When Kings Lose The Vision, They Become Servants

It is no longer a question of 'if' the Kibaki administration will come down but 'when.'

One thing is for sure, Mwai Kibaki is not enjoying his first, and probably last, presidential term. With all the power the constitution of Kenya gives him and with all the resources at his beck and call, his stay at State House is turning into a nightmare of gigantic proportions.

In fact President Kibaki now has more serious problems to worry about than winning a second term in office. Indeed as events continue to unfold at a speed that can only compare with that of events in some thriller novel (like those popular ones churned out by Robert Ludlum) the “ifs” are rapidly being replaced by “whens”. It is no longer a question of ‘if’ the Kibaki administration will come down but ‘when.’

What makes this particular story even sadder is the fact that the current occupant of State House must have dreamed of holding this job for a long time. Right from his years as Finance Minister in the Kenyatta administration (in the 1970s) to his two failed attempts for the presidency. Not to mention the time when he cheated death during his third attempt to win the presidency. Kenyans anxiously watched him being taken into the emergency ward at Nairobi hospital in the full glare of TV cameras, shortly after a serious road accident along the Nairobi-Mombasa road as he came from a campaign rally in Ukambani.

Kenyan voters are currently in no mood to linger over a nostalgic analysis of what may have gone wrong with the Kibaki administration. They have ‘tasted blood’ with 3 ministers gone (and still counting) and they will only continue to demand for more. It is important to bear in mind that Kenyan cabinet ministers do not resign and neither do they leave office over corruption (in fact they usually get promoted for corruption). We now know that in the past it was not viewed as corruption but “fund-raising” and the minister in question rather than being fired would be promoted as a pat on the back for their “good fund raising efforts.” It didn’t matter that it involved the looting of public coffers.

The latest victims of the Anglo Leasing crisis are Education Minister George Saitoti and Energy Minister Kiraitu Muriungi. Whom the President says have asked to step aside to allow for investigations.

An interesting aside here; when the historians finally get down to analyzing the Kibaki administration, they will note that President Kibaki badly lacked handlers who understand political public relations and the impact of every little thing a President does in public. More so when that President’s government is practically under siege.

For instance, the President has stuck to his televised messages to the nation at a time when they serve no positive purpose. If anything they do great damage and only serve to make him look weak to the people. I would have advised him to instead issue a statement sacking the two ministers and promising more action on corruption. He should have taken some lessons from Moi on how to use 1:00 PM news bulletins on the radio. Currently statements would be more believable than the old tired empty promises we have heard from the President for a long time now, promising to deal firmly with corruption. And then again this most recent move of dispensing with Kiraitu and Saitoti is a decision being taken two weeks too late for impact (see my earlier post two weeks ago about what Moi would have done in dealing with the Anglo Leasing scandal).

It is an attempt to soften the impact and damage of Anglo leasing by drawing some attention to Goldenberg (the Saitoti resignation/sacking). In my opinion it will not only fail to meet its’ objective but it will only serve to increase the pressure on the government and further weaken the Kibaki administration (see separate story on how Narc raised campaign funds.)

The perception that Kenyans are getting is that the occupant of State House is under such intense pressure that virtually all his decisions are a result of him bowing down to pressure.

In other words, he is no longer calling the shots. He is the King who has lost the vision. The good book tells us that such a King becomes a servant. A King who is no longer in control but one who is doing things under instruction from more powerful forces which will keep on driving him in only one direction. I am afraid that direction is towards the very downfall of this administration.