Why John Githongo Would Be The Ideal President For Kenya

Since the ill-fated referendum of 2005, the country has rapidly sunk into an abyss of tribalism that climaxed in the ugliest spate of violence ever seen on the continent last January. Surely even in the bloodletting in Rwanda they did not burn women and children inside churches, did they?

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Also published today in Kumekucha: Deadly mother-in-laws

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Two men will be judged harshly by history for what has happened in our beloved motherland. The first one is Mwai Emilio Stanley Kibaki who ignored advice from several quarters, including the church, to postpone the referendum until tribal tensions cool down. Instead his blundering administration has continued on a steady path of taking Kenyans to the slaughter. The second man whom history will judge harshly is the director general of the NSIS, Michael Gichangi. Of all spy chiefs in the history of the region the man has made too many mistakes and Kenyans should now be asking themselves why he is still in office. His remaining at the helm of the NSIS is a threat to national security. See the long list of deadly blunders Gichangi has made (it is FREE) that have brought the country to its’ knees.

Most people fail to appreciate that one of the advantages of having a free speech zone on this blog (although some folks have badly abused the privilege to further their own selfish agenda) is that one gets to see a clear reflection of what is happening on the ground. Complete with the emotions and prejudices. If this is true (and I have plenty of evidence to prove that it is) then the comments here tell you that the country is very far from being healed. So why should anybody discuss 2012 and the presidential elections when clearly the country will never be ready for another general elections at this rate? More so when our so-called leaders are ignoring the clear danger signals that tell us all is NOT well.

Am informed that in the ongoing spate of secondary school strikes, disciplined schools that have previously had excellent reputations like Machakos Girls, Machakos Boys and Hospital Hill high in Nairobi amongst others have now joined the rapidly growing list of schools where students have gone on the rampage destroying property worth millions of shillings. As usual the government is busy treating the symptoms rather than the disease by arraigning many youngsters in court to face criminal charges.

If there ever was a clear and obvious hint for our leaders to prove that all is not well countrywide, then it is the current spate of school strikes. But still they ignore all the fires being lit in schools all over the country. The latest statement from the duly elected president is that parents will have to pay for the damage their children have caused in schools.

You see the truth is that Kenya currently has no leaders. What we have are some immature and very selfish men and women thinking only about themselves and others jostling for power and the presidency ahead of 2012, even as the country continues to spiral dangerously towards disaster.

Now is the time for a new generation of leaders to emerge. Their time and their chance is NOW. Currently the younger people of Kenya, born after independence are busy chasing money in various corners of the world. Many of them read this blog on a regular basis. And sadly many of them have been dragged down into the ongoing silly and primitive “tribal wars.”

The young people of Kenya need to come back to their senses now and take back their country from the hands of “the wolves” that now have it firmly held in their grasp for selfish ends.

One man whom I see as vital in getting Kenyans to rally around this noble cause irrespective of their party or tribal inclinations is former ethics PS John Githongo. We need somebody with a track record of saying “NO” to corruption and John is exactly that person. I mean the guy risked his life when it would have been easier to take the money and look the other way. We also need somebody whom we are sure will never fall back to his tribe in a crisis. John is that person. The guy cannot even speak Kikuyu properly. For all intents and purposes, he is tribeless. Above all we need somebody young and born after 1963 and yet somebody who has the experience to make things happen. John has that and already works with various worldwide organizations and lobby groups.

I stand to be corrected but I cannot think of any better qualified person to rally all Kenyans from all tribes to do something like yesterday for the motherland before it is too late.

I am of course keenly aware that this post will upset many of my dear readers who are staunch supporters of the Prime Minister, Raila Odinga. These guys don’t want to hear about any other president for 2012.

But my dear beloved brothers and sisters, please let us reason for a moment. I need to ask a very simple question. Will a Raila Presidency unite a country that is badly torn right down the middle? The answer to that question is NO. Raila is a great man, but he cannot pull this one off. Let him prove his greatness beyond any reasonable doubt by making the greatest of all sacrifices and stepping aside for a new generation of Kenyans to take over.

I must also ask if a Martha Karua, Uhuru Kenyatta or George Saitoti presidency is capable of uniting the country. The answer again is a resounding NO. We need a fresh start and that that start needs to have its’ foundation in fighting corruption.

My dear fellow Kenyans we need to start thinking outside the box and it needs to happen NOW. This is very very urgent.