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| Anti-IEBC demonstrations in Kisumu. Photo: Courtesy |
The electoral body, IEBC, has
shown complete lack of effective leadership in steering discussions
between the two leading political camps. Apart from the cosmetic show of
concern by IEBC to initiate and mediate talks between Mr. Kenyatta and Mr.
Odinga, the top leadership of this commission has been inconsistent in charting
the way forward in regard to the processes and systems leading to the
presidential election.
Hard line positions adopted by
the Jubilee Party and the NASA coalition are in fact the fundamental basis of
the quandary that the country faces. The amendments to the election laws by the
Jubilee Party are hell-bent and only meant to trigger chaos in the country. One doesn’t really need to be a rocket scientist to take notice
of the ill motives that fuel the Uhuru Kenyatta-led party in pushing for the
‘convenient’ amendments to the election laws.
Jubilee Party’s move highly
qualifies as party dictatorship which was the political order during the hey
days of the grand old party, KANU, as highlighted in a recent article. The
Speaker of the National Assembly Justin Muturi and his Senate counterpart Ken
Lusaka, lack the leadership and resolve to preside over the order of business
in Parliament particularly at this time. Their failure to provide effective
leadership is deeply rooted in the political religiosity that they bear as
dictated by their masters.
NASA’s demands, the now famous
irreducible minimums, are credible and valid but can all of them be implemented
at the moment? Methinks it is impossible to implement a number of the
irreducible minimums but at least fundamental changes are necessary since the
Supreme Court ruled that the outcome of the nullified presidential election was
characterized by illegalities and irregularities.
Weak leadership by IEBC and
the Speakers of Parliament to facilitate dialogue within an institutional set
up has resulted in the ‘peaceful’ street demonstrations by supporters of Raila
Odinga.
‘Peaceful’ Protests
Protests by a section of the
supporters of Raila Odinga have been marred by incidences of violence with cases of deaths, injuries, looting and vandalism of property reported. The hallmark of these protests has been the failure to stick to the
prescribed laws hence a justification of the subversion of the spirit of constitutionalism.
Take for instance the rogue
police officers who have killed and maimed a number of the demonstrators and
other innocent Kenyans not involved in the protests. Since the state is riddled with a high degree of complicity we are yet to see the killer police officers being brought to book.
Protesters who infringe on
other people’s rights through destruction of property and looting should not be
killed. In any case, the law is pretty clear on the course of action to be taken
against such individuals with their prosecution guaranteed but not the kind of
political persecution we are witnessing. Police brutality must be condemned and
not condoned.
Mainstream media seems to be
selectively cautious in reporting some of the cases of police brutality. Despite
the fact that the police force is intimidating mainstream media from reporting
on the inhuman acts by the police, they (media) must come to the
realization that they have the right to uncover the injustices. I was expecting to see constant
reporting about the act of criminality in which a vehicle rammed into innocent
and peaceful protesters. The police officers are yet to arrest the driver of
the vehicle. The mainstream media should not hesitate in singling out the rogue police officers.
Presence of a militia group
that masquerades as ‘Nairobi Business Community’ raises elemental concerns in
regard to the maintenance of law and order and the role of the police in
protecting people’s lives as well as property. How did we get to a
point in which a gang assumes the responsibilities of the police officers? It is
either Kenyan police officers are incompetent or this gang is politically
insulated or both.
In my view, the ‘Nairobi Business
Community’ is a militia apparently being used by politicians to settle
political scores, an affirmation of the heightened political differences and
enmity between the leading political camps. Its dreaded members are ferried
in mini-buses to the capital’s central business district to strategically
protect 'business interests'. This shouldn’t be the norm in a country that claims
to have a progressive constitution with constitutionally mandated institutions.
Consequences
The recast of the 2007/08
violence script is inevitable due to the re-birth of a police state and
hard line political stances. As the scions of Odinga and Kenyatta square out
for their political interests, the ghosts of a failed state and a banana
republic are within vicinity.
In the event that Mr. Odinga
fails to participate in the repeat presidential election and Mr. Kenyatta wins
then the legitimacy of the latter’s administration will be seriously dented. Furthermore,
Mr. Odinga’s withdrawal will be followed by intensified calls for self-determination
(secession).
The negative perception of the
governance institutions among Kenyans, depending on one’s political affiliation
or way of thinking, is bound to rise. There is no doubt that the National
Police Service will continue being perceived as a police force. IEBC’s ratings
will also plummet as the electoral body seems to be a spineless institution
rocked with suspicions among its senior officials. The Judiciary is already
perceived as “enemy of the people” among the majority of Uhuru Kenyatta’s
supporters. Mr. Kenyatta promised to “fix” the Judiciary after his ‘victory’
was annulled and his sentiments, as echoed by other elected representatives
from the Jubilee Party, signal the institutionalization of Executive despotism.
Way Forward
Short-term and long-term
politico-legal solutions will be impossible if dialogue is not embraced. With the
current impasse, dialogue involving the IEBC, Mr. Odinga and Mr. Kenyatta is
crucially important. The IEBC must put its house in order and deliver a free, fair and credible election.
As the possibility of pursuing
the secession cause by the NASA coalition and its proxies looms, that is in
case Mr. Odinga fails to contest for the election, dialogue will be the most
effective way to solve the issues that drive the calls for
self-determination. As I documented in a previous article, secession isn’t good
for the Republic but the political and economic exclusion practiced by all the
administrations since 1963 make it seem a reality and an eventuality.
For the long-term, national
dialogue is critically important and the outcome of this should be the adoption
of a Parliamentary system of government that would effectively address the possibilities
of Executive absolutism, help to establish politically civilized political
parties among other short-comings of the current presidential system.
As Winston Churchill stated
that “to jaw-jaw is always better than to war-war”, we must embrace dialogue at
this juncture or perish altogether. The sooner we sit on the table and engage
constructively, the better for the country’s present and posterity.
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