Based on the information that I have received, it is now clear that the country has entered a very dangerous phase indeed.
President Kibaki in recent times has displayed behaviour even in public which most Kenyans have missed. Few have been aware that they were witnessing subtle clues that clearly tell us that the country is in very dangerous waters indeed. However any trained medical eye will tell you a lot of things, mostly things no Kenyan would like to hear. Least of all now, when the country is desperately trying to recover from the mishaps of last December and January.
But in private within the precincts of State House Nairobi, which the president has made his home, things are even more worrying.
The president has problems waking up in the morning. No big deal about that, you may think. But when you compare him to former president Moi, you begin to understand the possible repercussions. Moi was always up at 4 am in the morning and would start by going through all the newspapers of the day. By 5 am when those Kenyans going to work early are beginning to stir, he would have already made lots of notes to act upon. This was around the time Moi would usually have his breakfast, if he did not have a breakfast meeting later that morning. On most mornings what would follow would be a briefing from the intelligence. Little wonder that as corrupt as he was, he always seemed to be on top of things.
Several sources have also told this blogger that the president has serious problems these days remembering stuff. On several occasions he has even forgotten the names of his own children during introductions. Now, pray tell me, how does a person govern when they cannot remember things. How on earth do they even make decisions, let alone quality decisions?
Another even more worrying symptom is the fact that the president repeats himself a lot when talking. Incidentally this has also come out in the public most notably when he addressed parliament during the historic debate on the Anan-peace bills that created the current grand coalition government power sharing deal.
In private he mutters things to himself a lot as he hobbles around State House. Interestingly this habit emerged in public shortly before last years’ general elections in a most fascinating incident. A BBC journalist asked the then incumbent presidential candidate about his options should he lose the elections. Kibaki muttered almost under his breath in Kiswahili something to the effect that he wondered whether the journalist had a brain. Several journalists present heard and understood what the president had muttered almost to himself. None dared report it. Only the Standard carried a description of the incident tacked away in a small paragraph deep inside the newspaper. In the excitement of the general elections then many missed it.
So what do the doctors say about the president’s condition? Indeed because of the lack of information, all sorts of rumours have been flying all over the place. Still one doctor told this blogger that the symptoms described are what one would expect as the aftermath of a stroke. The doctors confirms that in that kind of condition one is clearly not capable of executing the duties of a president let alone handle the pressures of the office.
Analysts paint a very grim picture of the possible repercussions and they do so by taking us back to the events of last December. Decisions were made then that led to the blood bath we saw in January this year. Even when the crisis began there are many decisions that were not made which would have saved numerous Kenyan lives.
You see under the current constitution the presidency in Kenya is all powerful and whatever decisions are made or not made at State House, they impact on almost every Kenyan irrespective of their political affiliation.
The president’s handlers knowing very well what is happening have instead chosen to carry out several PR antics to fool Kenyans about the president’s true health status. One such gimmick is the recent decision to have the president honour many of engagements at his Harambee house office. Another one is the purported inside story leaked to a daily newspaper that suggested the president is very good friends with the PM Raila Odinga and is voluntarily ceding and delegating a lot of things to him. The truth is that increasingly the president is not fit to govern and is only too happy to get all the help he can from the energetic Raila Odinga.
However this has led to what is shaping up to be a fierce power struggle within the top echelons of Kenyan leadership where VP Kalonzo Musyoka is now fighting with everything he has to hold onto the presidency even as a looming cabinet re-shuffle places his fate on the balance. The truth is that Kalonzo’s political usefulness to Kibaki and PNU ended with the formation of the grand coalition government and now more pressing political considerations, like the Kibaki succession have made their way to the top of the agenda, leaving the VP very exposed indeed. We will discuss that in more detail in my explosive post tomorrow.
In my latest Kumekucha Confidential issue I give a sneak preview of some of the detailed inside information on the man who could easily rise to the presidency as per the constitution id president Kibaki was declared unfit to handle the office. Most of this information will leave you numb with shock and it is free. Subscribe now by Sending me a blank Email right away
