Sunday, 01 March 2009
Commentary (by Abdulahi Ahmednasir) - The worst lies ahead of us
The Coalition Government of President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga is celebrating its first anniversary. Its achievements are neither profound nor bountiful. It stopped the civil war triggered by the contested presidential election.
The sharing of Cabinet and other positions of authority strictly on ethnic lines among the two political factions is another achievement.
Its failures are many and enormous. It includes runaway corruption, bad governance, engrained and official tribalism, famine, economic deterioration, institutional erosion, mistrust of the state and its authority and the new fad of outsourcing experts and institutions.
If Kenyans think the worst is behind us, then we are mistaken. We haven’t seen anything yet. Kenyans must be conscious of the dangers facing the country at present and should be prepared for the threats looming on the horizon.
The worst is not behind us. The worst is ahead of us. It is time to appreciate some of the dangers that could engulf the republic and take precautionary steps.
Constitutional deficit
The first great challenge Kenya faces is posed by a crippling constitutional deficit in the mandate of the two principals.
Let me start with the Prime Minister.
His is a constitutional office with limited executive authority. His constitutional authority is however limited to the executive arm of government and does not extend to other arms of government.
It was thus interesting to hear the Prime Minister telling Kenyans there will be radically surgery of the Judiciary. On what constitutional authority, if one may ask?
The Prime Minister does not have a constitutional mandate to undertake fundamental restructuring of the Kenyan State in any way. He has no mandate of whatever nature from the Kenyan people. The political rationale for Raila sharing executive authority with Kibaki was a constitutional rationalisation that neither he nor the President had a clear and undisputed mandate.
Similarly, Kibaki due to the disputed election and the narrow margin of victory, according to the official result, also lacks the mandate of the people.
They must remember that the coalition was not brought through the will of the people. On the contrary, it was a consequence of the spoils of a war they unnecessarily unleashed on Kenyans in their blind pursuit to either hold on to power or grab it.
This constitutional deficit means that the constitutional legitimacy of the two principals to load it over ordinary Kenyans must be challenged. As their rule travels far in time and in ignominy, their contested legitimacy will shrink correspondingly. Their authority will wane too. The future portends a serious constitutional crisis.
The second danger is a mutation of executive authority. Once upon a time we had a one-man executive president. Then to buy peace from Kibaki and Raila we divided executive authority between them. Then we moved to the trinity of executive authority when Kofi Annan joined the President and the Prime Minister in running the country.
Lastly we have the European Union ambassadors and American ambassadors contributing to decision making.
Overzealous foreigners
Annan undoubtedly has done great favour to Kenyans and we are eternally grateful. But we must state to his face now that he is functus officio and declare him surplus to requirement. His continuous intrusion in the executive authority and his latest summoning of the President and the Prime Minister to his residence in Geneva is an absolute disgrace.
Keen Kenyans may have also noticed that whenever America’s ambassador Michael Ranneberger addresses the Press, he starts with the sentences "the views of Kenyans… or majority of Kenyans… the will of Kenyans…" In the absence of any serious competition, Ranneberger has arrogated himself the role of the peoples’ spokesman.
Kenyans must urgently demand that the eclipse of sovereignty that enveloped us a year go must end like all other eclipses do.
Cover up
The third danger is a ferocious national exercise to undermine national institution. On this account the Prime Minister is leading a new and very unnecessary exercise of outsourcing Kenyan jobs. Raila’s suggestion that we get a foreigner to head the Interim Independent Electoral Commission was shocking. This came hot on the heels of his outsourcing of a German coach to manage Harambee Stars.
Then we have various reports that make serious allegations against the police, army, and prisons department and all law enforcement organs of the State. No one should cover up or make excuses for the failures of security organs of the State, and they are many. But the trend to destroy national institutions as pastime is alarming and unsettling.
Kenyans must remember the constant vilifications, attack and maligning of national institutions have a corrosive effect, and time will come when we would have destroyed them, overrun them and butcher one another in their absence.
The fourth danger is posed by local NGOs remote controlled by foreign embassies. It is in the national interest that Parliament must urgently enact a legalisation that allows for funding of NGOs from the Exchequer.
A fund run by an organ created and accountable to Parliament in the mode of the Constituency Development Fund is urgently needed. There are many local NGOs that do wonderful job in the education, health sectors, political education and grassroots mobilisation.
Such NGOs must be funded through a local fund annually allocated by Parliament. In addition to freeing them from the shackles of foreign embassies that run them as an extension of their foreign policies, such a mechanism will also bring a level of accountability that is lacking in the sector.
The fifth danger is the constant bashing of the Judiciary. Discrediting the Judiciary by much discredited politicians has become the norm, and it is annoying. An efficient and independent Judiciary is a good barometer to gauge the development of a country’s institutions of governance. We don’t have a Judiciary we can be proud of. It faces an acute shortage of resources.
It is deliberately undermined by the Executive. Corruption and poor work ethic are major problems. But the Judiciary functions, not optimally, but it functions nonetheless.
Recently Raila, Martha Karua and Justice Aaron Ringera, as if they rehearsed their lines, have in unison attacked the Judiciary for ruling against the Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission in three cases involving Anglo Leasing. Must our courts rule in favour of the Government to show their independence? Who said the government cannot lose cases? I have personally read the three judgements of the court. I know the facts of these cases. If I were the judge I would have ruled the same.
The central issue in contention in the Anglo Leasing cases, which the Government is hiding from ordinary Kenyans and which the court asked the Government is whether it can invalidate the contracts in court when the Attorney-General has written legal opinions certifying the validity, lawfulness, correctness and the binding nature and force of the contracts in dispute.
Contracts in dispute
That is the question the Government has failed to satisfactory answer. Ringera, Raila, and Karua want Kenyans to believe the yardstick of a good judiciary is one that gives judgement in favour of the Government. Didn’t we spill blood to overthrow that obnoxious and fallacious philosophy of yesteryears?
The sixth and the most serious danger is the likelihood of the Coalition Government going full length to 2012.
That would be a disaster. The country cannot survive another four years of this pathetic thieving union. Multiply the inadequacies and shortcomings of the regime during the past year by five and the country will snap. The elasticity of both the human tolerance and endurance of Kenyans is being stretched too far. It can go for probably a year and a half but not more.
According to our national agenda the next two years are dedicated to reforms.
During this period we expect to enact a new constitution, reform the electoral system and institutions and then go for fresh elections.
If the ongoing selection of commissioners to the independent electoral commission is anything to go by, then we are retrogressing in terms of reforms.
The circus surrounding the uncremonial dropping of Cecil Miller as chairman is pointer to a new creepy level of ethnic chauvinism.
The writer is an advocate of the High Court and a former Chairman of the Law Society of Kenya.
ahmednasir@ahmedabdi.com
The sharing of Cabinet and other positions of authority strictly on ethnic lines among the two political factions is another achievement.
Its failures are many and enormous. It includes runaway corruption, bad governance, engrained and official tribalism, famine, economic deterioration, institutional erosion, mistrust of the state and its authority and the new fad of outsourcing experts and institutions.
If Kenyans think the worst is behind us, then we are mistaken. We haven’t seen anything yet. Kenyans must be conscious of the dangers facing the country at present and should be prepared for the threats looming on the horizon.
The worst is not behind us. The worst is ahead of us. It is time to appreciate some of the dangers that could engulf the republic and take precautionary steps.
Constitutional deficit
The first great challenge Kenya faces is posed by a crippling constitutional deficit in the mandate of the two principals.
Let me start with the Prime Minister.
His is a constitutional office with limited executive authority. His constitutional authority is however limited to the executive arm of government and does not extend to other arms of government.
It was thus interesting to hear the Prime Minister telling Kenyans there will be radically surgery of the Judiciary. On what constitutional authority, if one may ask?
The Prime Minister does not have a constitutional mandate to undertake fundamental restructuring of the Kenyan State in any way. He has no mandate of whatever nature from the Kenyan people. The political rationale for Raila sharing executive authority with Kibaki was a constitutional rationalisation that neither he nor the President had a clear and undisputed mandate.
Similarly, Kibaki due to the disputed election and the narrow margin of victory, according to the official result, also lacks the mandate of the people.
They must remember that the coalition was not brought through the will of the people. On the contrary, it was a consequence of the spoils of a war they unnecessarily unleashed on Kenyans in their blind pursuit to either hold on to power or grab it.
This constitutional deficit means that the constitutional legitimacy of the two principals to load it over ordinary Kenyans must be challenged. As their rule travels far in time and in ignominy, their contested legitimacy will shrink correspondingly. Their authority will wane too. The future portends a serious constitutional crisis.
The second danger is a mutation of executive authority. Once upon a time we had a one-man executive president. Then to buy peace from Kibaki and Raila we divided executive authority between them. Then we moved to the trinity of executive authority when Kofi Annan joined the President and the Prime Minister in running the country.
Lastly we have the European Union ambassadors and American ambassadors contributing to decision making.
Overzealous foreigners
Annan undoubtedly has done great favour to Kenyans and we are eternally grateful. But we must state to his face now that he is functus officio and declare him surplus to requirement. His continuous intrusion in the executive authority and his latest summoning of the President and the Prime Minister to his residence in Geneva is an absolute disgrace.
Keen Kenyans may have also noticed that whenever America’s ambassador Michael Ranneberger addresses the Press, he starts with the sentences "the views of Kenyans… or majority of Kenyans… the will of Kenyans…" In the absence of any serious competition, Ranneberger has arrogated himself the role of the peoples’ spokesman.
Kenyans must urgently demand that the eclipse of sovereignty that enveloped us a year go must end like all other eclipses do.
Cover up
The third danger is a ferocious national exercise to undermine national institution. On this account the Prime Minister is leading a new and very unnecessary exercise of outsourcing Kenyan jobs. Raila’s suggestion that we get a foreigner to head the Interim Independent Electoral Commission was shocking. This came hot on the heels of his outsourcing of a German coach to manage Harambee Stars.
Then we have various reports that make serious allegations against the police, army, and prisons department and all law enforcement organs of the State. No one should cover up or make excuses for the failures of security organs of the State, and they are many. But the trend to destroy national institutions as pastime is alarming and unsettling.
Kenyans must remember the constant vilifications, attack and maligning of national institutions have a corrosive effect, and time will come when we would have destroyed them, overrun them and butcher one another in their absence.
The fourth danger is posed by local NGOs remote controlled by foreign embassies. It is in the national interest that Parliament must urgently enact a legalisation that allows for funding of NGOs from the Exchequer.
A fund run by an organ created and accountable to Parliament in the mode of the Constituency Development Fund is urgently needed. There are many local NGOs that do wonderful job in the education, health sectors, political education and grassroots mobilisation.
Such NGOs must be funded through a local fund annually allocated by Parliament. In addition to freeing them from the shackles of foreign embassies that run them as an extension of their foreign policies, such a mechanism will also bring a level of accountability that is lacking in the sector.
The fifth danger is the constant bashing of the Judiciary. Discrediting the Judiciary by much discredited politicians has become the norm, and it is annoying. An efficient and independent Judiciary is a good barometer to gauge the development of a country’s institutions of governance. We don’t have a Judiciary we can be proud of. It faces an acute shortage of resources.
It is deliberately undermined by the Executive. Corruption and poor work ethic are major problems. But the Judiciary functions, not optimally, but it functions nonetheless.
Recently Raila, Martha Karua and Justice Aaron Ringera, as if they rehearsed their lines, have in unison attacked the Judiciary for ruling against the Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission in three cases involving Anglo Leasing. Must our courts rule in favour of the Government to show their independence? Who said the government cannot lose cases? I have personally read the three judgements of the court. I know the facts of these cases. If I were the judge I would have ruled the same.
The central issue in contention in the Anglo Leasing cases, which the Government is hiding from ordinary Kenyans and which the court asked the Government is whether it can invalidate the contracts in court when the Attorney-General has written legal opinions certifying the validity, lawfulness, correctness and the binding nature and force of the contracts in dispute.
Contracts in dispute
That is the question the Government has failed to satisfactory answer. Ringera, Raila, and Karua want Kenyans to believe the yardstick of a good judiciary is one that gives judgement in favour of the Government. Didn’t we spill blood to overthrow that obnoxious and fallacious philosophy of yesteryears?
The sixth and the most serious danger is the likelihood of the Coalition Government going full length to 2012.
That would be a disaster. The country cannot survive another four years of this pathetic thieving union. Multiply the inadequacies and shortcomings of the regime during the past year by five and the country will snap. The elasticity of both the human tolerance and endurance of Kenyans is being stretched too far. It can go for probably a year and a half but not more.
According to our national agenda the next two years are dedicated to reforms.
During this period we expect to enact a new constitution, reform the electoral system and institutions and then go for fresh elections.
If the ongoing selection of commissioners to the independent electoral commission is anything to go by, then we are retrogressing in terms of reforms.
The circus surrounding the uncremonial dropping of Cecil Miller as chairman is pointer to a new creepy level of ethnic chauvinism.
The writer is an advocate of the High Court and a former Chairman of the Law Society of Kenya.
ahmednasir@ahmedabdi.com
Saturday, 28 February 2009
Friday, 27 February 2009
Thursday, 26 February 2009
Friday, 20 February 2009
Monday, 16 February 2009
Sunday, 08 February 2009
Commentary (by Gitobu Imanyara) - The Hague is the better option
Updated 16 hr(s) 8 min(s) ago
By Gitobu Imanyara
Justice Waki and his team were obviously right in not leaving any ambiguities or uncertainties that the Government could use as justification for not implementing their recommendations. In the event of 45 days lapsing without a local tribunal, the default would automatically trigger off the next stage. That is why the Government attempted to ambush Members of Parliament by rushing in a Bill that was deeply flawed. MP’s rightly refused to be used as a rubberstamp and employed a perfectly lawful technicality to pave the way for suspects to face the International Criminal Court at The Hague. We now have a real opportunity to arrest the culture of impunity. The sad thing is that Prime Minister Raila Odinga appears hell-bent on joining that rank after a distinguished and heroic track record as a pro-democracy and human rights activist.
Entrenching a deeply flawed piece of legislation that purports to set up a local tribunal to bring to justice those who bear the greatest responsibility for the post poll violence and its attendant crimes against humanity will have the effect of legalising impunity. The promise that the Bill can be amended once we pass the constitutional amendment is a cynical ruse to fool Kenyans. We know better than that. The Bill to establish the local tribunal will only require a simple majority and we know from hard experience that an ordinary Bill can be passed or rejected by as few as nine MPs. We cannot afford to take any risk and there are good reasons for rejecting this attempt to entrench the Bill.
Psychological trauma
Firstly the Government waited until the very last moment to call a Speaker’s Kamukunji (informal assembly) to hear the Minister read the contents of the Bill in secret. Members did not have sufficient time to look at the Bill and consider its implications and worse, the Bill that was published on the very day they wanted us to enact it.
Kenyans remember only too well what happened to witnesses in the Ouko Commission. Those who were not killed suffer irreparable psychological trauma. They have become zombies while the killers of former Foreign minister Dr Robert Ouko continue to walk free.
To set up a local tribunal without first putting in place a constitutionally guaranteed Witness Protection Office independent of the Attorney General will ensure that no credible witness will appear before such tribunal.
Arguments have been proffered by some human rights groups and even some diplomatic missions in Nairobi that the presence of international persons as judges and prosecutors will guarantee the local tribunal’s independence. To them I ask: Wasn’t Mr John Troon of the Scotland Yard and his team of investigators not internationally reputed persons?
Did their presence prevent termination of the Ouko Commission just as it was about to call in the chief suspect? And Julie Ward? Hasn’t Julie’s father spent a fortune and brought some of the world’s top investigators? What has been the result? International investigations into the Anglo Leasing Finance scam were frustrated by the Government only this week. Why do we have such short memories? Has the Attorney General whom we want to protect witnesses done anything to show he has the capacity or willingness to do so? Witnesses who will appear before the tribunal will require protection long after the tribunal has concluded its business.
We are told that sending suspects to The Hague will delay the process. But suppose we set up the local tribunal; where are the remand homes and the secure prisons to hold suspects? In which prison or remand home in Kenya can we hold a high ranking suspect? Would we not be inviting a sure calamity? Imagine holding a suspect at the Eldoret Prison or the Industrial Area Remand Home! How long will it take to build remand homes and prisons and who will fund it?
And that is not all, the local tribunal is wholly dependent for its financial needs on estimates from the Ministry of Justice, National Cohesion and Constitutional Affairs. Suppose Parliament as a result of political pressure denies the minister the funds? Would the Government not say our hands are tied because we have no funds? Hasn’t the Ministry of Justice and Constitution Affairs frustrated the proper functioning of the Kenyan National Commission on Human Rights by denying it funds?
Atrocious crimes
Finally we are told that those named can continue holding executive office until they are indicted. How, for example can a departmental head continue in office and be expected to facilitate investigation of himself or herself by persons in his or her department? We need to be serious!
Finally what about the "Principals" in whose names machetes were carried to cut to size "foreigners" and commit atrocious crimes against people whose only crime was to have been born with a name different from theirs? Will the "Principals" stay in office and be expected to facilitate independent and impartial pre-indictment procedures?
Come on Kenyans we have no alternative but to send these people to The Hague! Even if one of them is locked up we will have sent a powerful message that the era of impunity is over.
Mr Gitobu Imanyara is the CCU party leader and MP for Central Imenti.
Imanyara@yahoo.com
Commentary (By Mutahi Ngunyi) - Why The Hague seems to be our only option
By MUTAHI NGUNYIPosted Saturday, February 7 2009 at 16:44
In Summary
* They should be expunged from our politics. This is the purification we crave
The problem with “… election jokes is that they get elected”. And nothing describes Mr Ababu Namwamba better than this.
Initially, his aggression was “cute”; now it borders on adolescent mischief. As a result, the guy has fallen from grace to grass. Or has he? This brings me to my first submission regarding the week.
Mr Namwamba is either a dangerous novice or a crafty operator. His polemics in Parliament this week had nothing to do with First Lady Lucy Kibaki. She was just a side show.
The main show was meant to shield Mr William Ruto. And what is more: It worked. Immediately the First Lady was mentioned, Parliament was derailed.
Focus shifted from Mr Ruto and the maize scandal to the possibility that she could be a maize baron. The drama was captivating. And if this was Mr Namwamba’s intention, it was clever.
However, his motive was unclear. Why shield Mr Ruto? On this one, your guess is as good as mine. If, to the contrary, his motive was pure, but his actions were driven by “boyish” impulses, we must ask him to grow up!
My second submission regards Mr Ruto. Do we believe him? I don’t. In fact, the more he defends himself, the more I doubt him.
He reminds me of the Kanu “hawks”: they were devious, shameless and bold. When he paraded a disabled miller from Kariobangi on TV, the minister had no shame. He thought it was good strategy, but I think it was crass. It was an insult to our intelligence. More so when he declared that this was the only miller he had helped. But there is another thing.
Now that he is under siege, he will retreat to the tribe for back up. He always does this. And in my view, this is an insult to the dignity of the Kalenjin people.
This is why I invite them to consider two things. As he whips their emotions in rallies this weekend, they must remember what former president Moi used to tell us: “kama mbaya, mbaya” (if it is rotten, it is rotten!)
If Mr Ruto’s defence on the maize scandal is not convincing, they must not defend him blindly.
Second, and in the words of Nikita Khrushchev, “… if you feed the people with propaganda, they will listen today, they will listen tomorrow, they will listen the day after tomorrow, but on the fourth day, they will tell you ‘go to hell’!”.
I invite the Kalenjin nation to weigh the words of the minister and his cronies this weekend. If they feed them on nothing but propaganda, they must ask them to “go to hell”. To do so is to be liberated.
My third submission is about The Hague. Some MPs are sabotaging the Special Tribunal Bill. And, in my view, they are inspired by God.
Personally, I opposed The Hague before the maize and oil scandals hit us. And when this happened, I realised that we are still in a state of war. That the war mongers have simply changed tact and relocated from the tribe to the coalition government.
Instead of using crude weapons, they are killing poor people using scandals. Now I am even suspicious of the mysterious fires.
In sum, these war mongers are with us and are entrenched. They are wealthy; they are connected. In fact, they are sub-human. And this is why we must hand them over to a force bigger than us. One they cannot manipulate: The Hague.
We want their visas to be cancelled, their children to be expelled from foreign countries and their assets to be frozen. More fundamentally, they should be expunged from our politics. This is the purification we crave as a country.
The “sabotaging” MPs should, therefore, know that they have read the mood of the nation correctly. They must sabotage the passing of the Bill on Tuesday in the interest of Kenya. But there are two complications here.
One, it is possible that some of the MPs have “eaten” money and they feel obliged to support this Bill. But if they are pricked by their conscience on Tuesday, this should be their justification for sabotage: “…you cannot buy a politician: you can only rent one.”
In other words, we have two sets of MPs; those with a conscience and those for hire. If the MPs with a conscience have decided to sabotage the Bill, my invitation is for the MPs-for-hire to join them. We will repay their act of “kindness” handsomely at the right time. Or what do you think?
The second complication has to do with the tribe. Parliament might support The Hague, but the tribes of Kenya can decide to sabotage this. To avert the crisis ahead, we should borrow from the story of General Ts’ao Ts’ao.
As this general was rebuilding the Hans Empire, his army began to seethe with rebellion. Ts’ao Ts’ao knew that things were bad. And so he had to turn to his closest friend and favourite army commander.
He told the commander: “I want the loan of your head to show the troops”. The commander, of course, was surprised by this. He protested, declaring that he had done no wrong.
But Ts’ao Ts’ao made it clear that if he did not behead him, there would be a mutiny and many would die. At this point, the commander knew that his fate was sealed. He was beheaded the same day, his head mounted on a spike and displayed at the entrance of the army camps.
With this act, Ts’ao Ts’ao did not have to say much. If he could behead his favourite general and friend, the other soldiers figured out that they had no chance.
And this is how radical our tribes must be. To preserve the country, they are called to sacrifice their closest and favourite leaders. Especially those in the Waki List.
Similarly, they must be dramatic in the way we do this if we are to serve notice to future generations. Like Ts’ao Ts’ao, they must send their heads to The Hague. And if they fail to, the price of inaction will be unbearable in 2012.
Are we ready for this drama?
In Summary
* They should be expunged from our politics. This is the purification we crave
The problem with “… election jokes is that they get elected”. And nothing describes Mr Ababu Namwamba better than this.
Initially, his aggression was “cute”; now it borders on adolescent mischief. As a result, the guy has fallen from grace to grass. Or has he? This brings me to my first submission regarding the week.
Mr Namwamba is either a dangerous novice or a crafty operator. His polemics in Parliament this week had nothing to do with First Lady Lucy Kibaki. She was just a side show.
The main show was meant to shield Mr William Ruto. And what is more: It worked. Immediately the First Lady was mentioned, Parliament was derailed.
Focus shifted from Mr Ruto and the maize scandal to the possibility that she could be a maize baron. The drama was captivating. And if this was Mr Namwamba’s intention, it was clever.
However, his motive was unclear. Why shield Mr Ruto? On this one, your guess is as good as mine. If, to the contrary, his motive was pure, but his actions were driven by “boyish” impulses, we must ask him to grow up!
My second submission regards Mr Ruto. Do we believe him? I don’t. In fact, the more he defends himself, the more I doubt him.
He reminds me of the Kanu “hawks”: they were devious, shameless and bold. When he paraded a disabled miller from Kariobangi on TV, the minister had no shame. He thought it was good strategy, but I think it was crass. It was an insult to our intelligence. More so when he declared that this was the only miller he had helped. But there is another thing.
Now that he is under siege, he will retreat to the tribe for back up. He always does this. And in my view, this is an insult to the dignity of the Kalenjin people.
This is why I invite them to consider two things. As he whips their emotions in rallies this weekend, they must remember what former president Moi used to tell us: “kama mbaya, mbaya” (if it is rotten, it is rotten!)
If Mr Ruto’s defence on the maize scandal is not convincing, they must not defend him blindly.
Second, and in the words of Nikita Khrushchev, “… if you feed the people with propaganda, they will listen today, they will listen tomorrow, they will listen the day after tomorrow, but on the fourth day, they will tell you ‘go to hell’!”.
I invite the Kalenjin nation to weigh the words of the minister and his cronies this weekend. If they feed them on nothing but propaganda, they must ask them to “go to hell”. To do so is to be liberated.
My third submission is about The Hague. Some MPs are sabotaging the Special Tribunal Bill. And, in my view, they are inspired by God.
Personally, I opposed The Hague before the maize and oil scandals hit us. And when this happened, I realised that we are still in a state of war. That the war mongers have simply changed tact and relocated from the tribe to the coalition government.
Instead of using crude weapons, they are killing poor people using scandals. Now I am even suspicious of the mysterious fires.
In sum, these war mongers are with us and are entrenched. They are wealthy; they are connected. In fact, they are sub-human. And this is why we must hand them over to a force bigger than us. One they cannot manipulate: The Hague.
We want their visas to be cancelled, their children to be expelled from foreign countries and their assets to be frozen. More fundamentally, they should be expunged from our politics. This is the purification we crave as a country.
The “sabotaging” MPs should, therefore, know that they have read the mood of the nation correctly. They must sabotage the passing of the Bill on Tuesday in the interest of Kenya. But there are two complications here.
One, it is possible that some of the MPs have “eaten” money and they feel obliged to support this Bill. But if they are pricked by their conscience on Tuesday, this should be their justification for sabotage: “…you cannot buy a politician: you can only rent one.”
In other words, we have two sets of MPs; those with a conscience and those for hire. If the MPs with a conscience have decided to sabotage the Bill, my invitation is for the MPs-for-hire to join them. We will repay their act of “kindness” handsomely at the right time. Or what do you think?
The second complication has to do with the tribe. Parliament might support The Hague, but the tribes of Kenya can decide to sabotage this. To avert the crisis ahead, we should borrow from the story of General Ts’ao Ts’ao.
As this general was rebuilding the Hans Empire, his army began to seethe with rebellion. Ts’ao Ts’ao knew that things were bad. And so he had to turn to his closest friend and favourite army commander.
He told the commander: “I want the loan of your head to show the troops”. The commander, of course, was surprised by this. He protested, declaring that he had done no wrong.
But Ts’ao Ts’ao made it clear that if he did not behead him, there would be a mutiny and many would die. At this point, the commander knew that his fate was sealed. He was beheaded the same day, his head mounted on a spike and displayed at the entrance of the army camps.
With this act, Ts’ao Ts’ao did not have to say much. If he could behead his favourite general and friend, the other soldiers figured out that they had no chance.
And this is how radical our tribes must be. To preserve the country, they are called to sacrifice their closest and favourite leaders. Especially those in the Waki List.
Similarly, they must be dramatic in the way we do this if we are to serve notice to future generations. Like Ts’ao Ts’ao, they must send their heads to The Hague. And if they fail to, the price of inaction will be unbearable in 2012.
Are we ready for this drama?
Saturday, 07 February 2009
Friday, 06 February 2009
Thursday, 05 February 2009
Sunday, 01 February 2009
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