Kibaki, Moi, Ruto: 3 Most Consistent Politicians

Give it to these elegant three Kenyan leaders. They can manage to hold their forte no matter the political heat. Not even the fuming church matches their political fidelity. Ex-president Moi saw it ahead of all Kenyans and warned us as much. He was in the NO camp in 2005 and is staying put there. Kibaki likewise is not decamping from his YES stand. These two wise men epitomizes mental and political stability.

Ruto's resolute leadership of the NO camp must come as no surprise to those who know Bill well. William is his own man and unlike his peers, he won't patronize but seeks to be the patron himself. In Ruto the church has a PRINCIPLED leader and partner in the no campaign. He shoots hard from the hip and holds no hostages.

Make no mistake, Ruto's rejection of the porous draft is strongly grounded on merit and merit alone. Passing the CoE's constitution will provide the seed to fertilize ethnocentrism, nepotism and violence. Ruto and his NO brigade have selflessly warned us against the draft's exotic Bill of Rights.

You cannot fault Moi on patriotic matters, or can you? He knows better than having Wanjiku mesmerized by such a weighty and abstract matter as the constitution. Forget all that lofty talk of fundamental rights and freedoms. Nothing is more basic than the God-given right to life, security and privacy. The drive for justice is only meant to keep the civil service relevant, nothing more. And Ruto is not afraid to remind them and even take them head on.

According to Ruto, Chapter five of the Proposed Constitution on land is a sure recipe for eternal friction and chaos if not amended NOW. Well, our independence was fought with lives lost over land and Ruto and Moi have reminded those with ears and eyes as much. What is more, these two know exactly what they are talking about when it comes to land. We ignore their wise counsel at our collective national peril. All the hot air on water towers and environmental conservation must be dismissed for what they are. Vision 2030 can only be secured with enhanced investment including capable Kenyans and foreigners acquiring and modernizing our national parks, forests and water towers.

The draft's pretense on provision of equality flies hollow at the face of our African values. You only hasten your suicide mission in the villages by mentioning gender parity on land matters. No wonder Kenyans turn a blind eye to Moi's timely reminder that the draft is academic crafted to serve foreign interests. Parliament cannot pretend to have the authority prescribe minimum and maximum land holding acreages for our tribal kings. Squatters must jealously retain their status so as to have the opportunity to vote.

Ruto is more than right on his fight against a super-imperial President. He knows and has experienced the perils of bestowing powers on one person to appoint virtually all state officials including ministers, ambassadors, permanent secretaries, security chiefs and heads of government firms.

Passing the draft will deny Kenyans the political excitement derived from MPs jockeying for ministerial posts. Kenya is no US and our Cabinet must be exclusively composed of elected MPs. Pretending otherwise is to spite the squatters who vigorously campaign and vote for their lords.

Ruto and his NO camp must not waiver. It is a new dawn led by Ruto and he deserves the support of every progressive Kenyan. This is 2010 and unlike the hitherto politically-informed 2005 referendum, the present debate is issue-based.

While the No camp articulate their ideologies devoid of raw politics, the deceptive and politically faint-hearted have their eyes singularly trained on 2012 polls. Well, look no further than the two marionettes speaking from both sides of the mouth saying different things about the draft depending on the audience.