Will The Kibaki Succession Shut Down Kenya?

As we have been saying here in Kumekucha for a long time now, politics in Kenya these days is all about the Kibaki succession and nothing else. Yesterday two things happened that go a long way in confirming this fact.

But even before we go into them we need to ask the most important question of all; where does this leave the long suffering Kenyan people? Actually in a very bad place and between a rock and a hard place. As you read this the problem of the IDPs has really been forgotten. Indeed our politicians are not even interested in dealing with the aftermath of the post election violence which has destroyed many Kenyan businesses (Chris will highlight this in our new small business features section in the brand new re-launched Kumekucha in the next few days).

The first thing that happened yesterday was that Prime Minister Raila Odinga made a public appeal to former ethics PS John Githongo to return to the country. The PM emphasized that Githongo now has nothing to fear. Really? As succession politics intensifies, is it true that Mr Githongo would be safe living in Kenya and yet he seems to know “too much” about some of the top contenders (or shall I call them top pretenders) to the throne? Of course a mere visit is another matter altogether, but the prime minister was NOT talking about a visit.

Analysts, including this blogger believe that Githongo is now being used as an important piece on the chess board in what is shaping up to become a long drawn battle in the Kibaki succession. The PM and ODM need to reach out to the Kikuyu community and for this reason it is important that they have a high profile Kikuyu name in their fold.

The second thing that happened was that Justice Minister Martha Karua came out into the open to declare her interest in the presidency come 2012. The iron lady of Kenyan politics told a KTN journalist in an exclusive interview that her 16 years in parliament and her character qualify her to seek the highest office in the land. Interestingly enough in a news bulletin yesterday I heard Ms Karua’s middle Kikuyu name being used for the very first time (was it Wanbui? NO it is actually Wangari-thank you Ken). Mere coincidence or careful positioning? It is obvious that the bedrock of her support will initially have to come from the house of Mumbi and it may be necessary to remind voters at this early juncture, exactly what part of the country she comes from.

There is nothing wrong with anybody having ambitions to ascend to the presidency. However the really worrying thing here is that it is already clear that 2012 campaigns (which have already started in earnest) will be carried out along ethnic lines. Now we all know that the deep ethnic wounds of January this year are far from healing. Indeed nobody is addressing them at all. In my view (and in Chris’ view as well) this is a national crisis that needs to be addressed right away before anybody delves into the nonsense of campaigning for the presidency in 2012. Last week a Kenyan was knifed by a fellow Kenyan shortly after a political discussion started about the disputed presidential elections. We are even informed that in most Western capitals where Kenyans live there is now a clear distinction being drawn along ethnic lines, between PNU and ODM supporters.

God help Kenya.

(Article written by Chris and Oscar)

P.S. The position of Kumekucha is that all ministers accused of corruption irrespective of their party affiliation must step aside to allow for investigations to be carried out. It is fascinating that one of the ministers involved was doing deals relevant to his ministry days before Kibaki named the grand coalition cabinet.