Deadly Daniel Mirrors Terrible Taylor

President Kibaki, please detain Moi, Kumekucha begs

If we were operating in the old days, now would be a very good time to detain one Daniel arap Moi (without trial or due process) for being a serious threat to peace in Kenya, let alone the security of the state. That is one detention order I would sign for President Kibaki with great pleasure and never lose any sleep over it. But alas lucky Daniel after 24 years of misrule, the dirtiest Machiavellian tricks, and detaining people endlessly for the flimsiest reasons, now has the audacity to use the expanded democratic space to ensure that Kenya fails to move on to the new Canaan.

Dirty Daniel: "New constitution Itachoma nyinyi."

Sample the following. The day after Kenyans firmly voted in favour of the new constitution all was quiet and peaceful in the land until Moi released a statement urging the clergy not to apologise and NOT to give up on their fight against the “contentious issues”. Being the experienced politician he is, he naturally send feelers to all the relevant clergy and people involved and the next day a fresh row over the new constitution was brewing that rages on as you read this post. It mainly revolves around the No camp staying together to force changes on the constitution even before it is implemented.

…And that is just the beginning. This old man will do EVERYTHING AND ANYTHING to ensure that somehow the new constitution is diluted, side-tracked or prevented from being fully and properly implemented. His entire future and that of his family depends on it.

Without a doubt, most political analysts now agree, the biggest stumbling block now to a peaceful Kenya as we shift to a new constitutional dispensation is former dictator president of Kenya, Daniel Toroitich arap Moi. And what a dangerous foe the man is as he has already proved. Let us not talk about the tell-tale similarities of the Uhuru Park bombings to bombings that happened during the Moi watch and earlier during the Kenyatta days. (Incidentally this was a tactic that failed badly but you can be sure that those behind it will not be deterred from trying other things, even violent stuff). But clearly it is difficult to fight against the former owner of a house on the premises because he still knows where all the hidden trap doors and potholes are.

Those who may still doubt Moi’s commitment to derailing real change in Kenya just need to take a closer look at what the old man spent on the No campaign. One estimate puts the figure at a whooping Kshs one billion. Even the most conservative estimates say that the former president spent NOT less than Kshs 5 million per day. Now those who know Moi well are well aware of the fact that he can hardly be described as a generous man. While it is true he loved to dish out money when he was president the truth is that he had dozens of ways to “create cash” at short notice for his endless political “projects.” In other words it was NOPT his money he was being generous with. Now that he is no longer in power, his true colours have come out. And that is why the kind of spending Moi did to stop the new constitution from happening should and must cause all the warning bells to ring loudly in alarm because here is a man who is extremely desperate to stop something from happening. And desperate people usually do desperately dangerous things.

An interesting aside here is some of the recipients of Moi’s cash. It seems that we now have a new breed of “politicians for hire” who are ready to sing any tune for cash. Top on that list are former legislators Kalembe Ndile and Koigi Wamwere. Wamwere’s case is the saddest. After years of fighting for change in Kenya, risking his life several times, the man is now ending his political career meekly accepting the man who detained and harassed him to make jokes about why he detained him at public rallies, as long as he can receive handouts to keep his expensive habits happening as he waits to find a way back to parliament. How sad because Wamwere is the kind of guy who would have deserved to be buried in the hero’s corner when he finally departs from this earth. Now he will be a mere footnote whom history will treat rather harshly. While cowards during the Moi era like President Kibaki will be hailed as heroes of the struggle for his big push to deliver a new constitution to Kenya as president. Life is really unfair, is it not?

In my next post I will reveal some of things to expect from Moi’s rather bulky bag of tricks which he is set to unleash on unsuspecting Kenyans in the weeks and months to come.

P.S. I agree with Nzamba Gitonga, chair of the COE, when he says there are NO contentious issues in the new constitution and if they were any, they were resolved by the referendum. I would add that what some people are saying are contentious issues are concerns from landgrabbers and some church leader's dissapointment that the constitution will not help them in doing their job of fighting sin in the world.