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Thursday, December 29, 2011

Kumekucha’s Warning To Those Seeking Political Office in 2012

In the next few months President Emilio Mwai Kibaki will leave office. The truth is that the Kibaki administration has done quite a few useful things when it comes to development and getting Kenya to the next level, but sadly all those achievements will be swallowed up by the numerous blunders and errors of judgment made by a man who was way too eager to lead the nation.
Please bare with me as I tell you a little story. Some years back I had the privilege of taking a brief spiritual course that involved Bible teachings on leadership, spirits, demons and the occult world. The instructor was a man who took every chance to comment on Kenyan politics and the major players involved in it. I took his comments very seriously because he had a track record of correctly predicting presidential results in Kenya for over 20 years including the dramatic 2002 elections that were unexpectedly peaceful and also surprisingly ushered in the opposition dethroning Kanu for the first time since independence. In 2002 he did not make his prediction at the last minute when it was so obvious Narc was going to win. He made it before the famous Kibaki/Wamalwa/Ngilu meetings to seek unity had even begun.

Anyway my point is that my instructor kept on emphasizing that people should always be very wary of those who are too eager to lead. Whether it was in the office or in national politics, the best leader was always the person reluctant to take up leadership because they were fully aware and almost frightened of the responsibilities involved.

I have proven that observation to be 1000 percent correct. In neighbouring Tanzania one Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete has always been very eager to be president and his ambition had to be cut short by none other than the founding father of that Nation Mwalimu Julius Nyerere who told CCM delegates in Dodoma that the man was not ready as he opted for a William Mkapa presidency instead. The Mkapa presidency is today viewed by the vast majority of Tanzanians as the golden years and this is just one of the reasons why Kikwete will go down in history as one of the most unpopular presidents in Tanzania as he has staggered down his presidential term with no clear priorities, agenda or workable plan to build on Mkapa achievements. His ame plane seems to have been simply “I will do better.” The poor man was way too eager to land in state house and was so sure that he could do an excellent job that he just stopped short of rubbishing his predecessor’s presidency. I am sure where he is now he has a lot more respect for President Mkapa and his presidency.

President Kibaki is no different. I have done countless posts here detailing how he arrogantly brushed off the Moi presidency assuring Kenyans that he could do a much better job. As you read this, if there was an election today pitting Kibaki against Moi, Moi would win by a landslide very close to 100 percent of the votes cast.

Beware of those who are way too eager to lead. Look for the reluctant humble candidate who respects and almost fears the grave responsibilities that leadership thrusts on anybody’s hands.

The worst mistake Kibaki ever made in his political career was in December 2007. Way back in 1969 Mwai Kibaki lost his Bahati parliamentary seat in Nairobi to a woman and just couldn’t take it and so he rigged himself back into parliament. That little story was forgotten and history would never have remembered it. Indeed Mwai Kibaki was a very respected politician in the run up to the 2007 general elections. So respected that nobody wanted to believe that he could rig an election. Not even when the writing was clearly on the wall in 2007 as he ignored the opposition and hand picked commissioners to ECK.

In retrospect history would have treated Mwai Kibaki as one of the great Kenyan presidents had he accepted the people’s verdict in 2007 and left office peacefully. For starters nobody would have died. And poor Raila Odinga would have taken the blame for a lot of the things that have happened over the last four years or so that are beyond anybody’s control, like the ugly world economic recession that persists and has brought much suffering to Kenyans. The Kibaki presidency of 2003-2007 would have really looked good. Now the member for Othaya not only has blood on his hands but also has a possible appointment at the courts in the Hague after he leaves office hanging over his head (and that is one of the reasons why he is always protecting a serial rapist and mass murderer called Al Bashir).

My message to all those seeking political office in 2012, including my dear younger brother who has always been way too eager to lead the family (although he is not the first born) and now wants to extend his “leadership qualities” to the electorate somewhere in Ukambani, is simple. Learn from Mwai Kibaki and let it go before it is too late. If you find that you are too eager to lead and are daydreaming about being called muheshimiwa or having a motorcade go with you everywhere you go… STOP. Take some aspirin and lie down and carefully think of the Kibaki and Kikwete presidency and hopefully the crazy urge will pass and you will be cured of this life-threatening condition.

Kivuitu blames Kibaki for 2007 Polls Chaos

21 comments:

  1. Vintage Chris Kumekucha. I love it!!!

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  2. so who isnt eager to be president ? Raila ? Uhuru?,

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  3. Wishing you all a wonderful 2012

    Well back! Some of us hope that 2012 and many posts (to come) bring many opportunities for many at Kumekucha to discover or rediscover ways to keep their mojo working.

    As for elections '12, get ready for some major musical chairs in many counties around the country. The political drama is yet to unfold.

    IMHO, there is a general need for a political overhaul and it will only be possible if those seeking political office in 2012, including the electorate take heed of Kumekucha's Warning.

    Unfortunately, it's going to be very difficult for the electorate to tell the difference between the spotted hyenas, including their distant cousins, the stripped hyenas who are already seeking political power for sake of it, from those candidates who are less eager to thrust themselves into the inner loops of parliamentary politics.

    As for your ambitious younger brother, let's hope he has what it takes to stay the course, and do the right thing for his future constituents if he's elected. Otherwise he and his ilk will soon find out that konzo ya maji haifumbatiki.

    Kibaki lost his Bahati parliamentary seat in Nairobi to woman....

    Who was the woman in question? And what became of her since then - 1969?

    Did she ever rise again to challenge any incumbents in parliament? Or did the rigging of elections coupled with chauvinistic underhandedness takes its toll on her.

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  4. @ Anon@ 10:56

    In my view Jael Mbogo (the woman Kibaki rigged out in '69) was so traumatized that she never recovered and she never saw the inside of parliament.

    The full story is in this earlier Kumekucha post;

    http://goo.gl/U4qYa

    N.B. The shortened link above is case sensitive so cutting and pasting is best.

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  5. Chris,

    HNY 2012 (in advance) and happy holidays. Welcome back.


    Now on your post you have chosen diplomacy with the reference 'eager to lead'. Well the right word is either contempt or arrogance. Just like dreams betray your thought during the day, fits of anger betray your inner thoughts. When you refer to your staff and subjects as pumbavu/mafi ya kuku it sums their value to you and betrays the 'high esteem' you hold them in.

    The rush to lead (albeit slowed since 1970s) is akin to entitlement. It comes in different shapes and proclamations. Some would pray for force others deception disguised in various shades of pretense.

    Bottomline is this characteristics are everywhere like you say at your family. The only differnece is when one turns a country into his shamba for wholesome contempt.

    And we (voters) are not innocent in this as we prop all these people and help exapnd their egos. Year in year out we elect them to perpetuate the same sorry state of affairs at our collective peril.

    We can only hope and pray that 2012 brings some national sanity so thaty we make a permanent brake with this self-inflicted and deadly cancer.

    HAPPY 2012 folks.

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  6. Chris my brother,
    Ati Moi can win elections again,wacha zako. Kibaki is the best president Kenya has ever had you can measure his PASSION for development

    You think you can do better?bure kabisa,you are just jealous because Kikwete is closer to Obama than Kenya.

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  7. Happy New Year Taboo

    Happy New Year Luka my broda.

    Happy New Year Beth :) (why so quiet my sister?)

    Luka pole I have yet to reply to your email. I will do so soon. Still clearing the clutter on my desk after the long weeks of absence.

    Chris Kumekucha.

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  8. Chris,
    You couldn't expose Raila (after making heartfelt appeal to KK readers) now you pick on Kifaki who is retiring after more than a century serving people. What use or puropse of this post? We are more interested in those who are in the race! Sorry

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  9. Timing is everything in politics. My Raila post is coming very soon for sure.

    Chris Kumekucha

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  10. Chris,
    I wish you did a post warning Kenyans about unhealthy lifestyle especially during this festive season.

    Diseases that were unheard of several decades ago are now on rampage in kenya. Diabetes, Cancer, hypertension, stroke...all which are attributed to unhealthy lifestyle of indugling in wrong food and lack of excercise.

    What's the purpose of this blog if u can't warn your readers to look after themselves?

    I wish Kenyans would realise the dangers of fast-food and processed food and embrace their tradittional dishes.

    I know this is going to boggle many people's mind, but Rice, Chapatis, Nyama Choma, beer, fried food...is not healthy!! (Where is Mwarangethe when i need him).

    Do Kenyans know the kind of food they despise is the most sought-after in the Western world?
    Food like:
    Sweetpotatoes
    Yams
    Pumkin
    Fish and ALOT of fish
    Spinach
    Cabbage
    Cassava leaves
    Pumkin seeds and leaves
    ... I tell you, all that food is for the rich and famous, royalties, celebrities, well-offs... in the Western world.

    Sweet-potatoes (you can google) is called super-food for it's health benefits. It's very dear (expensive) just like cassava leaves which despite being hard to come-by is the most sought-after and probably the most expensive food product.

    I just wish I live in Kenya! So much good food all around.

    Happy New Year

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  11. @Anon,

    KK sio darasa for basic home science and foof basics. This is a POLITICAL blog and the human interest posts minimally appear for completeness.


    And who tells you Kenyans need those lessons on fried food nk? FYI many Kenyans cannot afford what you are warning them against. Please take your lessons to the village where they need your savings now!

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  12. Anon,

    I see where your priorities are.
    Politics is more important to you than health. Asante sana

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  13. For starters nobody would have died. And poor Raila Odinga would have taken the blame for a lot of the things that have happened over the last four years or so that are beyond anybody’s control, like the ugly world economic recession that persists and has brought much suffering to Kenyans.

    xxx

    Well, well. 2012 and beyond, things CAN only get worse.

    It SHALL not matter who comes on top after the 2012 OPIUM SESSION.

    We shall be back on more on that Opium Session later.

    For now, we focus on UGLY ECONOMIC RECESSION that Chris, like many believe was/is beyond human control.

    The truth is that, this ECONOMIC CRISIS and one of the GREATEST in human history, and NOT a recession, was visible to many as early 1950's, 60's and more so, after 1970's. In other words, the present crisis, which WILL GET WORSE, was planted at least in 1945 and is not beyond human control.

    NB: Since 2008, the West has pumped TRILLIONS of $$ into a bottomless pit.

    Let us ask, how many kilometers of railway lines could have been built in Africa using just 5% of that "money"?

    How many millions of jobs would have been created both in Africa and the West especially in places like SLUM Detriot where car manufacturers would have retooled for this job?

    The deal is this. This crisis cannot be fixed WITHOUT FIXING the AFRICAN ECONOMIES.

    Unfortunately, FIXING the AFRICAN economies must be avoided because, the cat will be out of the bag.

    To hide this, they throw in the ICC and such rubbish at Africans, and Africans cheer.

    As such, to avoid the real solution, which MUST involve Africa, they are willing to risk a 3 WW or plunge the world in to senseless wars.

    The problem is that, since 1945, that crisis has been visible in the periphery, i.e. so called 3rd world. When did 3rd ever leave economic crisis since 1950's?

    However, as one would expect, once the periphery has been devoured, the beast can only go back home. In other words, the chickens are coming home to roost.

    Having noted the above, 3rd world has a better chance of coming on top out of this crisis.

    However, the LEADERSHIP required is no where to be seen. All we see are endless OPIUM SESSIONS and USELESS REFORMS.

    With that, we leave to enjoy:

    Harvest in NEAR:

    http://is.gd/ZG8Gz9

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  14. Mwanetu, ozanaki?

    Each new year brings changes and new beginnings. Kwa hivyo, let's hope such will be the case for Kumekucha and, in particular, for all those who will be sharing their various perspective on the swaggering parades during the general election season.

    I am an unconditional supporter of CCM but I couldn't agree with you more on Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete's style of governance when compared to that of President Mkapa. Time will tell.

    Best wishes for new year full of great health, happiness, frequent presence at Kumekucha and new beginnings from all of us at Kumekucha.

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  15. Anon 11:48 AM
    Digressing from anything to do with the original post would be classified as anathema and a diversion.

    Anyways, I hate to admit it but you are so right on the mark when it comes to the manner in which we have shifted nutrition gears from health foods to fast-foods, frozen-foods and other food products that are infused with lethal doses of hormones.

    However, you forgot to mention varities of other staple grains, greens, fruits and different kinds of meats that Kenyans were accustomed to before the slow killing fast-foods came to their nearest locations.

    And just to let you know, we have a large segment of the Kenyan population who can no longer afford to incorporate the one time healthy traditional foods as well as the fast-foods into their daily or weekly menu due to adverse economic effects of living way (ten to twenty miles) below the third world poverty line.

    By the way, what are the Swahili names for fresh cassava leaves and dired cassava leaves?

    On the other hand, don't forget the fact that our world is filled popular and dangerously misleading myths about food and fitness.

    Some of the myths and half-truths have so rooted themselves in our everyday lives; in fact, that it's often difficult to seperate fact from fiction and to recognize when you're doing your body and the bodies of your family more harm than good.

    Lastly, the type of foods that you have mentioned, are of no use to our bodies if they have been rountinely drenched or plastered with herbicides and pestcides.

    We are what eat sounds so cliche but it's very true.

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  16. Many will not heed the warning but they will heed the call to indulge in electioneering politics for the rest of 2012.

    Seeking political office in the soon to be dramatic campaign landscape of 2012 will be easy kama ndizi and rahisi kama risasi as long as one has the funds, is in good graces from the godfathers and knows how to work the crowds into a frenzy.

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  17. Cassava leaves are called sombe in swahili.

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  18. Going! Going! Going! One hour and 2011 will be where it belongs, history and behinds us. What a year it was!

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  19. What a year it was! A year full of missteps, uncertainty, fear, greed, guilt, undercurrents of impunity, some of the worst political decisions Kenyans have ever been subjected to, and worst of all, fiscal policies that will continue to adversely affect everyday (ordinary) Kenyan people throughout the next decade. Good riddance! Adios 2011, welcome 2012, and let the political circus and election games begin.

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  20. Ahaah! Now that 2012 is here to stay for the next twelve months, although some of us can't really recall where we were or what the country was up to and going through at the time, other than business as usual during the historic electioneering politics under the sanctioned pretext of yote ya wenzekana bila (Rais) Moi.

    Well, well, look at how far we have come as a nation, a people and individuals?

    The real question we should be asking is not who should be our so-called next president (paramount chief).

    But, has everything been possible without Mzee Moi or in his welcomed absence?

    And have our individual, local, regional and national fortunes changed for the better since the day we drove Mzee Daniel arap Moi and some of his political, military, business and tribal right hand men and quasi henchmen out of the State House, Nairobi and from power in other major cities and little towns around the country?

    What do we really have to show for on local, regional and national basis since then, in terms of having modern primary schools, secondary schools, colleges, regional polytechnics (forget the ugly word "village polytechnics"), universities, hospitals, rural and urban electrification (24/7), clean drinking water, rural access roads and inter-regional roads and highways, and above all guaranteed security for all citizens of Kenya?

    And without forgetting the vital markets with modern enclosures, plumbing, and proper sewage disposal system, in every area where decrepit open air markets from the early 1900s have been the backward, if not regressive, order of the last ten years that our so-called president Mzee Mwai Kibaki, beloved by some and disliked by others, has been entrenched in power.

    The other question is, will Kenyans live up to their motto for the election year, take the money and pocket it, but vote your conscience?

    Or we will succumb to our most basic instincts of taking care of business as in filling our stomachs before all else?

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  21. Kikuyu hater,keep on hating.

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