War Against Self

I am fresh from a long and tedious flight during which I got to think through the Kenyan situation. We have just had elections which were closely contested. It is unfortunate that hundreds of innocent people are dying as a result of either politicians wanting to cling to power or ascending to power for the first time by all means. I said here before the poll many times over that both Mwai Kibaki and Raila Odinga are not fit to lead Kenya. If anybody still has doubts about this one fact, then they can do with some prayers. Look here, this violence is not about Kenya or its democracy. This violence is about two people who clearly have no agenda for the country but who want to rope it in for their own very shallow and selfish reasons. The most worrying thing however is that none of these guys has out rightly called for an end to the violence. All we have heard are half hearted statements that are quickly followed by “buts”. Raila Odinga, who is central in the crisis, has not said a word about the need for humanitarian aid to the displaced and the injured. He is giving interviews left right and centre where he goes on and on about how he is “the rightly elected president” with no mention at all on the plight of innocent Kenyans (even when asked about it, he somehow gets away with it with little excuses of how democracy is being muzzled). The same thing goes for President Kibaki. Kibaki, just like Raila, is responsible for the genocide in Kenya. He is a fabulously rich person and he has not offered a cent towards resolving the mess, a mess he is directly responsible for. He has similarly continued to issue half hearted statements that are capped with the words “after the free and fair elections”. Granted, the government has offered some humanitarian aid but then this is not about the government. This is a war started by Mwai Kibaki and Raila Odinga as individuals. It has nothing to do with the interest of the country. I have seen Kalonzo Musyoka donate Kshs 500,000 through Red Cross. Now Kalonzo is not the richest of the three. He is not at the centre of the dispute like these other two guys either but he has repeatedly spoken for the innocently suffering Kenyans. I believe I am different from most other people because that is what I call leadership. Raila’s and Kibaki’s are leaderships to death and destruction. Now, what exactly is the bone of contention? The elections are over and there is no formal dispute, but people keep fighting. I blame Raila Odinga’s supporters (if not Raila himself) for starting a war for no reason. I blame Mwai Kibaki for failing to clump down on perpetrators of runaway hooliganism as the head of state. Here is why I blame Mwai Kibaki; you cannot claim to defend the rule of law and democracy if you have no respect for the same. Why do we have the Presidential and Parliamentary Elections regulations providing for petitions? We have these provisions to take care of any emerging disputes. Since the ODM which claims to have been rigged out does not have the guts or the civility to file a petition with the high court, Kibaki should have instructed his Attorney General to file one. The Presidential and parliamentary elections regulation states that any registered voter can file the petition. Out of the aggrieved hooligans, none has filed the petition. It also says the AG can do it. This is where Hon Kibaki should have stepped in and demonstrated leadership. It is only through petitioning that the poll can be treated as disputed. Right now, what we are seeing is an uprising that has no basis. Raila Odinga is the biggest protagonist in this entire circus. He lost the elections (either fairly or unfairly) and decided that the election was not free and fair. He wants us to believe that Juja Constituency registered a voter turn-out of 30%. He also feels that Tigania west, Nithi, Central Imenti and South Imenti all registered their lowest ever turn-outs since the introduction of multipartysm and that Karachuonyo, Ndhiwa and Kisumu Rural registered their highest. Fine, may be he is right, but is going on a slashing and looting spree the best way out of the predicament? I believe that if anybody has any respect, let alone love, for their country, they have to adhere to the rule of law, the force of the constitution and the power of tradition. The best way would have been to file a petition. We are not a jungle nation whose problems are solved using pangas. I also believe that Raila will be the sure loser if he continues with the route he has taken and if Kibaki continues with his exaggerated degree of rigidity. You cannot lay unreasonable conditions for negotiations with the president who not only has executive power, but who also feels he was democratically elected. That is like shooting yourself in the foot because nobody is going to bulge. I once said here that Raila Odinga is a leader unto darkness, anarchy and death and people accused me of hating him. I have watched him on TV totally unwilling to take even a modicum of responsibility. He passes the buck all the time even when his most ardent supporters are dying. But for how long are you going to duck responsibility Mr. Raila? What is remarkable about Mr. Raila’s passion for anarchy, beyond its intensity, is the ease with which he wins over converts. He has always tenaciously clung to his unverified beliefs which he confuses with fact and often inflicts this confusion to his supporters in his struggle to resolve any situation to his favour. When many people are persuaded to subscribe to the same pretense, of course it can gain the aura of objectivity. The trick is simple; depict yourself as persecuted and you will surely win sympathizers. If this is not delusion, tell me what it is. My humble submission is that the ODM need to petition the outcome of the election in court. Nobody can reverse the ECK chairman’s announcement, not even the president or the AG. Amos Wako is just being afraid of taking an unpopular decision. The best way to resolve this quagmire is telling people the truth which is that the ECK which had a pre poll approval rating of 75% announced the results and anybody dissatisfied with the verdict should either go to court or to hell. We cannot continue being a country at war with itself. When the losses are counted believe you me, ODM supporters will be the most affected. It is a pity that our so called educated, exposed and enlightened brothers continue to urge the idle and jobless youth to go on the rampage. I want to see Anyang Nyong’o, William Ruto and Raila Odinga themselves throwing stones and looting in Nakumatt. I want to see Sam Okello in hospital nursing a bullet wound sustained during “a fight to save his country”. Only when that happens, shall I acknowledge that Kenya means anything to any of these people. Meanwhile, the government should continue being ruthless when dealing with perpetrators of violence. It is indefensible when someone breaks into an innocent person’s property or when people torch a poor man’s house all in the name of fighting for democracy. That is stupid fundamentalism.