila’s entry in the war against corruption. The die is cast and I can say without any fear of contradiction, that the polarization of the corruption war with political overtones, has divided the country midstream. Not between the corrupt and non corrupt, NO, but between the perceived politically correct and politically wrong.
The heat generated by the current sackings and arrests, all seem to point at a certain direction: a nation that is fast fragmenting with a wide spectrum of the populace reading malice and witch hunt in the manner and conduct of the war against corruption.
The strategic placement of the opposition doyen Raila and his entry into this war have made many read succession politics within political ranks. With or without the handshake initiative, Raila cannot wish away his immediate tainted political history.
There is nothing like baptism of fire in politics and therefore his mission remains suspect. The disquiet in Jubilee Party, once an island of peace in a sea of turmoil, is an indicator that an enemy may be using bridge building initiative for Settling political scores. How else do you explain of a discord that hits family members barely 6 Months after inviting a stranger to live with them?
Well, back to the war against corruption and the massively dented public good will. In a delicate, highly charged tribal and political enviroment such as Kenya, fighting corruption needs some strategy. Any miscalculated move will make the whole initiative backfire and the war against corruption will have been lost.
That is where this country is headed. The push for sacking of Water CS Simon Chelgui, Treasury CS Henry Rotich, Tourism CS Najib Balala, Agriculture CS Mwangi Kiunjuri, Education CS Amina Muhamed, Health CS Sicily Kariuki and Labour CS Rashid Echesa is such a miscalculation.
The protagonist targets key ministries with ultimate goal of causing paralysis in management of government. These ministers are been pressurised to step down for a range of reasons including suspicion of involvement in corruption, management failures in their ministries or actions of junior officials in departments in which they bear ultimate responsibility. The condemplated sacking and or demotion at this particular time, will mark the beginning of the fall of Jubilee. If President Uhuru falls into this trap, that will bring Jubilee down as Raila ups his power game.
The mistake, this regime is making is reminscent to the one Moi’s regime made in the years preceeding the repeal of section 2a that moved the country to multipartism. The political team “outside” then was stronger than the team “inside” and Moi had to surrender to the whims of the majority. I will not be surprised if this perception happens to Uhuru.
However, this perceived paralysis of the government must be stopped for the common good of the people.
Mr. President, the majority of Kenyans are complaining of a politicised corruption fight targeting certain persons. The cry is getting louder every day and nobody is listening.
The result shall be a society that is more bolder, more energized and ready to rumble. And another thing, these politicised arrests and sackings might possibly reunite a revamped mainstream opposition, led by Raila, Kalonzo, Wetangula, Mudavadi and Gideon Moi against a weakened Jubilee Party.
This time round the Government’s loss of public goodwill shall pay dividends to the opposition caucus. You must stop this carefully knitted internal revolt conspiracy. History has proven time and time again that it leads us to a very dark hour.
Mr. President, as a nation, we must stand on our principles and not sell out. If you stated time and time again, that someone is an enemy of the state, then that someone “is unfit for public office,” you cannot endorse that someone now for a high-ranking political office.
That will be itself corruption. My advice “please guard your OFFICE jealously and remember PRESIDENCY is a 3 legged traditional stool with a back-rest. and a padded seat. The padded seat represents the NATION KENYA while the backrest is an impression of the STATE LAW upon which your leadership is embedded.
The three legs represent the C.J, the SPEAKER OF N.A and your principal deputy the D.P who is a creation of your own hands and created in your own image. That is my take and therefore anyone threatening to shoot the DP down, is actually aiming the gun at the Presidency .
The frequent stage managed face-offs tween the DP and Raila are meant to demonise your government. The exposure is sending wrong signals. You were once warned by a Governor Waititu to beware of Raila’s political agenda in the handshake deal.
It was indeed a tactical retreat that cannot be underated. In 10 months of the handshake, Jubilee has been reduced to a shell with even the party leader publicly confessing of high levels of corruption in his government.
Thats how to admit defeat, but are you consciously denting the credibility of your Government, all in the name of fighting corruption?
I hold the view that, Corruption is simply a symptom, showing that things somewhere are going in the wrong direction. The remedy in this case lies with the
correct application of rules and regulations and the sanction against those who do not comply to these rules. If people firstly concentrate on the respect of governing rules and regulations and systematically apply sanctions against those who depart from these rules, regardless of their rank, grade or cast, corruption will disappear without any other additional remedy. We only need to change the paradigm.
Lastly, Mr. President, each of your appointed cabinet Secretaries and other state officers, who are being subjected to public redicule by the handshake architects, is born of a woman and a proud son or daughter to a community somewhere in Kenya. Some of them are highly respected Kenyan professionals who hitherto held senior positions before joining your government. Admonishing them in boardrooms will do the trick. And if this fails, a quiet exit followed by legal process is enough.
Subjecting them to public acts of condemnation while holding official positions, has its own repercusions. After all those branding them as corrupt today, have a totally different agenda: to bring your administration down.
Allowing this country to be led by bullies and egomaniacs is not worthy of our history, of our founding fathers.
The author is Mr Gideon Musili Mwalw’a , Former Mwingi central member of Parliament Personal assistant
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