President Jomo Kenyatta senior served Kenya for 15 years, while President Daniel Moi’s reign lasted 24 years.
President Uhuru Kenyatta, Jomo’s son, has now been in office for over nine years.
Uhuru must have appreciated the heavy burden this presents to Kenya’s future when in January 2021 he noted that “…maybe it is time for another community to rule Kenya”.
It should not be taken for granted that a country comprising 44 ethnic groups has only been ruled by presidents from two communities for 50 years collectively. This is the entire period of Kenya’s existence as a republic.
Despite the perspective that the choice of a president should not be based on ethnicity but one’s ability and character, we cannot be blind to the reality that the other tribes also have people with capability.
Going back to the two tribes for a president is some height of primitivity and has never benefited Kenya. Tribalism was built this way and has persisted. The Kikuyu and the Kalenjin have held key positions and become the real kicker in decision-making, when one of their own was president. This led to widespread looting from state coffers.
In 2013, political analyst Mutahi Ngunyi developed the ‘tyranny of numbers’, which was meant to show that the Kikuyu and the Kalenjin had more numbers of registered voters compared to other groups. By extension, this implied that a force of the two communities was unconquerable in politics. This ethnic chauvinism from the Kalenjin and the Kikuyu in politics is what puts Kenya in the situation it is today. The time has come to act differently.
Raila, despite a record of agitating for reforms in Kenya — which is shared by many other Kenyans — has not been a unifying figure. With Deputy President William Ruto, they pull to two extremes. They were both at centre of the problems of 2007-08, when over 1,000 Kenyans were killed.
Kenya must have a clear break from aggressive politics. We need peacemakers for unity and development. This is how to achieve political stability Uhuru referenced as he regretted the Building Bridges Initiative fiasco.
Uhuru may wish to handover to Raila and solve some historical issues, but this is not going to end Kenya’s issues. The matter is deeper than that, and Raila cannot be a solution for a problem he is part of. The problem is the extreme aggressiveness that is involved in Kenya politics, which must come to an end.
Raila does not even have the capability to build a force that can bring in the Mount Kenya region, despite the endorsement of the Mt Kenya Foundation. This is a no-brainer, if we are to consider the ineptitude of his machine in 2017, where party agents could not even be paid their dues in good time. He will not run the government effectively. His greatest gift to Kenyans can only be an honourable withdrawal of his candidature for 2022 and exit from the political scene.
Ruto has been accused of corruption and land grabbing [a 2013 judgement declared his acquisition of Adrian Muteshi’s land irregular, fraudulent and illegal and the court imposed a Sh5 million fine on him for displacing Muteshi]. Nothing tangible can come out of the bottom-up system, which the UDA and Ruto are championing, same for Azimio la Umoja.
What Raila calls Azimio la Umoja is just another way of putting together a few people as he did with ‘Pentagon’ in 2007 and NASA in 2017. Desperate Kenyans are being hoodwinked. As it is, Ruto is deputy president who made numerous promises in 2013 and 2017 but has spent the entire time politicking and undermining the President.
Ruto is the real deep state. His entry into politics was through the Youth for Kanu in 1992, which was behind the reckless printing of a Sh500 used to bribe Kenyans for the 1992 elections, leading to massive inflation. We must call his bluff as early and as late as now.
Raila was allegedly involved in the 1982 coup, a worthless greedy exercise when Moi had only been in power for a few years.
On the other hand, we can leverage on Wiper leader’s Kalonzo Musyoka’s plan of a 24-hour economy and reduction in taxation, while continuing with the massive development Uhuru has been undertaking. These are fabulous ways of resuscitating the economy.
There is no other proposal that can create jobs like the 24-hr economy, if we are to be truthful. Narc-Kenya leader Martha Karua, Speaker Justin Muturi and other leaders must join Oka and go for a Kenya that is ready for a peaceful and productive break!
Uhuru could not succeed to bring Kenya effectively together because a Kikuyu or Kalenjin cannot and will not manage to do so.
