Politics is an engagement whose endgame, for participants, is to ascend
to the throne of leadership. The pathway to the top is littered with
broken dreams, unfulfilled promises and shifting alliances. If this life
of artifice is a befitting description of a politician, then Kenyans
are the acme of political perfection.
Recent revelations of acts of corruption ostensibly committed by
Cabinet secretaries (CSs) from the Jubilee administration have rocked
the nation. President Uhuru Kenyatta, in a bid to clean his Augean
stables, has fired one CS and transferred another. But is this the
preamble to long awaited action against malfeasance at highest levels of
Government?
Is this the fight against corruption promised by the President
Kenyatta’s alter ego, David Murathe, when he said, “heads will roll, and
you can take that to the bank?” Or is it the confirmation of the worst
fears of some stakeholders in the Government; that realignments to
exclude them from the presidency in 2022, precipitated by the famous
“handshake” between the President and former Prime Minister Raila
Odinga, have started?
Sports CS Rashid Echesa’s dismissal has been nuanced by some as the
outcome of a supremacy contest between Deputy President (DP) William
Ruto and Mr Odinga.
Echesa, a man of modest education, exemplifies the elevation of political patronage over meritocracy in the civil service. Indentured to the interests of those he served, he engaged in public spats completely oblivious of the demands of his office, or the dictates of the civil service code of conduct that called for a refrain from politics. The last straw may have been when he dared Rails to orchestrate his sacking.
To them, two is company and three is a crowd. They argue that Raila is a third wheel in the presidency and his actions as an agent provocateur, are an aberration of what is intended in a democratic system. After a relatively long spell of torpor that lulled friend and foe into thinking Raila was out of contention in the race to the top, he has escalated his fight with the DP. In a recent outburst, he stopped short of attributing the country’s corruption scandals to Dr Ruto. This is the sort of political mendacity that Kenyans are getting tired of. It is disingenuous to attempt to make the DP the whipping boy in this present national scourge. It has prompted an unhealthy race of factions within the Jubilee administration to “expose” each other’s scandals or for each to have the other over a barrel. Kenyans hope that Uhuru will win the war against corruption. But that war can only be won based on compelling evidence, sound prosecution and determination by courts of law. Spurious allegations in public fora only serve as a distraction and reveal the raw ambitions of those in the game of thrones.
Echesa, a man of modest education, exemplifies the elevation of political patronage over meritocracy in the civil service. Indentured to the interests of those he served, he engaged in public spats completely oblivious of the demands of his office, or the dictates of the civil service code of conduct that called for a refrain from politics. The last straw may have been when he dared Rails to orchestrate his sacking.
Her prevarication
Amina’s redeployment to Sports from the more prestigious Education
ministry has been perceived to be a soft landing after a lacklustre
performance. To her credit, she oversaw the successful administration of
the 2018 national examinations. However, her prevarication over the
rollout of the new competency-based curriculum may have contributed to
her transfer. But it is the incoming Education CS, Prof George Magoha’s
nomination that has set some tongues wagging.
According to them, because public appointments in Kenya are informed, in
part, by ethnic considerations, Magoha’s new role is a triumph for
Raila, who is of the same ethnic extraction. Questions then arise about
Raila’s role in Kenyan politics. Is he still the agitator and defender
of the rights and liberties of Kenyans? Has his role morphed into that
of kingmaker come the 2022 elections? Or is he still mulling a fifth
stab at the presidency?
As this column has discussed previously, Kenya is a democratic nation
with a system of renewal every five years. In addition to an elected
president, deputy and representatives at various levels of government,
an opposition is also a legitimate outcome of national elections. The
opposition’s role is to provide the checks and balances needed to keep
the Government on the straight and narrow.
Agent provocateur
After Kenya’s contentious 2017 polls, it was expected Raila would take
up the role of opposition leader. However, the ‘handshake’ with Uhuru
rendered him an appendage of the Executive, albeit, in an unofficial
capacity. That his presence within the presidency has not been well
received by Deputy President William Ruto’s supporters is an open
secret.
To them, two is company and three is a crowd. They argue that Raila is a third wheel in the presidency and his actions as an agent provocateur, are an aberration of what is intended in a democratic system. After a relatively long spell of torpor that lulled friend and foe into thinking Raila was out of contention in the race to the top, he has escalated his fight with the DP. In a recent outburst, he stopped short of attributing the country’s corruption scandals to Dr Ruto. This is the sort of political mendacity that Kenyans are getting tired of. It is disingenuous to attempt to make the DP the whipping boy in this present national scourge. It has prompted an unhealthy race of factions within the Jubilee administration to “expose” each other’s scandals or for each to have the other over a barrel. Kenyans hope that Uhuru will win the war against corruption. But that war can only be won based on compelling evidence, sound prosecution and determination by courts of law. Spurious allegations in public fora only serve as a distraction and reveal the raw ambitions of those in the game of thrones.
Mr Khafafa is Vice Chairman, Kenya-Turkey Business Council.
(first published on www.standardmedia.co.ke)
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